Governor, please, wipe that fake smile off your face and act vice presidential fer cryin out loud. As for Senator Maverick: Your ego’s writing checks your campaign can’t cash.*I’m skipping a specific breakdown on McCain’s pick like the one I did with Obama’s in order to look at the bigger picture here. Besides, there’s no shortage of posts delving into her qualifications, (or that of her husband for that matter). As Tom Messner pointed out previously, VP choices haven’t necessarily been make or break propositions for campaigns historically. (Yes, in this case, McCain’s bouts with cancer and Palin’s younger age make it seem like it might be a bigger deal than it otherwise would be, but then again, I might also hit Powerball tomorrow night.)
Having watched this whole mess now for the past year or so, this nomination by McCain shows that for all the talk by both sides of ‘Hope’ and ‘mavericks,’ of not following the same old Washington type of politics—both candidates are giving us more of the same.
The overblown conventions. The mudslinging TV spots. Party before country. Character assassination rather than actually explaining what your character is. The shameless courting of
I want the best candidate running the country—period. MIT grad? Average Joe with street smarts? Doesn’t matter. This notion too that because you’re educated like Obama that you’re somehow out of touch with the ‘real’ America is, well, lol funny!
Really though, aren’t all politicians out of touch with the people? I don’t live in a governor’s ‘mansion’ or estate—I live in a house. You? When special interest groups start supporting your campaign with $1,000 a plate dinners, can you really say you understand what a laid off auto worker is going through?
Sure, you may have suffered growing up, or watched your parents suffer, but really, how’s life now? I’m guessing it’s been pretty good since. People who become accustomed to a certain lifestyle generally don’t go back to the way things were by choice, especially if they came up the hard way.
It works if you’re Rocky trying to get the eye of the tiger back living in some dive. Politicians? Not so much. (McCain may ‘hate’ the press, but I bet Cindy’s gonna go through some serious paparazzi withdrawl after the election is over.)
As for the earlier campaign rhetoric, will Obama tear down those walls if he’s elected and really do something about campaign finance reform? Not likely. Not after picking a Washington insider who’ll roll up his sleeves and “Fight for
Will McCain rage against the machine and REALLY do anything about our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, let alone oil in general? Count on it: Palin’s nomination just lased ANWR. Lock and load, we’ve got oil supplies to get at. Enjoy that gorgeous mountain view because that will soon be a thing of the past.
Wouldn’t a ‘maverick’ put party aside though and go after Hillary as their choice? I know in the Biden rant I said that ideally a VP choice shouldn’t be someone people have never heard of, nor should it be someone who might eclipse the headlining act,** but she does have a ton of experience and built-in demo that would make that ticket a formidable one.
‘Hope’ and a new way of doing things would’ve come out last Monday night and thrown away the script, taking those bloated four days and instead, having a frank, open Town Hall type discussion about the issues and lies said about him—and taking advantage of all that free tv time.
Something he needs to do because it seems it’s not Alaskan hunters who’ll ultimately vote McCain in—it’s the demo afraid of “the black guy from Chicago with the Muslim name.” The same demo that talk radio will no doubt scare further if they haven’t already.
Instead of Hope, we got four days of Democratic candidates still trying to sell America on their credentials. Pathetic. Not the GOP though. Hafta give them credit: both sides spout the talking points whenever they can, sure, but the Republican rank and file toe the line when it’s game time. I can see it right now. Come Monday in St. Paul: Unity right from the start with everyone on stage, McCain and Palin leading the way as Lee Greenwood plays on stage behind them.
It’s what I’d do—if I was running.
*C’mon. Doesn’t that sound like it wants to be a great line?
**Van Halen TOTALLY blew Sabbath off the stage when they opened for them back in ’78.
Tags: McCain, Palin
9 comments:
Ya know, I was talking about consequential VP picks. I seemed to dwell on the positive. Perhaps there have been negative picks, that hurt candidates. Eagleton, by McGovern for example, altho that hardly killed his already dead chances.
Peter Hart, Democrat pollster, said yesterday that people laughed at Agnew and Quayle, but they won.
Perhaps Bush I shoulda dumped Quayle for the second run.
Perhaps, too, if Ford hadn't dumped Nelson Rockefeller in 1976, he coulda got re-elected. And Nelson woulda lived a little longer.
By the way, Palin was very impressive on CNBC yesterday in a long interview with Maria Bartiromo.
This strikes me as McCain's "Hail Mary" pass. The last ditch effort, when there's nothing else to lose. Revel or ruin rides on the outcome. Doug Flutie in 1984 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ykWbu2Gl0 It's a great strategy with six seconds left on the clock. But such a desperate move at the beginning of the game? The Republican Convention hasn't even started! It suggests they either knew the game was over before it began, or they really don't have a clue. Maybe a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B. Either way, it's not a good thing for the Republicans.
Also, consider the timing. Would you roll out a product on the Friday before the Labor Day weekend? Aside from political junkies, how many people are paying attention? Why not wait a until the convention, when you're looking for something to compete for the airtime that will be sucked up by the compelling story of a hurricane hitting New Orleans? It would have been a great distraction from the inevitable image of McCain partying with bush the last time New Orleans was ignored. By the time the convention rolls around, Palin will be old news, Gustav will be the new thing, and that's where the media attention will be. The timing is as bad as the choice.
@Tm-I’ve seen a little of her on shows, but have to admit the TV station probe on her influencing case doesn’t put her in the best possible light. Especially when one clip in it has a guy on tape doing what she said he never did.
I’m sure it’s something they vetted the hell out of and weighed the potential fallout of, but I’m guessing it could come back to bite her.
(It was under the radar until McCain made her name official yesterday. Now it has 20,000+ views in one day when it had only 800 or so over two weeks. Curious to see where it goes from there.)
Two sides to every story and all, but when I see stuff like this, coupled with the squeaky clean/high school sweethearts/mom of five image put out by her people, well, here we go again with the lies and disconnects.
If I had to venture a real ‘maverick’ kind of guess, I think this becomes a bigger issue and she ‘lets’ the hoopla spiral further, then takes one for the team and withdrawls.
McCain comes off looking good because, hey, his first choice was a women, right? (Wink, wink.) Then he can now pick the next coming of Reagan in the form of Romney who he probably wanted all along.
@pbb—It could well be. Offensive linemen hated the Little QB That Could because his maverick way of scrambling around back there compromised their blocking schemes—they never knew where he was going to run. Hard to block for someone like that.
Just ask Tracy.
Actually, I just saw a report on MSNBC re: Palin and corruption.
She, according to the reporter, ran against her own party and won, threw the rascals out, argued against the bridge to nowhere, and sold the governor's pompous corporate jet on e-bay.
Maybe that was the kind few seconds before OBC (Olbermann Broadcasting Company) launches attacks full time.
Plus who watches news on Labor Day weekend?
Unfortunately, it’s either watch the news or Jerry.
I see your bridge to nowhere and raise you an angry town with a sports complex.
I see your sports complex, and raise you a fictional biography.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/2008/08/palindaughter-pregnancy-coveru.php
Note, I don't want to seem like I give that much cred, but that all so much shit is spinning out of this story so quickly, with no apparent ready response by the campaign suggests she was poorly vetted. And some of this shit--true or not--is bound to stick. Starting off in damage control mode is clearly not a good place to be.
“I see your sports complex, and raise you a fictional biography.”
THIS SON OF BITCH! ALL NITE , HE. CHECK! CHECK! CHECK! HE TRICKED ME. NYET! Pay dat man hizz money.
He beat me fair and square.
FUNNY each of the candidates has a scandal...maybe that is the sine qua non of being one,....
biden: plagiarism (this is the most benign of scandals...i mean he shoulda gone into adevrtising, he'd done right well)
obama: housing deals with slumlords
mccain: the phoenician-keating five
palin: firing a trooper who tazered his son and allegedly threatened the life of her father in-law.....
if only we could get back to the days when corruption involved a chief of staff getting a vicuna coat (eisenhower for those too young to remember Midcentury...)
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