Top McCain Campaign Manager: "This election is not about the issues"
When your candidate is one the wrong side of nearly every issue, you better hope the election comes down to personalities.
WaPo:
Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain's presidential bid, insisted that the presidential race will be decided more over personalities than issues during an interview with Post editors this morning.
"This election is not about issues," said Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."
Davis added that issues will no doubt play a major role in the decisions undecided voters will make but that they won't ultimately be conclusive. He added that the campaign has "ultimate faith" in the idea that the more voters get to know McCain and Barack Obama, the better the Republican nominee will do.
Unsurprisingly, our own Jon Perr predicted this back in May.
Scorned on Issues, GOP Tries to Manufacture 'Character Gap":
A flood of recent polls suggests the 2008 election will once again display
the "Iron Law" of 21st century Republican presidential politics. That is,
with Americans showing an overwhelming preference for Democratic positions across virtually the entire spectrum of issues, the GOP has to make the race about something else. This year as in 2000 and 2004, the Republicans will try to turn the race into a presidential personality contest. And to win it, they need to manufacture a "character gap" between John McCain and Barack Obama.
The Obama camp unloads on Davis:
"We appreciate Senator McCain's campaign manager finally admitting that his campaign is not in fact about the issues the American people care about, which is exactly the kind of cynical old politics people are ready to change."
Yeah, if I were McCain's campaign manager, I'd try to stay away from the issues too!
what I mean is... McCain blows!
Nice Try!
No Shit......
big time lobbyist
The corporate media has it's marching orders now, don't they?
George Lakoff has an excellent essay at Huffington Post that unpacks this.
They wanna talk character? About "Songbird?" Forrestal? Keating Five? Yeah, let's go there!
God I hope he's wrong...I thought even the dumb-shits learned their lesson from 2004, or maybe they don't realize they lost their houses due to Republican business practices.
Well, the GOP will really have to do some creative writing on this one. Here's Obama, cool under pressure, vs. Sen. Hair-Trigger Temper. Sen. Obama, married to his one and only intelligent and hardworking wife and mother, vs. McCain, who cheated on his first wife, dumped her after an accident, and took up with a younger and prettier woman he was on record as calling the C word. Plus, Sen. McSame decided to sell his soul to the GOP devil and embrace the man whose 2000 campaign attempted to cast aspersionis on his adopted daughter. Now, who has the better character?
And then there are the issues of the past eight years, including that war McSame wants to wage for another 95 years ...
What he means is, he and his little whore friends will do everything they possibly can to make this election about personalities. They may have met their match, however. And after the Palin debacle finishes playing out, I think one huge, HUGE issue will be McCain's judgment and consequently his fitness to serve in any capacity.
Use something scandalous about your side like the incompetent pick of Sara Palin for VP as an excuse for what you DON"T want to talk about, in this case the issues.
That's Rove 101.
"they need to manufacture a “character gap” between John McCain and Barack Obama." There is already a “character gap” between John McCain and Barack Obama. mccain has proven repeatedly since the 60's that his character is sorely lacking.
Personalities? McCain has none. Is that why they picked a former beauty queen wannabe?
Obama and Biden have very strong personalities.
They should try something else.
Perhaps a contest of who has the most lobbyists.
He's right.
It is not about issues.
If you listened to Obama's speech, on abortion rights he told women to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Thanks.
On Iraq, he said his position is the position now held by Bush and Maliki. Great. Wonderful. When are we getting the hell out, please?
On civil liberties - the loss thereof - the patriot act, FISA, etc. ad nauseum, he said NOTHING AT ALL. Wonderful.
On patriotism - he's for it. He's WAY for it. Yay!
All this, plus the wonderful disclosure that "Jesus died for (his) sins".
But progressives love him.
There was rock music at the convention.
Michael McDonald sang "America the Beautiful".
Stevie Wonder sang.
Issues?
Don't need 'em.
The BIG QUESTION someone needs to ask the GOP pundits is, "Will McCain let the media and bloggers vet all of his cabinet positions or just the most important one--his VP?"
Yeah. Character gap.
Wandering eyes
This election isn't about the greatest work of art (our country) every created and the men and women who created and
sustained it...
This election is a miniseries about the men and women, their loves, their lusts...
That picture reminds me of P. Allen Smith
Issues have a liberal bias.
Isawthelight @ 14:
Isawthelight @ 14:
America does not need McCain. Of that there is no doubt.
Ha! Someone should let him know that you're only supposed to say that behind the scenes when devising strategy!
So I'm watching the Republican convention, and I have decided that every time I see a clearly non-white face in the crowd, I will take a drink of my green apple martini.
So far I have seen two....just two.
It is going to be a looooong night. I think that I am changing the rules.
You mean to tell me this election is about Brady Bunch vs. Good Times? Or maybe Scooby Doo vs. Fat Albert? Or perhaps The People's Court vs. Judge Joe Brown? I just don't quite get it?!!? It's not about the issues?! Really!! Silly me! Did The Lincoln/Douglas debate include a beauty contest? They didn't teach it in my school. But hey, it could be a hole new theory.. You know about "THEORIES" right ;)
Well, yeah they'd like to make it personalities. But when that stops working it will be fear.
Vote for McCain or you will die.
that will be there main point, and we will hear it louder and louder as we get closer to the election.
One of the anchors on CNN actually said that McCain is from the generation that doesn't like to talk about themselves and their extraordinary experiences.Once again they're pulling out this tired myth about a guy who brings up his POW experience as an excuse for..well everything.
Amazing how the election is never about issues for the GOP.
Amazingly lucky, that is.
Issue just get in the way of quick wit and a sincere smile! :)
I think he's talking to the radical fringe evangelical base. The only issues that seem to matter are:
1) Is the candidate born again?
2) Is the candidate pro-life?
So yes, the issues are irrelevant when you put it in that context. McCain will attempt in his uncomfortable and illfitting way to talk the talk of the Bible thumpers, "life begins as conception", "I don't believe that judges should legislate from the bench", "I knew God when I was a POW", and so on.
This looks like an article title from The Onion.
Character? Then this party is over (pardon the pun)
KEATING FIVE! (CRIMINAL)
LEFT SICK WIFE FOR CINDY MCCAIN! (IMMORAL)
PATHOLOGICAL/PROVEN LIAR! (IMMORAL)
DIRECT TIES TO AND RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE OF THE GREATEST CRIMINALS OF ALL TIME - GEORGE W. BUSH! (UNETHICAL)
HURRICANE KATRINA! (IMMORAL AND UNETHICAL)
VOTED AGAINST LEGISLATION TO ASSIST VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA! (IMMORAL)
USES POW STATUS AS A CRUTCH (AND NOT A VERY GOOD ONE)!
SHOT DOWN AMERICANS IN VIET NAM WAR (UNDER-REPORTED) (IMMORAL AND CRIMINAL)
HELD BARACK OBAMA TO EVERY LETTER OF THE LAW AND THEN SOME. HE EVEN MADE UP LIES ABOUT HIM (IMMORAL AND UNETHICAL)
PROVEN HIMSELF NOT TO BE READY TO BE THE LEADER OF THE FREE BY THROWING SARAH PALIN IN THE MIX TO PROVE ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT HE, IN FACT, DOES NOT CARE ABOUT AMERICA (UNETHICAL AND IMMORAL)
lilysmom @ 23:
You may as well go to an AA meeting.
"to win it, they need to manufacture a “character gap” between John McCain and Barack Obama. "
It's already done. Obama has lots of character and McCain has none.
Janice G Washington @ 31:
Isawthelight @ 14:
Unfortunately, Americans are stupid enough to be distracted from issues, and tend not to vote on them. Personally, though, I'm not quite ready to surrender so completely that we all just agree that campaigns should espouse that that's how it should be.
Uh, it's not like he just left it at that. Besides, practicing safe sex in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies is more than the crazy Palin-style conservatives will let you do.
As in Bush has now adopted Obama's position, not the other way around. But yes, I agree that we don't have an anti-war candidate on the ticket whose goal is simply to get us out.
That bothers me too, though he's still better than anything the Republicans have to offer. Frankly, if you really want to avoid centrist candidates like Obama, we need third parties. But we're not going to get them until we revamp the electoral system
You really want a civil libertarian movement? Or a progressive movement? It must start locally, and grow.
Yeah, it's just obligatory crap that they have to say. You can't fault him for saying it. If he didn't, he'd be eaten alive.
I agree. I wish politicians abandoned religion altogether. I'll not be granted my wish any time soon.
Not really. Progressives in the party were working hard for Kucinich, Gravel, Dodd or someone with genuinely progressive record. Obama is a center-left charismatic figure, who inspired a lot of cynics and naifs. Hard working progressives, though, don't love him. We've settled for him.
It does all smack of superficiality. Because it is indeed superficial. But if you're not for one candidate or the other ultimately because of issue stances, you're not paying attention.
In other words: Don't vote for the negro!
Issues! How quaint!
Kiss my butt and read my lips Rick Davis - I am sick of thousands of Americans and Iraqis killed to your tune of $10 Billion per month which you're pretending is FREE!
There's a cost, and y'all are gonna pay it by not being in power. The rest of us will clean up the mess. So get out of the way, jerk.
It's not about issues. It's about Hookers and Blow. And snowbillies.
This is a little bit off topic, but a useful peek into the warped mindset of a Free Republic denizen.
rawcatslyentist photobucket page
its pityful to look at the crap he has here, a truly frightening glimpse into insanity.
This sick slanderous anti Obama cartoon was on a FR thread, and gave me his main page with a little editing.
This is the supposed netroots of McCain and the other Repugs, scary stuff indeed.
Its people like these who end up as Regent grads and then into the DoJ and other gov depts.
No wonder Bushco has been so FUBARed over the last seven years.
This shows the utter bankruptcy of Republicanism.
Issues mean nothing to them, because they're hostile to representative government. They despise democracy and worship at the altar of greed, exclusivity, fake religion and power.
Davis paraphrase:
This election is not about rational issues. It is about image, a junior high school popularity contest.
I think there used to be (still is?) a band called Cognitive Dissonance.
the problem for repubes is that McCain has no personality. but lets talk about personality. McCain's largest crowd, to date, 15,000. not a very magnetic personality is he.
every voter i have been talking to is intune with the issues.
Hey Ricky Baby - when you f*** with my pension, and the pensions of thousands of other firefighters and cops and teachers and on and on - you can bet your lily-white a** that this election is about issues; you country-club, humvee driving turdwad. From this time forward, I will ALWAYS vote for the candidate most likely to sink the thievin' Repuke-lickers.
Your party has acted as an enemy to my security; you be my enemy, I'll be your enemy too. Forever and for real!
xoites defends Constitution @ 32:
There is a black reporter from MSNBC! Have another gulp!
uh...ok..they can play it that way if they want...but wtf makes them think that will work in THEIR favor?
Mick Piobr @ 43:
And I second that comment.
I'm not sure, but I thought I just heard the Republican National Committee's Co-Chairman JoAnn Davidson refer to their VP nominee as Sarah PAWLENTY.
Perhaps I just heard her wrong or I'm crazy.
Did anyone else catch that?
lilysmom @ 23:
You're one ahead of me. Maybe we should count black reporters? Seriously, I've seen many, many Republican conventions in my lifetime, and this has to be the the least diverse in recent memory.
Karen Says: @35
"Unfortunately, Americans are stupid enough to be distracted from issues, and tend not to vote on them."
Not so. Americans have no opportunities to vote on issues of importance.
Obama is too timid to express any conviction about civil liberties, civil rights, separation of church and state, ending the war in Iraq, women's rights. He talks about "Russian aggression" in the same simplistic manner as Bush and Condi.
If you care about issues, you don't have a chance to vote on them - unless you consider an alternative to the corrupt two-party (one-party) system we have.
Americans are not stupid. They are not being distracted. They have been disenfranchised.
The last time there appeared to be an issue-oriented campaign - in 2006 - the Iraq war being the issue - Americans voted to throw out the Republicans and to hand the congress over to the Democrats. We got nothing in return.
So - the only thing left for American voters is to forget issues and go with crap like hope, and the appearance of a lesser of evils.
xoites defends Constitution @ 44:
try the word 'maverick'.........you'll feel NO pain mcCain
in NO time
of course, the media are entirely compliant in that game so...it could work.
but I doubt it.
I just listened to it again (I am listening to it on CSPAN through my computer's Real Player) and she called her
SARAH PA-LENTY!
WTF?!? Even the party's own chairman doesn't know who she is!!!
The man who led McCain’s vice presidential search team said he thought everything that came up as a possible red flag during the background check had now been made public. “I think so,” Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr. told The Associated Press. “Yes. I think so. Correct.”
LOL!!!!!
Q: How many houses do you own?
A: I don’t know. Ask my staff.
Q: Who is your VP choice?
A: I don’t know. Ask my staff.
Isawthelight @ 49:
we don't get a chance to ask sarah palin about issues
"And to win it, they need to manufacture a “character gap” between John McCain and Barack Obama. "
Manufacture a character gap?? Are they kidding?? Theres' a character gap big enough for Ms. Cindy Lou to fly her plane through!
It's pretty evident now with all of McCain's flipping and pandering: Obama's got character and McCain's flew the coop when his blind ambition kicked in.
I've been wondering why the Republicans seem to have such a twist in their panties over Obama supposedly being "a celebrity" or "a messiah."
He's got followers, like any politician. And he certainly has an energetic vibe around him, the way that Reagan and Clinton did.
But my sense is that there are very few people saying they want to vote for Obama because they're personally entranced with him in particular.
It doesn't seem that they're agreeing with what he says because they're responding to his charisma. It seems to be the other way around: he's saying what people want to hear and they're warming up to him because of it.
So, it's marketing envy, isn't it? Of COURSE you don't want the election to be about the issues. Of COURSE it has to be about personalities and personal narratives and who's got the best Hallmark Movie of the Week script.
Problem is, Obama seems to be winning on that score as well. Or, at least, holding the line.
"Oh, oh, huff, puff, puff, he's, he's, he's 'The One' snark snark snark...you're just entranced with a CELEBRITY snark snark."
Um, sorry Repubs, but that's YOUR game: falling in love with a pretty face, voting for the guy you'd like to have a beer with. We're electing the leader of the free world, not picking our favoritest boy band EVAR, here.
So, look, Repubs, just because someone happens to be beating you at your main game doesn't mean that that's THEIR main game. You reveal yourselves in your celebrity obsession, your jealousy.
You also show a remarkable lack of respect for what is now the bulk of the American electorate. You're suggesting that about 50% of the country is just entranced with a celebrity. You're saying that people who vote for Obama are fools who have been duped.
Tell me, why do you hate America?
xoites defends Constitution @ 44:
Can you at least drink beer when you see, say, a white person under 50?
constituent @ 50:
OK Ricky. So the forty or so percent voting for Sidney McShame don't care diddly about issues. But guess what ass-hat. The rest of us do.
Methinks Little Ricky's in for a beeeg surprise.
Rico @ 48:
An unbelievable sea of old white.
Don Webber @ 54:
Exactly.........ask the lobbyists....i mean staff....
The Republicans are hosting a funeral.
I hope their taking away all the shoelaces and belts before the delegates enter the hall...or it could get very ugly.
lilysmom @ 59:
I did not miss the point.
You missed my joke. :)
I just don't get these people at the convention that are able to talk about her with a straight face. Seriously, did they put something in the water?
If the hookers start leaving the Twin Cities early you'll know that the GOP is done.
they have sleepy fred thompson slotted to speak
get that southern vote inspired by there ridiculous
v.p. ultra pro life pick
xoites defends Constitution @ 53:
Then he lied, a journalist went to the ADN, asked to see their clippings on Palin,
and was shocked to discover that he was the first to do so.
WcCain is an amateur, a fraud, a failure, and has morons for staff.
Fanon @ 65:
Straight face?? These people look like they had their cheeks numbed to keep them from frowning.
I had no doubt the Republican National Convention would be almost entirely white men. It is the party of white men for white men and nobody else. It has been so since before i was born in the 1950s. One thing they can't possibly run on on is "Change."
They are dead set against it.
The convention hall looks like what Jonestown might have looked like once folks realized what was in the Kool Aid.
Issues have a liberal bias? That's the most ridiculous comment I've ever heard and I'm being nice. Obviously, the McCain campaign can't focus on issues because they have no answers. Just listen to Sarah Palin, has she spoken about anything important? The woman can't come up with s Supreme Court case except for Roe vs. Wade, or any publication (not even one), but said she reads all of them. Now her tactic is the same fear mongering used in the 2004 campaign. No matter what anyone says, I still think that issues are important to most Americans. Besides, if it does come to personalities, Obama wins hands down!!!
Just curious, why and how did my comment get moved way down to the ones that were made on September 1? I wrote mine today, October 8, 2008. It really doesn't make sense mixed in with all the comments about the convention.
He has ran one of the worst campaigns I can remember.
To see someone who clings to lies and focus on how much mud he can throw is a shame. Palin is no better. What she lacks in brains, at least she makes up with guts.
Neither are a pretty picture once they open their mouths. If the Republicans want to win me back, they will need to clean up their canidates first. Till then I swing for Obama!
Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman?
This will be a sleep-a-thon.
jesus! I have not seen this much tap-dancing since, I don't know, ever! Are they issuing stock answers to each room?
The answers have to be for the incredibly stupid, or the party faithful, or both.
If I see one more fat florid-faced, double-chinned white man give a "things are fine" answer, I'm gonna toss. I love the way they are skirting around the "McCain will not be Bush, not that Bush is bad" line.
Amitola @ 56:
An example of Obama' character: He campaigned for Lieberman in 2006. He said that Lieberman had a "keen intellect" and that the citizens of Connecticut should reelect "Joe" to the Senate where he could "continue to work in our behalf". ("Our" behalf!) He threw the entire anti-war Iraq movement under the old bus just so he could get in the good graces of the boys in the democratic party who pull the strings. Character - my aunt fanny.
No - all we got is the worn-out mantra that he's better than McCain. Hope on.
These rich white men look so sad. I guess the bondage gear delivery has been delayed due to the hurricane.
Liberal AND Proud @ 69:
Botox?
No, I am not even talking about the convention people. How are some of the talking heads doing it without laughing outright?
Of course it's not ; why should now be any different than the past 40 years ?
If any election were about the issues , no Republican would have ever entered the Oval Office during that time period...........
Fanon @ 76:
Their bosses are watching them. You remember their bosses don't you...those are the rich white guys that run the media...you know..Republicans.
Most honest statement from a Republican all election cycle.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pen1s @ 36:
Seriously. In all ways Obama has more character, personality and charisma. The only thing McCain has to offer the 23percenters is:
I'm a pastey!
Cripes, I'm as pastey as the next half-Irish guy, but I couldn't give a flying fart through a rolling donut. McCain could dip himself in flour and it wouldn't make him a better, more even-tempered and unflappable candidate than Obama. Just...well...pastey!
That being said, it's all about the way we want to see this country move. Having at the very least a centrist president ostensibly working with a Democratic-led Congress is one way to make it happen.
Isawthelight @ 14:
Wow, I've never thought of it that way before, but, you're right.
We should totally jab into the only candidate of 2 that might do some good, and disaffect any voters who may not go out on Nov. 4th. We should 'definitely' remember that America is a 3+ party system, with many choices that all have realistic chances of becoming the President. We should all do our best to demoralize people about voting for Obama. Because, I mean, come on. He's practically McCain. Just how Gore or Kerry were just like Bush. It makes no difference.
Spot on.
BTW, just gtfo of the house and vote D on 11/4. Pragmatist 08!
The delegates are more conservative then 4 years ago - Chuck Todd
The GOP is finished. Even Chuck knows it. Done. Fini. Arrivederci. Waiter...check please.
George W. Bush set out to destroy the nation.
Unfortunately, the GOP incurred the collateral damage.
Mick Piobr @ 7:
And Hundred years of war? Bomb Bomb Iran? Suck it up whiners, there's no recession? Obama's Iraq withdrawal plan sounds good to me? The list of this senile goon's mental lapses and ineptitude is endless.
"Character Gap"?? Oh, heaven, let it be the same kind they tried to manufacture before. Let them please try to return to the "character issue" and "family values" when the top of their ticket is a womanizing, wheelchair-bound-wife leaving, estranged-from-children, home-wrecker-mistress marrying hypocrite. Put them side-by-side with Obama's first-wife, beautifully adjusted kids family. C'mon, reps, you made morals, character, and family values hyper-important issues; let's judge you by your own measuring rod!
Finally, we see McCain's last hail-mary pass in this election. Shifting to Character and away from Issues.
With Palin in the race he can get away with this because he has chosen to go with the Dobson supporters. These people don't care about issues apart from the issues of Morality (abortion, teaching creationism and the bible, living by the ten commandments and not the Constitution, killing all non-Christians, etc).
This is how McCain figures he is going to win; mobilize this Fundy group and hope for the best. Palin was the only choice for VP he could have made given this kind of strategy.
Sen. Spector - "she is appealing"...but he can't say why!!
She's a People person! LOLOL!
Gawwwd...this is pathetically sad.
If they want to excite the crowd...maybe they should flash O'Reilly's sphincter on the big screen.
I asked this earlier, but I'm curious if anyone else saw this...
I was listening to the RNC convention and the Republican National Committee Co-Chairman Jo Ann Davidson was talking up the party and referred to their party's VP nominee as...
Sarah Pawlenty.
Even she doesn't know who this woman is!
Reagan may be dead...but the ghost of GWBush haunts the convention center.
Cafferty: Republicans have lost track of what GOP stands for and is losing its hold on voters - lost track of principles and damaged their brand
Am streaming the repigs galore on cnn - not a SINGLE intelligent face in the half-empty hall. Some very ancient Ohio lady gave them early bird specials. Then some lisping Jewish guy (he said it several times by now) - talks nonsense abt McDonalds in Minneapolis, and that McInsane's face says YES. He is fuzzy to what.
Now some PASTOR from Rock church in San Diego. "you know what I'm saayun' " - WTF ???!! Blasphemous !!!
The fascist decor, and VERY BAD sound system they have. It seems as an OLD newsreel.
Quite a time warp !! PATHETIC !!!
If sheeple still don't get it, we are in trouble with SO MANY terminal idiots !!
Listen....I can hear Pennsylvania squealing as they get a GOP rimjob.
The republican party never addresses issues. They lose on issues because they are not for the good of the people and they are for the good of the corporations they are owned by. That is why they always lie and treat the elections as PR campaigns. They treat the presidency as a shell game. There is no substance to any candidate with (R) after their names. The republican party is made up of ignorant, thugs, crooks, and liars.
xoites defends Constitution @ 53:
Arthur-B-Culvahouse-Jr links to assorted special interest groups aka lobbyists and MIC
makes for an interesting look,
TrePorcellini @ 91:
I've been at insurance conferences with more excitement!
YAAAAY! T Boone Pickens commercial...at last...excitement!!
Liberal AND Proud @ 75:
or they miss being away from their log cabins, luckly MN has plenty.
Sitemonitor...we need an open thread for the convention please.
We're dyin' here! LOL!
Awwwright...now excitment...Cindy showed up.
rick davis is the bacteria that grows on crap.
Liberal AND Proud @ 69:
Small wonder they were frowning---this just in from Reichmarshal Cheney, Fuhrer of the RNC Political Correctness Committee:
Ve haf just vitnessed a degrading, immoral, and otherwise not zo good act by two peeple ve thought vas decent---but are traitors to the Reich!
Singer of the National anthem today at the Convention---NO FLAG PIN on his lapel
John Boehner: NO FLAG PIN either! Vas is los here?
Do not disrespect the Reich---WEAR YOUR VERDAMMT FLAG PIN as a sign of your loyalty! Or else! Zeese traitors vill be dealt vith harshly. Power to the Reich!
Reptile Convention is on TV
BigIslandDave @ 40:
Problem is, they ARE the issue. Every single scewup points back to McCain/McBush.
That's the problem with 'experience'- you can't avoid screwups.
During this interview Davis referred to Palin as Governor Failin'. Yup, that about sums it up.
Mick Piobr @ 7:
dont forget McCain took out a new marriage license in another state, before his divorce was finalized,
thats overlapping and bigamy to some people.
Fanon @ 58:
Repug hired escort boys for the evening dont count.
Fanon @ 58:
Shit...I'm at least 2 hands short for that!
Liberal AND Proud @ 107:
OOoops....I've been drinking every time I see a totally white head. And I mean only the hair.
This dude I know @ 81:
Gore and Kerry were scared to death of Bush.
Gore chose Lieberman to show how moral he was.
Kerry kissed Bush's ass. What a chump.
Neither of them cared about us.
But, to quote your delicate phrasing - be my guest and gtfo to vote for the new "D".
It should be a very enjoyable afternoon for you.
L.A. Confidential @ 102:
Yes, you are right - their hides are very leathery.
Issues? What issues? Like I've said before, the Sarah Palin pick was pure politics - and I'm starting to believe they KNEW the daughter was pregnant and gambled that they could use that to their advantage.
L.A. Confidential @ 102:
'The RNC convention, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension of corruption as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between evil and greed, between religion and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his dumbness. This is the dimension of stupidity. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone, aka the party of rich old white fuckers'
TrePorcellini @ 110:
what made me giggle, was WcCain in the same photo as Romney,
breaking the golden rule of double blind dating, never go with somebody prettier than yourself.
Romney made WcCain look pale and undead, no wonder he was dumped as a possible VP choice.
Even on personality, though, Obama has them beat. Who is the charismatic one? Who is the rock star? Who is the "celebrity"?
seriously @ 111:
Whats the odds that there will be a tragedy in october, a sad loss of the phantom baby, a monster tear jerkoff to sway the sympathetic voter.
This is what Rove would do, Sarah Palin if she is a typical no morals Repug will go along with this.
L.A. Confidential @ 102:
put that brick down sir, you would regret putting it through your TV later.
lilysmom @ 23:
Wow. You just independently discovered AA's first step to sobriety.
L.A. Confidential @ 102:
Politics is more brainstem than rocket science.
But policy should be more science than brainstem.
Aye, there's the rub.
Peter G @ 117:
Step one being: "We admitted we were powerless over
alcoholRepublicans- that our lives had become unmanageable."The Republicans probably don't want the campaign to come down to personality, either. Mr. Obama seems like an extremely pleasant, reasonable person. Mr. McCain... not so much.
Honestly, did you enjoy spending time with your perpetually angry, senile grandpa?
I don't listen to or read anything the dirtbag says. Have you noticed his eyes? This guy is vacuous, soulless and without any morals. He is the DEVIL.
I actually witnessed this live and immediately wanted to add it to my new prospective website wtfmoments.com
The far right wing of the Republican party is intent on pushing the country to another civil war, so that these religious fanatics can force their lunatic agenda and extreme fundamentalist bullshit on everyone. They hate radical Islamists and yet they are no different. I don't think America is yet ready to throw them out on their asses. we need to suffer some more first.
ferrofluid (Obama + Biden = 2008) @ 115:
Yea, I agree. I've told people my theory and they look at me like I'm crazy. Um, this is the Rove philosphy we're dealing with. Put NOTHING past them.
Isawthelight @ 49:
Please. Americans don't vote. They squander their opportunities to do so. Don't misunderstand me -- the government is corrupt, and takes away the right to vote whenever it can. But on the whole, Americans don't pay attention to the issues.
If they did, they would know more than who the president is, and possibly their U.S. Senator. They'd vote not only in presidential elections (and only about 50% of them do that), but for their Representative in the House, their representatives in their state legislatures, their city councils, their school boards, and they'd know who their representatives were. But they don't. Oh, there are plenty of opportunities to vote. Again, I don't say this to discount the corruption or the disenfranchisement that does happen. I'm not trying to belittle it. But Americans don't pay attention, and squander their real opportunities to make a difference. The American people are not blameless for the country's decay. We the people have been neglecting our civic responsibilities for a long time.
Right. Because the only politics the American people really pay attention to is presidential politics. That's part of the problem. You're an Obama voter, a McCain voter, or one of those miscellaneous powerless voters. That's how most voters will identify. Of course the presidential candidates are going to speak in centrist generalities. Anything else might cost them the tiny demographic that could swing the election.
No, we have plenty of chances. There are so many elections held multiple times a year. But we don't pay attention to them.
And there is an alternative to our system. We have to work on a major electoral reform effort, and it has to start locally. If we just put up a third party candidate for president -- thinking that presidential politics are the end-all-be-all of everything -- we just hurt third party causes. We have to educate ourselves on how reforms to the electoral system need to be made.
Wanna know why the religious right conservatives are so fucking powerful despite their minority status? Because they didn't just try to elect Pat Roberston president. They formed a long-term movement to take over everything -- school boards, city councils, etc. And they worked their way up over decades. And frankly, they did it by exercising their democratic rights on every level.
What's that quote? We don't see the world as it is -- we see the world as we are? Something like that. The circle of friends I have certainly aren't distracted, and see through the manipulation like child's play. The typical American does not.
I've managed campaigns. I was once hired to run a campaign for the CA Assembly in a district that was heavily Republican. Simultaneously, I was hired to help run a campaign for the U.S. Congress in the same district. The Democrat running for Congress was an intellectual. He wanted in-depth discussions with his potential constituency. They wanted none of it. I tried to advise him about how better to reach people, how to market his message to say what he wanted to say in an easily digestible format, but he was an academic, and considered it too watered down. His incumbent opponent was able to use the typical smears and distractions, and they worked.
We almost won the campaign for the Assembly, though. Because we went right at the heart of what people wanted to hear, using all the silly things we could think of, such as our emphasizing our candidates Latino last name to get out the Latino vote in the district. We had to keep them focused on very simple ideas. I was hired to help get the party out of its 33% rut, hopefully to win 40% of the district. That way, said the local party chair, the state Democratic Party would funnel some money into the district. We lost by 52% - 48%.
There are so many problems endemic to the system itself, but the voting populace is not blameless. They're easily distracted and easily manipulated.
I don't disagree with you there. And again, the electoral system needs revamping to prevent these kinds of disasters. Moreover, there's certainly a bottom, a limit, to American stupidity. We're not morons, and there's only so much we'll take. But we'll take a lot!
No, the thing to do is to begin to organize a long-term movement. Just don't be impatient and expect your preferred person or ideology to be in the White House in four years. Think more in terms of forty years.
It's doable.
constituent @ 55:
That's because all the blogs are too busy posting about her daughter, or the chance that her daughter had a baby that Palin claimed was hers.....you have been your own worst enemy....
Cynical? I'd call it a load of c--p, or worse. Try "actively trying to defeat the USA." Try "destructive of democracy." Try "one of the stupidist campaign statements I've ever heard." But that's just me. Does the McSame campaign really think they will win this election with their nazi-youth spokesmen lecturing us on what we care about? Oh, I sincerely hope not or we are really in sad shape.
Does anybody else think Rick Davis looks like he's got a triple-headed, snelled hook up his ass, and doesn't really trust the guy holding the line?
issues vs. personality?
hmmm... McSame looses on both counts! :D LOL
We finally have a Rick Davis sighting. That guy was front and center when McCain had some momentum. Now that "Palingate" is becoming an albatross around the campaigns neck, he comes out of hiding and wants to focus on the "issues". Let's see... They so weren't concerned about issues when they tried to pin that "Celebrity" tag on Obama. When they were sending out tire gages with "Obama Energy Plan" on them, the issues didn't matter. It's really fun watching the Neocons self destruct.
xoites defends Constitution @ 44:
do reporters count ???
let's hope he does an interview
I'm tryin ta git drunk here
Yes and the candidate does not speak for the campaign! Of course you can't discuss the issues when you have been wrong about absolutely everything. The saddest thing is all the people who will vote for McSame believing that he will care about what happens to them.
The Republican Party is split. There were 10,000 people across town for Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic tonight. Did anyone see it? Jesse Ventura and Aimee Allen were there. Also one of the Olympic relay swimmers was there a peaker as well.
The Republican Party your watching has is controled by fascist. There is a civil war going on in the Republican Party. One side is destroying our Constitution and the other is defendeing it. Keep your eyes and ears open. We aren't going anywhere.
xoites defends Constitution @ 5:
as loud as "latte"
go get her, Hillary!!!!
FG @ 6:
The Palin Choice and the Reality of the Political Mind
that one?
Can we get an ad? On the radio? Let the people hear this.
They don't need to manufacturer a character gap. There is a natural one: McCain's a goose, Obama is not.
The REAL problem is that Rick Davis has justification for his approach. To many Americans who bother to vote are not voting based on their head.
Isawthelight @ 14:
Everyone here knows OBama's views on pregnancy. He supports the survival of the mother and choice of determining the path of one's own life.... Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness... and making hard life choices on one's own.
You've got it BACKWARDS on Iraq: Bush and Maliki have come around to OBAMA's position on Iraq, not the other way around. So either you are in denial and living in cognitive dissonance, or you are an idiot.
ANd it was an HISTORICAL SPEECH!
Your small minded approval will never change that.
OK, this is kind of paranoid but by sabotaging the GOP they take away any doubt about the outcome. That means they can start whatever means are necessary to set in motion The November surprise earlier. OK that is kind of paranoid, isn't it?
krisken @ 30:
It really does, doesn't it. How sad.
I hate this cross eyed jackass!!!!
That stupid douchebag better hope it's about issues, because the more people there are who start paying attention to personalities, the more there will be who realize that McCain is a maladjusted and malignant personality, an amoral sociopath who is deep into the onset of dementia. I have a hard time accepting those qualities as being some kind of campaign advantage among those not enrolled in the 20%'ers.
What does it say about the Republican brand name when the campaign manager of the party is touting personality qualities over critical issues.....And white ex-jocks pushing the ultra-conservative agenda.
If you read the full WaPo article, Davis is quoted as saying, "We are in the worst Republican environment since Nixon in 1972. We take that seriously. We get the joke."
No Rick, you are the joke!
I think what he is really saying is that he thinks the election is about race....
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