Who knew that hope could be a liability? McCain’s campaign ads have taken a turn for the negative, the cynical, and the sickeningly pessimistic, by inverting Obama’s lofty rhetoric, selectively quoting his self-effacing humor, and essentially chiding the American people for believing in a candidate. How dare we?
In his latest ad, reproduced below, McCain attempts to turn Obama’s belief in a happier tomorrow into an indictment of the man’s leadership credentials. The ad is long on mockery – clip after clip out of context, in the style of a parody of prophecy – and light on content. On in the last ten seconds are we treated to the McCain message, and it’s the same message we’ve heard before: is Obama ready? Sheesh. Someone stick a fork in this guy.
I for one do think Barack Obama is ready for the presidency. But, quite apart, given the choice between an experienced but grumpy man, disgusted by hope and willing to mock another’s success and happiness, and a less experienced, optimistic figure, I’ll take my chances with the candidate who at least dreams of a better future, rather than delighting in bringing low a promising young dreamer. Talk about out-of-touch: McCain doesn’t even seem to understand how important it is to have hope on the horizon.
God willing, this will backfire. McCain may be “experienced” in the sense that he’s been around the block, but he’s obviously not experienced enough to know that, just as much as a tested leader, America needs to believe again. I don’t want my President to lecture me for eight years about dreaming too big; I want an appropriate mixture of hope and substance, which McCain simply cannot deliver.
Now is not the time for negativism, and I think that, deep down, McCain may know that. When questioned on his negative turn, watch McCain fumble to explain himself:
I’m, we think, it’s got a lot of humor in it, and we’re having fun and enjoying it. And that is what campaigns are going to be like, that’s what every campaign that I have been involved in. I am going to enjoy it and I’m the underdog.
Huh? That’s probably the second most incoherent thing I’ve ever read.
Even he’s not comfortable with the message. But he’s doing it, because he thinks it’s the only way he can win. Doesn’t that tell you everything you need to know about John McCain, right there? Damn his experienced and principled yesterday; let’s talk about his out-of-touch and slick today.
Grumpy, cynical McCain has finally come out. I don’t like him. And I don’t think you do, either.
Submitted to a Candid World 
Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the most incoherent thing you’ve ever read?
Haha, I’m SO glad someone asked :-). It’s a tie, I think, between the “homosexuality” article on Conservapedia, and this RIDICULOUSLY poorly written brief submitted by one of our opponents on a case I worked on last summer. There was this one sentence I read over, and over, and over again, because the damn thing didn’t make sense. It turned out to be a HUGE quote mine. Like, it deleted a “not” and a “sometimes” to completely change the meaning of this authoritative case. Hence the confusion.
During the 2000 election, Bush was able to successfully smear McCain with negative ads. In the 2004 election, the swiftboaters got away with sneering at a genuine war hero while promoting an AWOL National Guardsman. Given that history, McCain is going to attack Obama with negative campaigning. It’s worked well before, why not now?
I actually think the ad is well done. Hope and flowery rhetoric aren’t enough.
It seems that we keep having this same conversation. Why? I don’t think it’s the complete fault of the McCain camp. Obama keeps giving them ammo with statements like the one in that video and others. Just look at his pre-acceptance speech with all those silly “This is the moment…” lines. Regardless of policy, or anything else, that kind of stuff does not play well with the average American voter.
As we have also discussed before, populism is as important to American culture as apple pie. Liberals are so hungry for their own president this year that they have put an unbelievable amount of ‘hope’ and Obama…perhaps more than he deserves.
Obama’s domestic policy can be boiled down to one phrase that has been the halmark of liberalism: tax and spend. he is going to raise taxes on millions of Americans while also heavily spending on new entitlements. That alone should be cause for skepticism. But when was the last time you read an unfavorable liberal analysis of Obama’s plan? For that matter, when was the last time you read any analysis of Obama’s positions by a liberal?
“Obama’s domestic policy can be boiled down to one phrase that has been the halmark of liberalism: tax and spend.”
Dood, the hallmark of Conservativism since Reagan has been “Owe and Spend”. That’s why your grandchildren will be spending their lives in indentured servitude to the Chinese Debt Lords.
And here’s one Liberal who keeps stubbornly insisting that Obama’s words have meanings:
http://bradhicks.livejournal.com/403908.html
Which I suspect you’ll insist simply means that his Liberal Hivemind Communication Chip must be malfunctioning, failing to beam the correct amount of Awe into his brain.
JoJo said, before the site crashed,
You prefer the “charge it and owe it” of the present administration? There’s a war and a half going on and your boy Bush has been putting the cost on the national credit card. Sooner or later there’ll be a financial crash and the billions in debt are going to be called in. Don’t be surprised if there’s a genuine Depression in this country when that happens.
If I tried to operate my household the way conservatives have been operating the country, in a very short time I’d be sitting on a street corner rattling a coffee can with a couple of quarters in it. Don’t whine about “tax and spend” liberals. Pretend you’ve got a pair. Admit that conservatives have been spending like teenagers at the mall with mommy’s Visa card and that’s a very bad way to run a government.