"The heels are on, the gloves are off!" Sarah "Winky" Palin said to rousing cheers Saturday in her patented annoying eighth-grade science teacher whine. What does that mean? What does *anything* this woman says actually mean? All of which, of course, beggars the question, at what point was the McCain campaign anything *but* divisive, racist and negative?
MCCain's campaign is now a national embarrassment. HIs solution to every issue: Blame Obama For It. And who, exactly, is falling for this?
20 Comments
A lot of people are falling for it, but not as many as you would think.
Right now, (according to the latest polls over at Real Clear Politics) in Ohio, VA, FL, CO, and NM, Obama has come from behind to pull ahead (though not by too much) of McCain, all states which voted for Bush. He managed to come from eleven points down to tie McCain in NC, another red state, and he's closed the gap on republician states like Missouri and Indiana, though McCain still leads.
If McCain has an October Surprise, it better be something better than Ayers. Particularly since Obama is taking the gloves off and busting out the Keating-5 scandal to use against McCain.
scrawled by Slick | October 5, 2008 10:05 PM
I'm curious as to whether McCain's negative campaigning is actually backfiring or is simply so outweighed by the Wall Street blowup that it has no effect. I'm inclined to think it's a little bit of both -- the Rove machine did its job in '04, but the game had already changed by '06. And the problem with running your entire party on distortions and trivia is that sooner or later reality has a tendency to intrude. "Lipstick on a pig" may eat up an entire news cycle, but if you've spent the past 30 years gutting oversight and regulation, the chickens are eventually going to come home to roost.
scrawled by Thad | October 5, 2008 10:31 PM
I also tend to think Rove tactics worked in '00 and '04 because the InterWeb/24-news cycle was still maturing. Now, with the Blogosphere and YouTube and such, the rapid response from ordinary citizens is so much faster than it was eight or even two years ago, that hollow claims are quickly debunked. McCa may claim we're all in the tank for Obama-- I promise you, as sincerely as I am able, that is not the case. If Obama were running the kind of campaign McCa is, I'd be stomping *him* all over this blog.
But people will hang the black thing on me or the Democrat thing on me. And the Christian right marches in lock step behind him in the "name of Jesus." Honestly, if this guy invested even half as much energy in coming up with solutions to America's many challenges as he does in coming up with ways to attack his opponent, he'd have half a shot at earning my vote. As a Christian, as someone who graduated seventh grade, I could never vote for these people. Ever. Certainly, followers of Christ, need to put their ethics where our mouth is. Which may not necessarily translate into a vote for Obama, but it ought to be a vote for Jesus, in Whose name these two shameful liars come.
Slick: IS Obama rolling out the Keating Five? I think that's fraught with peril, mainly because it seems like such ancient history, it galvanizes McCa's base, and, worse, it makes Obama look no better than McCa.
scrawled by priest | October 6, 2008 3:19 AM
Obama has launched a full website, complete with a 15 minute documentary, addressing McCain's involvement with the Keating 5.
www.keatingeconomics.com
The documentary goes live at 12noon EST.
scrawled by Ty | October 6, 2008 9:10 AM
Whoa--
HAving trouble viewing it--too much traffic, I suppose.
Obama going negative diminishes his brand name and reduces him to the status of Just Another Politician—which is likely what the McCain camp wants. However, McCain's role in the Keating Five scandal is much more relevant to the nation's financial crisis and the question of who will lead us than Palin's ridiculous smears about terrorist events when Obama was eight years old. Still, Obama knows the swiftboating is on the way,
scrawled by priest | October 6, 2008 11:38 AM
I finally managed to get the full video to load.
It's an attack on McCain, but one that isn't exaggerated or over the top. Making it a mini-documentary allowed them to really (and clearly) lay out credible, substantial evidence against McCain, so they're not just screaming "MCCAIN PALS AROUND WITH A FINANCIAL TERRORIST!"
It may or may not work, but if it fails, there's far less of a chance it'll blow up in Obama's face.
scrawled by Slick | October 6, 2008 1:06 PM
I don’t think that's the point of bringing up Keating. The point of bringing up Keating is to neutralize Ayers and Wright. It's ballast. Though I was pretty sure they'd dump Keating on him sooner or later, this is absolutely flame retardant for the Ayers/Wright crap.
Here's what I don’t get, though:
"The heels are on, the gloves are off!" Palin said to rousing cheers Saturday in her patented annoying eighth-grade science teacher whine, as though she's fed up with Barack Obama, as though Obama has somehow provoked her or wronged her. To the contrary: the Obama campaign--including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton--has all but ignored Governor Palin, having said very little about the Governor and having produced no ads attacking her. So, what's she mad about? The gloves are off? What does that mean? What does *anything* this woman says actually mean? How does turning the presidential campaign even nastier than they've already run it help anyone? In what way, specifically, is Governor Palin's completely phony "outrage" toward Senator Obama productive during this time of crisis? Going even *more* negative, when people are frightened, when the entire global economic system is in upheaval, seems incredibly selfish and puzzlingly wrongheaded on McCain's part.
And, at what point were the gloves *on*? At what point was the McCain campaign anything *but* divisive, racist and negative?
The "palling around" crack really offended me, and lots of my pals. I have to imagine the unbridled racism of Palin's attacks has galvanized Obama's base at *least* as much as it's roused McCain's. But I can't help but wonder how it affects the undecideds. It's a grenade over the fence, but does it help or hurt McCain?
If I wasn't sure I'd be there before the "...doesn't see America the way *we* do..." crack, I'm sure I'll be there now. I'll camp out all night if I have to.
And I'm sure I'm not the only one. This seems a strategic blunder--they done pissed off the brothers. And they did it, stupidly, a day *before* registration closed in many key swing states. Anger trumps ambivalence every time.
Maybe I'm missing the point, but this seems to be a campaign run by chimps.
scrawled by priest | October 7, 2008 8:46 AM
First Dude of Alaska = Domestic Terrorist
Palin's Witchsniffer = Domestic Terrorist (albeit in a different country than America)
Gullible Public = Eating up Ayers crap anyway.
scrawled by Dave Van Domelen | October 7, 2008 10:56 AM
Well, McCain is now having been sitting on a board run by a mega neo-nazi for a bunch of years. That'll likely become the counter for Ayers.
McCain needs old Jewish people to vote for him...and if there's one thing old Jewish people fear more than a black man, it's a Nazi.
scrawled by Scavenger | October 7, 2008 2:16 PM
Oh, and the undecideds because they're still debating the issues, heard all the Ayers stuff with Hillary and dismissed it then...
The undecideds who are undecided because they can't make a choice...well, they're just dumb, so they'll be voting for Palin.
FWITW, http://coloradopols.com/ is showing Obama winning here (as well as Udall)
scrawled by Scavenger | October 7, 2008 2:22 PM
Actually, on the Ayers thing, something really bothered me about this.
Without defending what Ayers did, he's legally a very free man, entitled to the same rights as everyone else. The potential VP of the US just pointed to him and called him a "terrorist". Someone in the audience responded by saying "Kill him!" She, in turn, said nothing to that guy and kept on going.
What she just did was paint a very large target on Ayers' head. In a post 9/11 world, calling anyone a terrorist makes them a target for the public's hate, rage, and fear.
If someone takes a shot at that target, she could (and in my opinion, should) be held legally responsible for inciting that violence. And she doesn't seem to get that.
It's as if this woman has virtually NO understanding of the position she's in and the power she holds.
...actually, she probably doesn't. Which is a damn good reason why she shouldn't have it.
scrawled by Slick | October 7, 2008 5:32 PM
there's a good article in the latest rolling stone, viewable online, that talks about McCain's similar Bush-like career path.. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain
scrawled by christopher currie | October 8, 2008 11:43 AM
I actually think that person in the crowd was referring to Obama and not Ayers when he shouted "Kill him!", but I can see where there might be some question. Still, there have been too many instances beyond these most recent where people at McCain/Palin rallies have screamed out for the death of Obama, and McCain does nothing about it but egg it on with his lies. If something actually does happen to Barack, McCain has to accept a certain amount of responsibiity for it.
scrawled by Trav | October 10, 2008 10:51 AM
Palin is a nitwit.The one parody that Tina Fey did of her was a verbatim response from Palin.The truth was funnier than anything she could have made up.
As far as McCain and his campaign "I am a maverick !!!" seems to be his answer to everything .Joe Scarborough even called him on that.People want to know how you will fix their problems.
Michael Smerconish wrote an interesting piece about the whole Ayers thing.In a nutshell it was saying do we hold people responsible for everyone they come across in their lifetime? Obama's relationship with Ayers was marginal from what I have read.Do we hold everyone accountable for anyone in their life with a shady or criminal past?
More to the point are McCain and Palin ready to open that door when it comes to all the things in their past that my be questionable?
scrawled by Deano | October 10, 2008 12:44 PM
Interesting..MSNBC just showed clips off McCain defending Obama against some people at his rally. One who says " he fears an Obama presidency " and a woman who called him(Obama) " an Arab".
Does this mean there is a shred of integrity left in this guy?One that is coming out far too late?Also has he fed the fires of a lunatic fringe that believes an Obama presidency will play out with Obama being a covert muslim who will destroy America?Is he(McCain) prepared to live with himself and the consequences?
scrawled by Deano | October 10, 2008 6:17 PM
Too little, too late.
scrawled by Hysan | October 10, 2008 9:22 PM
Yup, it probably is too little too late for McCain's campaign. I just hope it's not too late for these "Bubba's", that Palin and McCain were inciting this week, to calm down and reel back in their above normal racist emotions resulting from the rhetoric that was being spoon-fed to them from the Republicans this week.
This past week was the first week of the whole campaign that I was actually scared for Obama's safety. It was like McCain, and especially Palin, were justifying all of the innuendo that has been said about Obama and giving the OK for their supporters to completely buy into all of it. I was, and still am, very nervous.
scrawled by Ty | October 11, 2008 2:52 PM
I believe this NY Times article by Frank Rich best sums up the past week concerning McCain and Palin.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/opinion/12rich.html
scrawled by Ty | October 11, 2008 9:09 PM
truly some of these numbskulls who are feeding into the " fear factor" campaign dont even realize they are not voting or thinking in their best interests.
scrawled by Deano | October 12, 2008 4:43 AM
Good morning. When you make a world tolerable for yourself, you make a world tolerable for others.
I am from Malawi and know bad English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: "Risk to see, i have four inflammation symptoms, flovent."
With respect :D, Dixon.
scrawled by Dixon | November 20, 2009 6:39 PM