Monday, 04.28.08
Behind Enemy Lines
DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images
Was McCain's tour, which took him to Selma and Appalachia, the Ninth Ward of New Orleans and Youngstown, Ohio, a serious play for constituencies (the working poor, black and white alike) that go reliably for Democrats? Was it a cynical attempt to woo white suburbanites by burnishing his image as a different kind of conservative? Or was it just another play for free publicity - like his "biography tour" earlier in April - by a campaign that's short on funds and looking for ways to get the media to stop obsessing over Obama-Hillary long enough to give their candidate some airtime?
The answer, of course, is all three at once - though wooing swing voters and stealing some extra media play are more plausible goals for the McCain campaign than winning over African-Americans in the year of Barack Obama, or winning the very poor during an economic downturn. (True, in a contest with Obama McCain will probably win some votes from low-income racists who usually vote Democratic, but he didn't need a swing through the "forgotten America" to pull that off.) And as far as the plausible goals go, at least, last week's road trip earned McCain enough favorable attention to be judged a greater success than his biography tour, which gave off a whiff of crotchety nostalgia that inspired memories of the Dole campaign.
As far as the implausible goal of shifting the African-American vote McCain's way - well, not so much. Political symbolism matters, and showing up to Selma or the Ninth Ward - or the motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot - is an improvement on the approach taken by George W. Bush, who waited till the sixth year of his Presidency to address the NAACP. But even without the Obama factor, it will take more than just symbolism - and symbolic distancing, in certain cases - for a Republican to break the Democratic Party's lock on the black vote. Someday, maybe, a strong GOP candidate will pull a Nixon-to-China move - by arguing for a dramatic reform of the nation's drug laws, for instance - and shift the racial balance in American politics. But this isn't the year, and McCain isn't that candidate.
Maverick planJohn Dickerson says McCain's tour isn't actually an attempt to win the votes of blacks and poor people -- it "is more like performance art, an attempt to show off authenticity and the unfiltered McCain." |
Admitting his mistakesStephen Dinan says for all the faults he's admitted to John McCain could call his campaign the "imperfect public servant tour." |
GOP mastermindSteve Benen wonders if Karl Rove conceived the idea for McCain's tour. |
About the issuesJoe Klein says that McCain's strategy and temperament suggests he'll stay above the fray in this campaign. |
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Why would the Republican-controled Media give all that air time to a retired Rev. Wright? And is not time for the Republican-controlled Media to give this Wright controversy some fairness and balance and to enquire of Hillary Clinton and her surrogates the following:
Is it true that, (1) Hillary surrogate, Congresswoman Shiela Jackson Lee, is also a devotee of Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright; that he's been preaching at her home church, where she is actively involved, annually for the past 15 years and has an open invitation to return, and, that she sat in the pews for his visits and did not bat an eye? AND
Is it true that (2) Hillary surrogate, Rev. Marcia Dyson was not only a longtime member of Trinity United Church of Christ but also still considers Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright her pastor? That Rev. Marcia Dyson's seminary education, in part, was sponsored by Trinity UCC and encouraged by Rev. Wright? And was it not at Trinity were she first met her husband, Rev. Dr. Michael Dyson, who's been very vocal in his defense of Rev. Wright.?
And, lastly to Hillary Clinton, that if Rev. Wright would not have been her Pastor, then why did she and Bill when going through Impeachment, turn to Rev. Wright for Prayer and Support and invite him to the White House? These things should be asked and answered.
And, finally, the reason why a Republican-controlled Media gave a "retired" Rev. Wright all this attention and air time, is to try to destroy Barack Obama!? -- Their true Fear! That is why "daily" 24/7, the Republican-controlled media and talking heads are building-up Hillary, tear/smear down Obama, while McCain courts African-Americans that Clintons have ailenated by their "kitchen sink strategy, hoping all the while that she will become the Democratic nominee, so they can unleash the "arsenol" of weapons they have against her. Something they have been planning for years! Barack has to fight a "two-headed" Giant --Clintons and the Republican-controlled Media! This corporate-owned media is no friend to the average joe! They fear what Barack stands for unity and power to the people which will surely be their demise! That is why Clintons and Media are trying to make this a "racial" thing, you know divide and conquer so the people cannot concentrate on the real issues and miss the boat again! We must stay strong and remember it sometimes looks darkest before the dawn!
Alas, it is now time for an amicable Parting of the Ways between Barack and Rev. Wright. I now understand why Barack thinks some people are bitter -- he has been conditioned to think that way by the bitterness of his former Pastor to think that some people are bitter, although Barack was not subject himself to this bitterness and was able to escape it and incorporate inspiration and hope instead!
Is the Republican-owned Media trying to Sabotage Barack Obama? Why else would they give a "retired" Rev. Wright all that Air time by blocking out all three Cable News Channels to air Rev. Wright's 45 minute speech at the National Press Club, LIKE HE IS THE PRESIDENT OR SOMEONE, something they do not even do for the Candidates themselves, John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, block out 45 minutes of air time to air their stump speeches!
Are Repbublicans trying to help Hillary win the Democratic nominee? Are they hopeing to win the White House with the help of African-Americans turned off by the Clintons' "kitchen sink strategy" directed at Barack Obama? Is that why McCain is so actively wooing them? These things have to be considered?
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I think Gail Collins summary of McCain's prescription for working people's probelms is accurate: "--let them eat dinner mints."
Given that this true, this piece is a pathetic bit of puff. If you keep it up, you will descend to the depths previously the sole property of Megan M.
Posted by tc125231 | April 28, 2008 7:05 PM