In a Nutshell
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Labels: politics
posted by Edward_ at
9:33 AM
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
About Me
- Name: Edward_
- Location: New York, New York, United States
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Previous Posts
- Everything in New Orleans Is a Good Idea
- Bill Burton is a God
- The Chadwicks in "Time Out"
- Established Prices Never Die, They Are Just Discou...
- The Unbearable Anxiety of Waiting
- Priorities
- Greatness Takes a Village : Open Thread
- Opening Up the Sophistication Speakeasy
- Quick Links Monday and A Modest Proposal : Open Th...
- The Only Reason This Race is Even Close
Advice for Artists Seeking Gallery Representation
Available now:
How to Start and Run A Commercial Art Gallery
Published by Allworth Press
Current Favorite Quote:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride" ---Fake Chinese Doctor.
In the Gallery
Yevgeniy Fiks
Homosexuality Is Stalin's Atom Bomb to Destroy America
Winkleman Gallery
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10 Comments:
You know, we want our politicians to be honest and to admit mistakes and weaknesses. And then when one does, someone goes and makes an ad like this.
We really ought to make up our minds.
I have no issue with McCain admitting his weaknesses. I think he was right to do that.
The ad doesn't slam him for that.
The ad slams him for not admitting that picking Palin was a mistake.
We have made up our minds. We want politicians who admit their weaknesses (Obama's choosing Biden was a good example of that) AND who admit their mistakes.
It's not really clear that it was a mistake, though--at least, not as seen from an outside perspective and without knowing what his intention was and what the end result will be. If he was just trying to make sure that conservatives actually voted for him, it's looking like a success.
He needed to do something to get them--I don't know if you realize this, but conservatives really hate McCain. They've been calling him a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only) since at least his attempt at the nomination eight years ago. The current vile conservative nonsense about how Obama isn't really an American was preceeded by the same kind of nonsense from the same people directed at McCain before he got the nomination. Without doing something to appeal to them, he had to worry about conservatives just staying home (or voting for Chuck Baldwin).
I don't know if McCain thought that Palin would help him with undecided voters or not. In the end it looks like it won't, but I can see how it could have gone the other way. He really botched her introduction, but even so it led to a whole bunch of oh-so-tolerant-and-diverse liberals to display some really vile and disgusting bigotry. I'll bet Obama was pretty unhappy with his supporters over that, as he had been doing a pretty good job of running a relatively low hate campaign. At that point McCain had lots of hate in his campaign, but it was still directed at foreigners (who Americans don't really care about anyway). And of course as he's gotten desperate his supporters have done the same thing.
As for the Democratic voters--well, it never mattered who he nominated where they were concerned. I mean, honestly, how many Democrats would have voted for any Republican, no matter who it was? Would you?
Personally, as an outsider, I was never going to vote for McCain no matter who his VP pick was, but there was a brief period when I was favorably inclined towards Palin. It lasted from the beginning of the attacks on who she was up until she started talking about her policy views. And Obama lost any chance of my support way back when he sold out Reverend Wright.
It's not really clear that it was a mistake, though
I think it's pretty clear to McCain. His campaign is coming apart at the seams if any of the chatter is correct, and Palin seems to be separating herself in preparation for her next move, at McCain's expense.
Did anybody else hear that the Palin pick was a McCain compromise with Karl Rove?
Rove has given up on this election and is grooming the winking bimbo for next time. That's a scary thought.
As for McCain's economic laxative, his choices for economic advisors are incomprehensible and it is a real issue at the moment.
McCain has nothing to offer, no reason to vote for him...only (false, imo) reasons to be afraid of his opponent.
No vision for the future...no vision even for the present. Just fear and negativity. Nothing more.
What a pathetic old man.
My point is this: The obvious mistake isn't that McCain chose Palin. The obvious mistake is that he said he didn't know anything about economics. That's what makes the attack ad effective. (If it is effective -- I'm not sure anyone planning to vote for McCain at this point can be swayed by reason, or at least not this kind of reasoning.)
I understand that a Democrat/liberal/normal human would conclude that, to be consistent, McCain should've picked someone else. But a wily politico wouldn't get that, because a wily politico wants to choose Palin (or someone like her) for all kinds of reasons. So the takeaway point of an ad like this is "Never admit weakness because someone down the road will use it against you."
I'd rather no one thought that way, but here's Obama encouraging them to do so with this ad. I don't like that. (Won't change my vote -- not that my vote matters anyhow, since I'm in New Jersey, and the last time New Jersey's delegates went to a non-Democrat I think we were voting for the British king.)
And there will be a President Obama when I return from China! No really I'm in China - not a slow boat to thingy
Many locals wonder if I can vote for a black man for president, I guess it's as strange a concept as me walking around town or on the train here. I proudly say oh, fuck yeah! Bring him on baby!!!
Looking for art in Beijing today! Trip pics on flickr.
Ken Hagler's comment on Obama selling out rev. Wright is valid for discussion. At the time he (Obama) said something like "you know I just want to go to church on sunday, leave something in the donation box, and go home". On the plus side, the rev. Wright thing was the occasion for one of the most frank public speeches on race that we've heard on a national stage.
The momentum for Obama in these final days is incredible, the early voter turnout is huge which favors Obama.
Obama will win 58% of the popular vote
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