The new Obama spot that mocks McCain for being so out-of-touch that he can't send an email is another miscalculation. McCain's narrative has nothing to do with being a cool, with-it, tech-savvy counter-Luddite who spends his free time on Slashdot. In fact, the Republicans know enough NOT to attempt to reinvent their candidate as a born-again technophile who fires off midnight BlackBerry messages to Steve Schmidt. That would be fake and wrong, like watching your parents try to pull off a karaoke version of Jay-Z.
If swing voters are drawn to McCain it's precisely because of his authenticity, his leadership aura, the invitation to trust that spring out of his personal story. So why draw a comparison between Obama and McCain on lines that have already been established, that only re-convince the already-convinced, and that make the campaign appear petty, jejune, and even disrespectful? And remember, it is only people on the coasts who believe that technological sophistication is inexorably bound up with self-regard.
The commercial is smug, and that's dangerous, because it ignites all the smugness (and arrogance) cues that Hillary created and McCain is reinforcing. The archetype of the young guy mocking the old guy for being behind the times is a sitcom default that will backfire because it reinforces so many of the values that people are finding increasingly attractive in McCain. That includes his steadfast adherence to the sound of his own drumbeat, and his reluctance to jump on the bandwagon (like his support of the surge) -- all components of the appealing maverick image.
McCain's handlers are studiously consolidating his mythology, and in doing so are looking very much to Reagan and the strength that derived from his cowboy persona. It wouldn't have helped to taunt Reagan because he knew more about riding horses than the workings of the internal combustion engine, and it won't help to skewer McCain because he can't download Adobe Acrobat.
People want a president who naturally inhabits a set of attributes and personality characteristics that have come to be associated with the office. Being able to send an email isn't a presidential prerequisite. What's important is that a president recognize the importance of technology, and that he surrounds himself with those who are personally familiar with the QWERTY keyboard. In fact, the image of Obama hunched over his keyboard could end up being that much baggage, just as President Carter was mocked for worrying about who was playing on the White House tennis courts.
Even more worrying, Obama crammed the email bit into the same commercial where he goes after McCain for admitting he doesn't really understand the economy. By linking these thoughts, the Obama campaign is squandering their opportunity to drive home the desperate situation of the American economy. What should have been a focused comparative spot on the seminal campaign issue ended up being an unfocused attack on McCain's out-of-touchness.
Obama needs to say that the economic crisis was created and fanned by Republican incompetence, and that a pro-corporate Republican who admits his ignorance of economic matters is only going to perpetuate further.
And he needs to say it and say it and say it again. Bill Clinton (younger then than Obama is today) defeated the last president of the World War II generation -- Bush 41 -- because he made a better argument about an economy that wasn't nearly as bad as this one. It was an implicit, not an explicit, generational comment, and guess what, it worked.
Not a great association in these times, this Reagan is the President who started with a large surplus and ended with the then largest deficit ever inflicted on the USA.
The only thing Regan did was to make Americans feel good about things by giving them a major dose of trickle down ecconomics(in other words TAX BREAKS at the expense of their GRANDCHILDREN)
Fast forward to today and you now have the base cause of the current problems
Regean was a time warped cowboy, Bush 43 is a time warped Oilman, and McCain is a time warped Soildier ENOUGH ALREADY America needs to move FORWARDS not BACKWARDS.
BRING ON OBAMA!!!
I am 70 years of age and it took me about 25 mins to type this ( bad Arthritis) but unlike John at least I made the effort,
You can't be serious. John McCain has shown that he will sell his soul to get elected, not to mention jumping on the bandwagon for things like offshore drilling. He is running the most cynical and scurrilous campaign ever seen in modern politics. There is nothing attractive about him, and that includes his utter lack of understanding of basic technology.
Personal computers and e-mail are not new things. Most people use them every day. New technology drives the economy, of which McCain has continually proven he has no grasp and maybe, just maybe part of that is the fact that he doesn't know how to use a computer and he doesn't use e-mail. This isn't an ad designed simply to mock grandpa for not knowing how to logon, it's pointing out yet one more serious lack of understanding on McCain's part.
FIRST: I'm 60 and 20 years ago suffered a broken neck (C1 & 2 & Adontoid) a broken back (T4, 5, 6, & 7) and 5 broken fingers along with both feet and ankles. I'd say I'm pretty much on par with McCain's injuries and here I am…on the Internet and on my email. The reality is, McCain is a spoiled, old poop and needs to retire, NOT run for President.
SECOND: McCain has run the lowest, most dishonest campaign in modern history, so get off your high horse and start writing to him about how he has run the straight talk express into the gutter!
McCain is no Patriot. He is putting his personal ambition above the good of the American people. He is putting his personal ambition in front of his Country. Country First? HA! McCain first, last and always!
What McCain needs to be able to do is relate with the world as it is today! We can't elect someone so removed from day-to-day life and expect anything to get better for the middle class. And, if you're thinking Palin is the ticket...she's not even from this planet, God's Sake!
This is more relevant than just being tech savvy. To be frank, not understanding the economy is very relevant to the lack of curiosity and necessity, if you will, of today's technology. You cannot separate the two anymore.
The world may function without horse riding, but without computers?
The ad is spot on in clearly addressing his out of touchness, not mocking him for not knowing how to send an email.
McSame claims he can't email because he is too feeble because of whatever happened when he was a P.O.W. 5 year olds can "hunt and peck" enough to send emails.
If he is too feeble to email, he is too feeble to be president, senator or anything else. He still does not know how many houses he has. He believes Moose-a-lini has foriegn policy experience because she can see Russia from Alaska. That's feeble!
Here's what some fellow veterans think of McSame:
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/cin_hacker_2.htm
You miss the point. Five year olds (and younger) can send e-mail. My 76 year old father sends e-mail. His 103 year old mother sends e-mail. It would be the same in the 19th century if one admitted he couldn't lick a stamp.
It has to do with not resting on your laurels of the past. McCain's viewpoints of the world are old fashioned. Computers run the world today and not understanding that has to negate your ability to analyze and make the right decisions TODAY.
Geez. When McCain finally does get an email account, I hope he doesn't fall for some Nigerian money transfer scam.
However, I think by age class, in general, the ad might gain traction in a majority of people under 40; it almost certainly would irritate/alienate a majority of people over 60. I don't know the relative breakdowns of these sectors among likely voters, but then I'm not a campaign demographer. I would hope that the Obama campaign researched these probabilities before electing to run the ad.
Pointed it out to Jake Tapper. Pointed it out to Ben Smith, who was not aware the answer was first given to Politico in July 2008. You might want to take a look.
John McCain goes online
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11711.html
"Q: But do you go on line for yourself?
Mr. McCain: They go on for me. I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself. I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need — including going to my daughter’s blog first, before anything else.
Q: Do you use a Blackberry or e-mail?
Mr. McCain: No.
Mark Salter: He uses a BlackBerry, just ours.
Mr. McCain: I use the Blackberry, but I don’t e-mail, I’ve never felt the particular need to e-mail. I read e-mails all the time, but the communications that I have with my friends and staff are oral and done with my cell phone. I have the luxury of being in contact with them literally all the time. We now have a phone on the plane that is usable on the plane, so I just never really felt a need to do it."
sending an email has been an integral form of communication for a long time now. I've been emailing for nearly 15 years.
Lacking that very basic means of communication means he is out of touch with everyday Americans.
I mean come on, comparing riding horses and the understanding the combustion engine to being able to turn on a computer and open an e-mail program? Give me a break.