Thursday, October 9, 2008

Desperate Louse Lies

Today Barack Obama is smartly taunting grumpy Gramps McCain for his unwillingness to utter his many recent character attacks straight to Obama's face. It is yet another undeniable example of the poetic reversal of rhetorical fortunes that has taken place between the political parties since 2004.

Abject failure on all policy levels is hard to hide with fear or smear.

And McCain's recent failure (Josh Marshall is calling it "cowardice", which may be apt) to confront Obama on the side issues of past associations-- or whatever sludge that is the Republican's trade-- during the 2nd debate is pretty striking. McCain obviously surmises that the voters are not interested in these things (in public, that is). McCain surely knows that raising them directly during a Presidential debate threatens to stink up the already moldy Maverick brand McCain once clung to.

As they say in the Midwest, and maybe even in Alaska, "put up or shut up."

And so in the rational world, McCain lost his shot. The debate in Tennessee was a last chance lost. Of course, we all think, John McCain cannot bring these "issues" up in the final debate. In his last major audience with the country, such a move seems like a false one, a bad one. As Americans bear down and tune in and take the election semi-seriously, McCain cannot afford to spoon feed the electorate with such dirty distractions. It would leave a final, bitter after taste in the mouths of voters that no candidate can serve up in the final days of a campaign, not if victory is desired.

Right?

Well, hold on. Throughout the past many weeks, John McCain has proven he operates in a non-rational world. He is not a serious person. It is not beneath him to bluntly disrespect the country he claims to place first. He blatantly lies about facts easily righted with a brain and a Google. He runs silly political ads comparing a fellow United States Senator to a whack pop star, or even worse claiming this fellow Senator (a father of young girls) supports sex education for little children. He bows to advisor pressure and selects an unprepared, anti-knowledge running mate with a grossly oversized sense of self. He fake suspends his campaign and rushes to Washington... for an expensive dinner with the self-impressed Liebermans. He jokes about hair plugs during a debate. He still thinks he can win Iowa. Etc.

So next Wednesday, I wouldn't put it past John McCain to bring along that barrel of monkeys (Ayers, Wright, and more). McCain has nothing left, and nothing left to lose. His recklessness is on record.

And if there is one thing John McCain has never missed an opportunity to remind us, it's that he isn't afraid to crash the plane.

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