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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
There are plenty of people who are stupid or disconnected from reality under the age of 70. Take George Bush for example. Call it what you want, disoriented, confused, out-of-touch, disconnected. If McCain supporters accuse you of ageism, simply reply you never mentioned his age and further point out that their accusation DOESN'T discount or deny your initial charges and ask them if they then agree with you, if not what is their counterargument?
Cultural-reference humor is rarely a good idea in politics. It usually makes the candidate seem desperate to look cool (or hip or phat or fresh or whatever slang the damn kids use these days).
And using a cultural reference from forty-some years ago? When the candidate is already fighting against ageism? Even if he hadn't blown the setup, it would've been lame.
All of this drivel is about style over substance, Obama has soaring rhetoric while McCain is "disoriented." The obama camp has tried out a number of different words to pin on McCain to be able to plant the insinuation of the feeble old coot who doesn't know what day it is and it is one small shock away from depends and drooling excitedly as the buxom candy striper bends over his food try to help him get the cellophane off his tapioca pudding.
It doesn't fly. The focus is on what they would do if they got into office. Being afforded rock star treatment in Europe or blowing the cutesy lines crafted for you pro bono by some Madison Avenue creative director with time on his hands doesn't matter a damn.
I'm trying to police myself when it comes to John McCain by questioning my own impressions of the man, because it really seems to me he's badly out-of-touch and offering nothing new. When McCain won the Republican nomination I was delighted - he was IMO by far the best of an exceptionally poor Republican field and McCain's nomination guaranteed a better President than Bush. I could not have said that if Giuliani won the ticket. But ever since the election has started in earnest, I've been struck by McCain's lack of charisma, dearth of any new ideas, and willingness to fall back on some of the lamest criticisms of his opponent.
It's possible I'm letting my support for Obama color my impression of the Republican nominee but I'm not so sure. Really, I think I'd been sort of liking "maverick" McCain in the abstract, not so much in close up. Overall I think the guy is just not ready for prime time. Obama is going to destroy this guy in a debate setting and it won't be pretty.
I used to laugh at people who would say "if so-and-so is elected, I'll have to make plans to leave the country." I may not leave, but I'm not laughing anymore.
McCain at one time might have been a fine president (I actually liked him in 2000, especially compared to FratBoy) but now the disconnected, disoriented, tired or maybe just too-plain-old thing is more than bothersome. It would be disastrous.
Think of how vulnerable we would be, again, to the Rovian-types and other assorted thieves that have preyed upon us for years through the manipulation of a frontman who is too stupid, old, or evil himself to even try to stop it. Or even to be aware of it.
These are not idle concerns. This is end-of-empire stuff.
How about letting the readers decide for themselves about what "the last thing the country needs" is? Semi-aware? Please! Try stepping outside the ORDS (Obama Reality Distortion Field) for a while. John McCain is no progressive, but he is certainly no George Bush.
Not to be a fanboy or anything, but Dr. No came out in 1962...hey Gwool, does the McCain camp pay you buy the word?
Can I use the "buxom candy striper" line? Please?
Should have been "Obama Reality Distortion Shield", not field.
"All of this drivel is about style over substance, Obama has soaring rhetoric while McCain is "disoriented.""
I dunno. I get pretty worked up on the "style vs. substance" issue (I'm very much on the substance side - ever noted how "ugly" European politicians are compared to US ones?) BUT McCain really seems barely functional: he can't deliver a speech, can't answer questions, seems in a state of confusion about key points.
If he were working with me on some project, I'd be deeply worried. Were he President, I'd be terrified.
The GOP has historically relied on the president-as-figurehead model of candidacy, where they have this point man who is then fed to the populace and carefully and effectively marketed by their noise machine. The Reagan Model, basically -- it worked very, very well, because Reagan, as an actor, was the perfect reactionary sock puppet. But with George I, an imperfect specimen for that approach, not so good -- didn't have the smoothness for the slick snake oil salesmanship. George II was another solid example of it, although he lacked Reagan's aw shucks affability, was almost too much of a sock puppet to make it work.
Now they're trying it yet again with McCain, but he's just too frayed to make that model work -- it's like you can see the fingers flailing within the sock puppet, and we're all supposed to ignore that and be mesmerized by the puppet's performance, and ignore the gaffes and screwups and just overall lack of any there being there.
It's going to continue to cause McCain all sorts of trouble as the race goes on. Romney would have been a better sock puppet candidate for the GOP, as he's far smoother -- but McCain, no good.
Offering America some bland oatmeal.
Obama is Tony the Tiger, offering America some sugar in a bowl.
Have either of the candidates (or their staff) read this website? http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf40.html. It gives a very complete description of the French experience. They get 75% of their electricity from hydro and nuclear, they have the lowest C02 emissions from energy generation per capita in Europe, and they have the cheapest electricity in Europe. Why aren't we talking about this? What's wrong with this picture? (You know why: France is the bogeyman in US elections -- too bad!)
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
