Is it just me, or does the McCain campaign remind you of those Apple Computer ads? Especially the recent ones where “PC” goes to increasingly extreme lengths to, first, convince users he’s as good as Mac, and then bully them into using him. I mean, McCain kind of looks like “PC” in the ad, and his now ubiquitous flip-flopping and deceptive low-brow ads make him look desperate. As I’ve said here before, the Republicans seem to understand how gullible and uninformed the average American is, while the Democrats tend to be pretty much what McCain is calling them: egghead liberals who can’t believe Karl Rove keeps beating them like a drum. But the Rove-ites know people are stupid and will believe whatever they see on TV. So McCain’s genteel, thoughtful campaign, which began with the reasonable anti-Bush spot, “War.” Has devolved into a National Enquirer-style mud wrestle, culminating with this bizarre and desperate grab at Hillaryites and the right wing in his selection of Sarah Palin as running-mate. “Look! We have a woman, too! Hillary voters: The Black Kid screwed you! C’mon over and make history!”
With this selection, McCain has cashed in his biggest weapon against Obama—his ongoing whining about Obama’s lack of experience and unreadiness to command. In terms of experience, Sarah Palin makes Barack Obama look like Jesse Helms. I am told she’s a tough cookie, a hard-right conservative, but she doesn’t bring ballast to McCain’s ticket so much as it makes him look desperate and pandering. And her beauty pageant good looks only makes McCain look even more feeble and doddering than he already does. It’s a terrible image, this young, tall woman towering over the white-haired McCain, almost as bad as the image of Palin taking the presidential oath of office should something happen to McCain. I mean it, I’m terrified of this woman, this nut, becoming my president. Palin is a walking registration drive for Obama voters: if you didn’t have a reason to vote Obama, McCain just gave you one.
The one thing that gives me comfort, the one thing that keeps me from just moving to Canada, is her voice. Palin has a tinny, nasal, Bimbo Voice. Now, I doubt she’s a bimbo, as she seems to have a reasonable record—such as it is—as mayor of shantytown, Alaska, but she sure *sounds* like a bimbo. In the Rove lexicon, her sounding like a bimbo is just as good as her actually being a bimbo. She looks great, but every time this woman opens her mouth, she sounds like the over-anxious Century 21 agent trying to get you to sign the lease. She has the most un-presidential voice in American history, and she comes with laughable credentials. I’ve watched hours of news coverage of Palin with, to the person, news anchors struggling to find words and trying to keep a straight face. This seems an utterly bizarre move on McCain’s part. So bizarre, in fact, that the Obama campaign apparently slapped themselves down; after first issuing a biting rebuke of the candidate, somebody in the camp realized they may be being rope-a-doped by McCain. At the very least, Obama should just be polite and let the news media’s amusing awkwardness, their teetering struggle to remain objective, underscore the bizarreness of the choice and attendant questioning of McCain’s judgment speak for them. Obama can take the high road while the late-night comics and Olbermann do the job for him.
Lastly, Palin standing onstage with the loquacious Joe Biden will be a sight to see as well. Joe's biggest problem is Palin has the same advantage George W. Bush had against Kerry: nobody expects her to do well. So, if she can walk across the stage without tripping, that’s a win for her. That’s how Kerry lost in 2004: Bush knew how to play the lowered expectations game. Hopefully Biden is a West Wing fan and saw the debate episode where Martin Sheen chopped up James Brolin, a Bush-esque challenger, into mincemeat, literally calling him stupid on an hot mic. My instinct tells me the Obama camp is going to kid-gloves this woman, which may be the McCain strategy, the lowered expectations game. But Biden needs to Dan Quayle this woman, “I know Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is my friend. Governor: you’re no Hillary Clinton.” Biden *must* be somewhere, rocking back and forth in a chair, waiting to drop that line on her.
Anybody have ANY idea, any at all, what McCain’s strategy is, here?
The woman is a walking Saturday Night Live sketch. A Hillary parody. Hillaryites are hurting and bitter: McCain’s shameless pandering likely comes across as offensive, insinuating Hillary voters are so uninformed and shallow that they’d vote for any woman—no matter how unqualified for office she may be.
11 Comments
I’m sorry but on Palin you, like many on the left, have the problem of tunnel vision. You watch TV from very liberal reporters, read liberal blogs and in your own little world it seems like she’s a horrible choice.
I’d suggest you check out any hour of Dennis Prager’s (a right winger) show on Friday (http://dennisprager.townhall.com/talkradio/Show.aspx?RadioShowID=3). What you’ll find is right wing voters ecstatic. Prager himself said he had to fight back tears at one point. This pick has energized the right as much as Obama has energized the left which is bad considering McCain had already pulled to a tie.
Second, from my own perspective as a moderate, I’m impressed. First, liberals seem to think this negates the experience issue but the reality is Ms. Palin still has more experience than Obama does. She was a mayor and then a Governor which means she actually has executive experience. Obama’s never run anything.
And No, it doesn’t really matter to me that the town or the state was small. She’s actually RUN something and that impresses me.
More impressive though is her history against corruption. A big deal is going to be the so-called “bridge to no-where”. That was a big story in its day and the fact that she as the Governor declined the money to build it is a really big deal to me. What ISN’T a big deal to me is all the stuff liberals think would be. Honestly, I don’t give a s**t if schools give a shout out to creationism. It’s valid from an anthological stance and teachers are obviously going to point out the flaws in that theory so I don’t see the harm. As far as abortion, she’s against it but her actual position is that it’s a state issue and I agree with that.
Finally, another advantage is that she’s causing the left to all but destroy themselves attacking her. I have never, never in my entire life seen anything as despicable as this story attacking her 17 year old daughter. They’re accusing the daughter of actually being the mother of Ms. Palin’s child based on a 2 year old photo where she has a little big of a stomach (“which they are claiming is “a baby bump”).
In the end, I don’t see a downside for McCain on this. She seems to impress a lot of people and the attacks on her (her looks and her inexperience) are drawing attention to Obama’s weaknesses. In fact, Obama’s a pretty good looking guy in his own right which makes the attacks on her appearance look misogynistic which is a huge win.
Remember, McCain doesn’t need to win Clinton voters over he just needs them to stay home.
scrawled by Tom | September 1, 2008 9:07 AM
McCain's strategy is exactly what it seems; to take the "making history" imprimatur away from Obama. I honestly have to lay odds on the McCain ticket at this point; the American public is much more comfortable with a woman in the number 2 spot than a black man in the number 1 spot. As for what that means for the future; what's the old saying? In a democracy, people get the government they deserve, not necessarily the government they need...
scrawled by Matt Adler | September 1, 2008 9:49 AM
I'm not too impressed by Palin's judgement regarding the appropriateness of lengthy travel post-breaking-water, and the general comedy of errors that seems to surround her infant son's birth (assuming that it IS hers, and not her daughter's, although her daughter's newly-revealed teen pregnancy makes the math on Trig being the daughter's a bit dicey).
And, of course, Palin is a creationist, card-carrying NRA member who sued the government to get the polar bear off the endangered list so more drilling could be done. Just her vitae is like a parody of right wing nut.
scrawled by David Van Domelen | September 1, 2008 6:44 PM
Tom: "Remember, McCain doesn’t need to win Clinton voters over he just needs them to stay home."
I can understand Clinton's supporters being angry at being held hostage by Roe -- I don't like being taken for granted either and am still pretty pissed at Obama for his FISA vote -- but the truth is I'll vote for him and they'll vote for him. The women who voted for Hillary Clinton do not want to see McCain or Palin picking the next several Supreme Court Justices.
That and what Priest said about how cynical this is on McCain's part -- frankly I think he's treating Clinton's supporters like they're stupid, like they'll vote for any woman regardless of policy. My favorite comment I've seen (via someguywithawebsite.com ) is that McCain is seeking to woo working-class women who are upset that their candidate was passed over for the job they think she deserved -- by giving it to a younger, prettier, far less qualified woman. Not a good message.
Still, it's too early to see which narrative will win out. Obama's polling ahead for now, but that's to be expected; Palin may have taken Friday's headlines away from his speech, but she's not enough to offset a convention bump. If he's still polling ahead by this time next week, though -- well, it's not over until it's over, but I'd say that's bad news for McCain.
scrawled by Thad | September 1, 2008 9:16 PM
Matt: "imprimatur"
(rubs hands together evilly)
[Simpsons voice] Exxxxcellent... [/Simpsons voice]
Man, love me them big words.
Tom: I've never considered myself a liberal, unless you mean "Person Who Can Read." What irritates me about the Obama-experience argument is that Hillary and MacinBush seem to think experience only begins in Washington. They keep omitting *decades* of real-world experience, boots-on-the-ground experience.
*shrug* Guess that doesn't count.
I am frankly aghast at the right's jubilation over this woman. Honestly, I just hate living in a country that celebrates (and defends) mediocrity.
Oh, and FTR, I used to be a HUGE McCain fan. I don't know who THIS guy is.
scrawled by priest | September 1, 2008 9:18 PM
actually has executive experience. Obama’s never run anything.
False issue, and not even true. Anyone in the legislative branch gets executive experience. If you get a job as a accountant in a gun factory you're bound to learn about making rifles. And the executive and legislative branches don't even have that much separation between them.
On top of that you realize Obama was on the board of directors of a College as well as executing his own presidential campaign?
Palin's executive experience in and of itself is unimpressive, Alaska as a state is smaller than Dallas as a city.
scrawled by Blaine | September 1, 2008 10:30 PM
"Matt: "imprimatur"
(rubs hands together evilly)
[Simpsons voice] Exxxxcellent... [/Simpsons voice]
Man, love me them big words."
I am particularly proud that I got it without spellcheck ;)
scrawled by Matt Adler | September 2, 2008 5:27 PM
McCain's whole point in choosing Palin is that she's a redmeat Republican. She's as far right as possible, and that shores up a demo that McCain was lacking deep support in. The problem is he undercuts perhaps the base he had the firmest grip on, and that's the independents. They, and by them I mean people like me, see this as him bowing down to the far right rather than being a man who stands on his own.
scrawled by Trav | September 3, 2008 8:54 AM
It's beyond lame that things have devolved to the point of feelings and surface arguments. I'd love to believe the citizens of this country can see past slingbull, but McCain is in win-by-any-means desperation mode and just might win with the sillyness. McCain is very different from the 1999 version, this experience argument is a smokescreen. Many of the Presidents didnt have much in the way of experience, they made up for that with confidants, vision, heart, and direction. McCain is not going to electromagiccaly change one in office, Bush proved that, so did others. The Dems are playing safe, I too want them to step it up and go all out.
scrawled by circ | September 3, 2008 10:10 AM
so, let's deal with Tom's points...
We'll start with the "against corruption part".
She's currently under investigation by her own legislature for 2 different corruption/abuse of power cases. She was less blatantly corrupt than the guy in the office before her. That's all.
Experience: By Tom's logic, she has more executive experience than McCain. (Tom will be here in a few minutes to shout that McCain was a POW and that gives him executive experience). Pointing to being a mayor of a small town that my high school was bigger than, or her less than 2 years of Governor of a state with fewer people than most cities is really making a mountain out of a molehill. But I'm sure Tom is also a believer that because Alaska is near Russia, Palin is an expert in international affairs.
Earmarks: As mayor, she hired a lobbiest to go to DC to lobby for earmarks. She was a proponent who pushed for Steven's "Bridge to Nowhere" and only vetoed it after it became a national embarrassment. But don't worry...she's kept the money given...it's going to build ANOTHER bridge that no one but her wants to service a handful of people...the town she was once mayor of.
I'd go on, but I'm still catching up with Priest's blog, and I'm sure Tom will be in other threads.
Oh, anyone notice that she's a maverick for going against the corrupt Republican governor? So being against corruption is maverick behavior for a Republican?
scrawled by Scavenger | September 5, 2008 12:45 AM
Yes. For a desparate Elephant and a stoopid audience...
scrawled by circ | September 5, 2008 8:51 AM