I heard an interesting argument today. There was some general discussion about the ethical implications of the recent slew of aggressive advertising by both candidates. Particular emphasis was placed on an ad run by the Obama campaign that attacked John McCain’s inability to use a computer. Apparently the ad can be interpreted as low, as shameful. My question is why?
Why shouldn’t it give the population pause that a man vying to be their leader can’t by his own admission send an email? The complaint is that the technological ineptitude is due largely in part to McCain’s injuries sustained as a POW. The argument is of course complete bullshit, and is frankly shameful itself as McCain or at least his surrogates are using his status as a POW to shield him from criticism, in much the same way Rudy Giuliani deflected questions by touting September 11th.
And if in the off chance McCain is really so physically impaired that he can’t move his fingers up and down a keypad, he has no business running for high office.
Politics has become an act in precision. With news organizations and citizen reporters watching (and recording) every public appearance, all it takes is a wrong word—macaca, say—to sink a campaign.
And yet the McCain campaign has seemed to drop all notions of caution in the last few days following the announcement of Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate. Obama is hitting the GOP nominees hard on what can only be described as lies from the mouths of McCain, Palin, and their surrogates.
Chances are, if you didn’t see Sarah Palin’s factually-challenged and overly abrasive speech last night at the Republican National Convention, you saw a headline that read something like “Palin Rallies the Base and Energizes the Party.”
Well, the always important fundraising numbers are in, and the money indicates that Palin did in fact rally the party to action. Problem is, she rallied the wrong party.
The jury’s still out on the decision to select Palin as McCain’s VP. But one thing most people have agreed on: John McCain is taking a risk picking a first-term governor with no national recognition and even less exposure to the national spotlight.
ABC:
“Sarah Palin: A High Risk/Reward Pick for McCain”
CNN:
“John McCain’s brilliant but risky “Hail Mary pass” choice for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah ‘Barracuda’ Palin, has the political world saying first: Who? And then: Why?”
NBC:
“She represents the most audacious gamble in McCain’s career and a gamble with the fortunes of the Republican Party.”
So it was a surprise to see this snapshot at talkingpointsmemo.com from Palin’s speech today.
Do you remember as a child when you covered your eyes with yours hands and you thought nobody else could see you? I learned the sad truth at around age four that in fact it was just me who couldn’t see anyone else.
Perhaps it is time someone told John McCain and the rest of the Republican Party.
Who says the Democrats are the only ones who enjoy the support of Hollywood?
To combat the nonstop coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, John McCain has announced (in an event ignored by every network except Fox News) he had received the endorsement of a prominent entertainer who shares many of the same ideals as McCain. I speak of course about reggaeton star Daddy Yankee.
The McCain campaign wasted no time launching an attack ad on Barack Obama and Joe Biden following Obama’s announcement of his running mate, using Biden’s own criticism of Obama from a primary debate from half a year ago against their campaign.
It really wasn’t a surprise. If Obama had chosen any of the former presidential candidates, McCain could have easily found snippets of criticism directed towards Obama.
I know that this blog is for supporters of Barack Obama at Stony Brook University, but here at the SB4BO blog, we calls ‘em like we sees ‘em. And because of that, we have to report that Sen. Barack Obama lied on the campaign trail this morning.
You see, Barack Obama claimed that John McCain is the embarrassed owner of seven houses across the country, when in reality he owns at least 10.
