Republicans have long claimed to be the party of "personal responsibility", saying that every person should be responsible for their own actions, and should not look to the government for help. They insist that everyone be accountable for what they do. But how well do they live up to that dogma?

The recent kerflufle over a speech by Obama on his energy policy is the most recent example of how poorly the Republicans recognize and support true personal responsibility. Besides the obvious "lie by ommission" of reducing a complex and potentially effective energy program to a single sound bite, they failed to recognize that keeping one's tires inflated is something that every citizen can do to help reduce the need for foreign oil. It's taking personal responsibility to ensure that we use less oil. They should be happy about that.

The education policies of the two candidates is another area that shows the difference. McCain's plan has schools competing for federal dollars and the best students (via vouchers). That puts the onus on the schools, not the students. Obama's plan, meanwhile, focuses on looking at each student as an individual, and provides tools that help each individual succeed. Success and failure is gauged at the individual (personal) level, not at a school level.

Taking a look at how the campaigns themselves are being run, the differences are stark. McCain's campaign has suffered numerous gaffes from the lobbyists that are running it. After Graham's statement that the country is a bunch of whiners, did we hear McCain take the blame? Did we see McCain fire Graham? As a point of comparison, the Obama campaign has released several staffers (such as Samantha Power) when it's been revealed that they said or did something inappropriate. Which candidate and staff members are exhibiting more personal responsibility for how their campaign is being run?

How many Republican congresspeople have shown personal responsibility and resigned or apologized when caught or indicted? Tom DeLay, Larry Craig, Mark Foley... they were all defiant, refused to acknowledge what they had done, and tried to weasle out of their punishments.

Even the left-vs-right media reflects the true character of each with regards to this. Bill O'Reilly has been a stain on journalism for quite a while, making disparaging remarks about children hostages and sexually harrasing his female staff, then denying the actions or the inappropriateness of them. Contrast that with Keith Olbermann who refused to let Dana Milbanks back on the show until he cleared up what appeared to be a deliberate deception by Milbanks regarding a statement by Obama. Which host is showing more personal responsibility?

Okay, in some cases this is more about integrity than personal responsibility. But aren't they different shades of the same color?

Part of personal responsibility is actually taking responsibility, not just paying lip service to it as a taking point. Physician - heal thyself.