McCain to America's Youth: "Get Off My Lawn!"

Let's be honest: John McCain does not have much to say about what he would do as President, and when he does talk about what he wants to do, he only confuses himself, his supporters, and the reporters who have the unfortunate task of trying to follow his shifting positions and garbling of the facts.

In the last few weeks, John McCain has told us that Iraq and Pakistan border on each other; that the Anbar Awakening, the uprising against Al-Qaeda in Iraq, began after the surge; that he is open to raises taxes; that he would never raise taxes; that Obama should visit Iraq; that he was a publicity hound for visiting Iraq -- this can go on for awhile, so let's stop now.

Wait, I can't stop myself. He was (and is) a major proponent of the war in Iraq, which he said would be short and paid for by Iraqis. He was against drilling off the coasts, but now he's for it. He was against tax cuts without spending cuts, but now he's for them. He thought the Religious Right was intolerant, but now he's tolerant of the intolerant. He is for reducing the influence of lobbyists, but lobbyists were running every aspect of his campaign.

I know what John McCain stands for -- he stands for John McCain. He stands for politics as usual. He stands for more of the same.

It was not that long ago that John McCain was the darling of the media. It was not that long ago that John McCain was a hero to Independents and even many Democrats, because people believed that McCain was the rare guy who could talk straight. I know you had Democratic friends who loved John McCain. I bet they deny that now.

In order to be President, McCain feels that compromises have to be made, and with the Oval Office so close, John McCain will do whatever he has to do to survive. That means that the John McCain of 2000 has morphed into what he fought against -- the George W. Bush of 2000. The candidate who spread false information, the candidate who attacked, attacked, attacked, the candidate who won through cynicism.

Because he has such a hard time figuring out his own views, the McCain is trying to put the Obama campaign on it's, and Paris Hilton's heels.

If I were John McCain's campaign advisor, I, too, would advise Senator McCain to run commercials that featured Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. I would seek the politics of personal distraction. I would put Obama in commercials with public enemies Dina Lohan and Heidi Montag (oh, wait, she supports McCain and dines with his daughter -- perhaps the video of that lunch is the response ad Obama should offer). Ludacris would be Obama's best friend.

And I get that McCain knows the only voters out there for him are older women and Republicans who have not yet decided whether to hold their noses and vote for him. Obviously, African-Americans aren't voting for McCain. Latinos are headed Obama's way. Young women are not going to opt for the guy who voted against equal pay for equal work. Young men are not going to vote for the guy who yells at them to get off of his lawn.

So, what's left for McCain? Scaring older people and Republicans into thinking that Obama is all style, no substance. McCain's ads are not about racism; they are about hope -- the hope that the American people are so stupid that they care more about Paris Hilton than they do about their jobs, health care, the environment, foreign policy, and their pensions.

The Karl Rove-acolytes running the McCain campaign know one way of winning. Destroy the other guy. It's worked before.

Will it work again? Well, McCain's climbed a bit in the polls in the last couple of days. But Obama's camp is tough. They know that criticism has to be responded to, no matter how inane the ad. They know that Obama has to talk about the economy now, all day, all the time.

But McCain's people are smart, too -- they know that, in the summer months when there's not much news, McCain's wacky ads qualify as news, and the CNN's and MSNBC's repeatedly show and talk about McCain and whether he's right about Obama -- not about McCain's shifting positions on the major issues of the day.

They also know that the polls show a generic Democrat whipping a generic Republican, but the Obama-McCain polls are closer. Why is that, since we have just had eight years of Bush? Because the American people view the Bush Presidency as such a freak show that they do not believe any other President, of any party, would be such a disaster for the country. The American people believe Bush is an anomaly. They're willing to give a reasonable Republican a chance.

But McCain has shown, with his ads, that he's more of the same. He's running the Bush campaigns of 2000 and 2004. So it's hard to argue that he'd be much different as President, considering that he's also taken on many of Bush's policy views.

In the end, this is what will put Obama over the top -- people are tired of angry politics. At least, I think they are, but I say that because I'm tired of it. And it's only the beginning of August -- we have more than three months to go. McCain's anger, always boiling up inside of him, is bound to make the American people will grow tire of him soon. His lack of knowledge means that he'll keep making mistakes.

Yet if I were McCain's camp, I'd be running the same type of attack commercials and the same type of attacking campaign. When you have nothing good to say about yourself, slam the other guy.

A side note: I keep reading that if Obama selects Joe Biden for VP, it would be because he seeks to run with an elder statesman with foreign policy credentials. But the reason to pick Senator Biden is not just because of his leadership on foreign policy -- it is also because of his leadership on women's issues, such as the ahead of it's time Violence Against Women Act that has saved countless families; crime, for which Senator Biden has written the legislation that put 100,000 more cops on the street in the '90's and saw crime dramatically reduced; his leadership on the Judiciary Committee; and his knowledge of how to get things done in Washington. When people say that Senator Biden has been in D.C. for too long, and that he'd muddle the change message, I say to them that the only way to make change is to get your legislation through Congress. Senator Biden has proven time and again to be ahead of his time on domestic issues, and he has shown he knows how to get things done in Washington. Those are fine reasons to select Senator Biden for VP.

Comments

[Mickey777]

Matt, you defined the essence of Joe Biden in one succinct paragraph. An Obama/Biden ticket, realistically, would be hard-pressed to beat - realistically. Not to mention, I would revel in seeing Biden go one-on-one with Mitt Romney in the VP debates (if the truth of the matter be known, I would love to see Biden go one-on-one with John McCain, even if they are friends of 30+ years). While it may cost Biden his friendship, campaigns have a way of bringing out one's true colors, as sad as it may be. Yet, throughout Biden's bid for the presidential nominee through present-day, Biden's colors haven't changed, at all.

MickeyTalk

[JBoy]

I must have missed something.­..when & where did McCain tell kids to "get off his lawn"?

[Freesia2]

He has nothing to say, so by all means let him say it. And say it and say it and say. He's a pressure cooker, with little imagination, and if he keeps saying it after awhile people may just pause long enough to wonder what it is exactly he is saying....­which will be nothing. Watching smoke blow out someone's ears is oddly fascinating at first. It gets boring. Then it becomes annoying.

That said, Obama has to keep answering back. And he needs an ad campaign that directly answers each of the McCain ads. And if he could make them parody, that would be even better. It will make McCain angry, and then maybe he'll finally reveal himself as part of the "freak show".

And please let Obama pick Biden. I have been screaming this from the rooftop for weeks now to anyone who will listen. Can you hear me?

[Gma11]

John McCain is for John McCain - succinct and accurate.

[classicalmusicman]

The Republican have long believed the American people are stupid. Democrats have always believed Americans are much smarter than they are. One of many reasons why the Republicans have been so successful politically. And the Republicans are still banking on that stupidity, coupled with racism and fear, to carry them through. They've gotten pretty blatant about it. They're 100% for the big lie. It doesn't matter if it's not true: say it anyway. Eventually, one of the lies will catch on, and they're home. At the least, it keeps Obama off balance, and has him meeting silly ads with silly ads. Too bad. If the Dems try to outstupid the Reps, they going up against experts. Somebody has to try to bring the American people up. One more point. Obama's problem is the swing states. There are a lot of morons in the swing states--many are "undecided votors." That's where the Reps hopes lie--dumb swing votors (an oxymoron). About Biden. During the debates, no candidate showed more enthusiasm and a better--and deeper--grasp of the issues. Naturally, he had no chance.

[El]

Extremely well put. The difference between an educated Dem voter and an educated Dem politician is that the latter isn't at liberty to state what you did: that the American populace are ignorant morons. How great, how refreshing would it be to have Obama say, "Look idiots. You're just too damn stupid to see how my opponent doesn't give a damn about you. If you vote for him, the misery you've been enduring will only continue. Probably get worse, in fact."

I realize this is too much of a simplification, but the parallel would be a logical opposition of good vs. evil. It is in Good's nature to be good, i.e., fair, honest, etc. Wheres it is in Evil's nature to be evil, i.e., dishonest, deceptive, etc.

I've never heard anyone say this, so my own tidbit of junior poli-sci here: If one of the cornerstones of Republicanism is a basic dislike of government (dislike, distrust, desire to reduce size and influence), doesn't the notion of a Republican politician (i.e., office seeker/aspring member of govt) seem at least somewhat paradoxical?

[Torus34]

Should you really think that many American voters are tired of these personal attacks, I suggest you listen to some of the call-in enablers to the Rush Limbaugh and/or Sean Hannity radio shows.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any change in your opinion of the intelligence of the American voter caused by following my suggestion.

[cacatua]

I agree totally with your assessment of Joe Biden. These are the reasons I volunteered for his presidential campaign in Iowa. I was greatly disappointed that he didn't get the media exposure that he deserved, which had a good deal to do with him not getting anywhere in the caucus here. These are also great reasons for him to be vice president.

[redstateblue]

Biden backed credit card & bankruptcy bills that would make Ebeneezer Scrooge (before the ghosts) proud. I can't forgive him.

[c64audio]

The debates will destroy one of these men. Will be interesting to see how it turns out. My money's not on the old white guy.

[lonroyd]

It's hard to debate when you constantly muddle up the facts, my money on the new guy.

[JaneEyrez]

Your money's not on the old white guy to what? Destroy or be destroyed?

[ReelBusy]

Logic would suggest audio's comment to mean that McCain (the only old white guy in the race) would not be a winner in the debates or election.
What part did you not understand?