He picked a suitable running mate then, judging from the experiences of her executive tenure.

Me First, Me Always!

Oh, can we get some press coverage about all the disaffected traditional Republicans who plan to either not vote or vote for Obama?  Family experience says they are out there, they are into traditional values, and they are PISSED about what has happened to their party.  If you know people in places like Oregon or New Hampshire, there seem to be more than a few of them breaking ranks.

That’s the best analysis I’ve seen of John Bush’s run for the White House.  Well put.

It’s not a particularly good argument to take him or his candidacy seriously.

I’m with Mandos from the last thread:  we’ve got to take McCain and Palin very seriously.  And McCain’s argument about himself IS in fact a good argument from “within” the not-liberal mindset:  McCain can be a good father type figure whose authority and gravitas will always win the day.  Yes, the argument is a flat out lie, but it comes straight from the Modernist mindset.  I believe that this campaign can also be seen as a fundamental conflict between Modern and post-Modern, and we need to try to take McCain’s arguments seriously (suspend disbelief for a moment) if we are to refute them successfully.

(Tangent:  At work, we just got halfway through the video workshop thing for the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”.  Our instructor calls Covey “Dr. Covey”—the Dr. is a Doctorate of Religious Education—and “Dr.” Covey sounds a lot like the friendly grandpa trying to help us young-uns out.  His 7 Habits are a Modernist formula for success:  see your life as one giant problem to solve, tackle that problem on a weekly basis, and you too can have speakers at your 80th birthday talking about how you fulfilled your Mission Statement (and to Dr. Covey everyone’s personal Mission Statement reads like a Hallmark card).  This kind of thinking is rewarded very well in both the corporate and Christian church spaces.  It’s no accident that the “7 Habits” corporate training course resembles the “Love and Respect” church marriage workshop.  /tangent)

We’ve been using a lot of post-Modern language around here because we’re pretty used the idea of trusting that other people’s reality will be different from our own, but I very very rarely see that kind of thinking in my non-Pandagon life from white folks (I live in east Texas).  I’d like to see attacks that can’t be reduced to “oh that’s just liberal mud-slinging” that don’t already assume that post-Modern perspective.  My thought:  how could Dr. Phil go after McCain?

You guys are a lot smarter than me with coming up with good analyses and attacks.  I just wanted to throw this out there.

When I saw the picture atop this post, I finally realized what that crypto-fascist “Country First” slogan they’ve been waving around all week was supposed to be about.

It was supposed to be Lieberman instead of Palin.

I know that’s not an earth-shaking revelation, but if you take that picture and sub Lieberman for Palin, you get the two old warriors, the Republican and the (former)(fake) Democrat, bonding together because it’s “Country First.”

Now, it just looks like “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein McCain.”

the best analysis I’ve seen of John Bush’s run for the White House.

My god, Tom Ridge is commenting on Pandagon!

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/213745.php

To a degree, Jesse, this post doesn’t make John McCain seem so bad.  It makes him seem like a guy who wants to be president, but will be perfectly happy to support whatever bill comes across his desk as long as he gets to take credit for it.

The problem is that John McCain really believes that war makes a country great and really believes that we need to lash out violently and irrationally as a solution to foreign policy issues. His track record of statements on Yugoslavia, China, North Korea, and Iraq bear this out.

If his presidency were merely “just about him,” he wouldn’t be much of a danger in office.

EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH THIS creepy promotional video for a workshop at Wasilla Assembly of God (Sarah Palin’s longtime church)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJnhRhJW35o

When you watch this video REMEMBER…this was Sarah Palin’s church for nearly her entire life.

The man with in the leather jacket donning a goatee was Sarah Palin’s pastor from 1999 till 2002.

She continues to have close ties to this church and is involved with workshops there.

Jesse,

I really like your point about John McCain being the primary person calling himself a “maverick.”  That’s a talking-point that I’d like to see pushed in a television campaign ad.

Shorter Jesse Taylor;

“Yet another republican cult of personality.”

———

Seems about right to me.  All hail out great Leader.

“Yet another republican cult of personality”

Seriously?  You can not possibly be pointing at McCain as the one in this election that is running a cult of personality campaign?  Seriously!  With Obama’s whole “It was never about me, it was about you” nonsense that his crying masses eat up.  Please.  The only criers last night were when he told his story of captivity and torture.  Cult of personality.  Ok.

“Yet another republican cult of personality.”

What else is there?  Issues?!?!?  Yeah, right!

The whole presidential election is about creating a cult of personality, or as some might call it: a brand. They’re both trying very, very hard to do it.

Just like they’re both arrogant, elitist, and ambitious - like every other presidential candidate ever. The belief that any president was ever humble or ordinary is the lie.

Seriously?  You can not possibly be pointing at McCain as the one in this election that is running a cult of personality campaign?  Seriously!

That’s why McCain is and has been so pissy towards Obama:  Obama stole McCain’s schtick.  McCain was going to run on Being a Maverick, and then some young whippersnapper comes along and starts stealing all of the media attention away from McCain, who feels he should be the center of attention.  After all, which one of them hosted “Saturday Night Live”?

If you’ve ever seen All About Eve, think of McCain as Margo Channing and Obama as Eve Harrington.  You can only be an ingenue for so long before the next hot young thing comes along and steals your thunder.

I have to agree with db. This post is dead-on Jesse.

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but I kind of, sort of, agree with Dr. T, or maybe more with Sambobo. Yes, there are substantial and numerous policy differences between the two candidates. But both emerged from crowded fields based primarily on the personal qualities their supporters saw in the them.

When you describe McCain’s pitch as “John McCain isn’t the right man for this moment in history, this is the right moment in history for John McCain,” I’m afraid I’m 1) not seeing the distinction and 2) not sure how the same thing couldn’t be said about Obama.

It seems to me that most of his supporters (and I’m one of them) liked him above the other Democratic candidates not because of specifics of his health care plan vs. Clinton’s or something like that. It’s because we felt he brought something to the table that has been missing in politics and government, something that is sorely needed, and it’s mostly intangibles of how he thinks about problems, his personality, his judgement, etc. And I just cross my fingers and everything else that if elected, he proves to be just occasionally disappointing and not completely ineffective. Because as much as I am excited to vote for him, it is a gamble.

Actually, the right moment in history for John McCain was 2000, and that’s probably his biggest stumbling block: his “moment” was 8 years ago, and he can’t recapture the mojo and popular appeal he had back then.

For that matter, I doubt that Obama would have been able to make a credible run for the presidency in 2016, had he been defeated by Hillary Clinton… not because there would be anything wrong with Obama in 2016, but rather because public sentiment would have shifted by then and it would be the “right moment in history” for other politicians.

Not germane to this thread, but very, very funny:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-QevraCQUc

—g

Seeing Republicans knock Democrats for their alleged Godlike worship of Obama is going to get so much funnier after this convention. It was a non-stop exaltation of John McCain, a man too good to be President, a man we don’t deserve as President, but who has kindly decided to step up and save us from ourselves. I’m surprised they couldn’t find a golden calf to melt down and remake into a statue of McCain and Reagan french kissing.

It would have been nice for them to spend one iota of time on stuff the wanted to actually do when elected, but then again, we had to cram in that 1200th reference to McCain being a POW and that he loved America. Cue up the Living Colour.

http://thesebastards.blogspot.com/

McCain can be a good father type figure whose authority and gravitas will always win the day.

McCain has gravitas?  Dear God, no.  His voice needs to go a couple of octaves deeper and he needs to stop smiling like a jackass—switching to a closed mouth smile would be a good start.

This reminds me of people who say Cheney seems grandfatherly.  What???  Sure, he seems like someone inclined to offer children candy, as he’s leaning out of his car.

I understand that this has become sorta schtick for me, but..
Alzheimer’s victims do tend to thin out some just before it really settles in.
Look at his face.
[I understand ...it’s been a tough campaign…all those lies, alla time].
Still….
P.S. I wouldn’t wish that Alzheimer’s thing on,
say - even the Dark Lord, hisself.  Really!

McCain kept talking about bipartisanship and coming together to solve problems.  I’d like to know what issues he would moderate his views on in order to work with Democrats and get legislation passed.  Really.  He’s so big on working together, where does he think he can compromise? 

I imagine this is all bullshit, despite his man-love for Lieberman, but if this is the image he’s projecting, he should be forced to back it up with concrete examples.

[...] he’s “been called a maverick”.  Yes, he has.  By himself.[...]

Yes, it appears the word maverick can now join the word satire on the list of terms that have been so cruelly bastardized by the MSM and politicians.

Adultery, teenage pregnancy, divorcing and discarding your first family like they don’t matter: The Party Of “Family Values”.

Don’t forget texting Pages, connections to madams and prostitutes, and men’s-bathroom shenanigans.

“McCain kept talking about bipartisanship and coming together to solve problems. “

And Obama is potrayed as a uniter.  Please answer the question posed above of McCain - What position is Obama going to compromise on to work with the Republicans?

What position is Obama going to compromise on to work with the Republicans?

Telecom immunity.  Next?

Less than 24 hrs after the McCain speech he has closed the gap on Obama.  According to which poll you go by, Obama and McCain are either tied or 1-2 up or down from each other.  With only 8 weeks till election day this is not a good sign for Obama.

On the lighter side.  Apparently Opra said she didn’t want to have Palin on her show, this has some Reps mad as hell.  I say so what!  She’s an Obama supporter and it’s “HER” show.  She can have whom ever, or not, she wants to have on.

On the pointless side.  Apprx 24,000,000 watched Biden, 38,000,000 watched Obama, 37,000,000 watched Palin, and 40,000,000 watched McCain.  Also from the pointless side, apparently Palin is more popular than either Obama or McCain.

According to which poll you go by, Obama and McCain are either tied or 1-2 up or down from each other.

Not actually true. Polls either have Obama ahead or tied.

It’s post labor day. Obama is ahead in the polls. The electoral landscape and narrative are now pretty much fixed in a way that favors the Democrat. McCain has a really big uphill battle.

On the pointless side.  Apprx 24,000,000 watched Biden, 38,000,000 watched Obama, 37,000,000 watched Palin, and 40,000,000 watched McCain.  Also from the pointless side, apparently Palin is more popular than either Obama or McCain.

The final numbers ended up a lot closer between Obama and McCain:  38.9 million for McCain and 38.38 for Obama.

I also wouldn’t be surprised if the People and US magazines with Palin on the cover sell very well.  After all, she’s a celebrity now, just like Halle Berry.

And I would guess that Obama inches ahead when you consider the people who watched Obama’s speech on PBS or CSpan to avoid the horrid commentary from the big three and big cable news. 

Not to mention those who saw it via the web. 

One conclusion I’ve started to come to is that most folks who lean conservative tend to still go to network television for most of their media needs, with occasional backup through CNN, MSNBC, and the dreaded Fox.

Tyro,
Thanks for the polls correction, the numbers are still very close though.  Seems to me Obama is on the defensive right now and it’s pretty much anyones race, but Reps are just off their convention and that’s to be expected.  The way this election cycle is going it’s should be interesting from here on out.

The Opoponax,
I think most people no matter which way they lean still get the bulk of their news from cable media, although, it would still be interesting to see the numbers from other media.  I don’t really think it means to much either way though, just my opinion.

I think if both sides can keep away from the blog rumors (and others) it will be a good race.  Politics is almost a sport in America.  Both sides love the back and forth and sometimes we all get caught up in the rumors.  It doesn’t really take much on our part to find the truth.  Not to say I won’t takes pokes at you (Obama supporters) but I also expect the same in return.  That’s why I’m a Panda troll, kinda boring when everyone else agrees with you, I know that won’t happen here. 

Thanks and Good Luck

Jason, if you go back and read what I wrote, you’ll see that I didn’t say that most conservatives go to cable news for most of their news, but that most conservatives go to network television and cable news for most of their media needs, period (well, aside from maybe a subscription to Reader’s Digest or People).  For instance people like my mother, who is happy to glean political viewpoints from the Today Show.  I guess I can’t speak for all liberals everywhere, but, well, I consider myself a pretty typical liberal, and I don’t do that sort of thing.  At the very least I like to be aware of who that talking head is and whether/why they’re qualified to spout off on a certain topic. 

Seriously, though, to go back to the numbers of viewers for each speech—skip back a week or so and see how many of us fessed up to getting our convention coverage outside the big three networks and cable news.  The difference Mnemosyne quoted is only a few thousand viewers, which is easily made up by folks who watched the speech outside their sample media.

The Opoponax,

I couldn’t handle all the commentary from either convention.  I don’t like the media telling me what I heard or didn’t hear so I watched the speeches on CSPAN. 

Yep, left out the network television part of your comment didn’t I.  I got your point though. I think most people take the easy route when it comes to political coverage despite their leaning.