McCain Wimps Out, Country Shrugs

After two weeks of party conventions which included The Maverick's bold, audacious cave-in to the religious right, we find ourselves in exactly the same place: Barack Obama leads John McCain slightly in national polls and more significantly in electoral college projections.

This is not surprising: McCain has been stuck under 45% of the intended vote since Obama was nominated; at the same time, there is a hard, concrete floor to his numbers as many voters will simply not vote for a Democrat for president. McCain could have picked a broomstick, or even Mitt Romney, as his running-mate, and he would still get about 4 in 10 votes.

As spectacular and public as McCain's surrender to the right-wing crazies is, it did not tell voters anything new. Yes, choosing Sarah Palin, the unvetted mayor of a town of less than 10,000 until 18 months ago, shows he lacks judgment, but we already knew that: his hard-headed support of the war in Iraq and his ridiculously bellicose stance on Iran, for starters, are vibrant examples of his poor common sense.

Yes, after being hounded by religious extremists for years, he picks one of them as his running mate, and that shows complete lack of principle. But we also knew that: he has flip-flopped or severely prevaricated so many times, voters genuinely have no idea where he stands on most issues despite his 26 years in Congress.

Yes, he is a consummate liar, peppering his convention speech with data and anecdotes long proven to be untrue. But he has been doing this forever and, after all, he IS a Republican, and they more than anyone have perfected the totalitarian art of saying the exact opposite of what is true in the face of the most blatant evidence.

Yes, he is completely out of touch with any kind of economic reality: he and his fellow GOP convention speakers devoted virtually no time to Americans' most pressing concern, the economy, just as unemployment is hitting a 5-year high and the housing crisis is worsening yet again. But this we knew too: the man who can't count his houses (or probably his money) thinks the economy is "fundamentally strong" and his associates think Americans are whiny.

Yes, he is deeply prejudiced, as evidenced by his campaign's convention speeches brutally emphasizing Obama's "otherness" and presumed lack of patriotism. But then again, no surprise here: he is the head of a party whose congressional representation is 99% non-Hispanic white (and may well be down to just one after November), and he has so little understanding of America outside his own country club that he voted against the basic symbolism of awarding Martin Luther King his own holiday.

Yes, his choice of a woman running-mate who has spent her short political life denying women's rights is indicative of his misogyny. But, frankly, we already knew that he was a man who left his first wife destitute to marry the local heiress whom he then publicly upbraids and calls a c***: not exactly an ally of women.

So, in the short term, nothing appears to have changed. But there are signs that the conventions and the Palin pick specifically may be a turning point after all. Republicans' biggest mistake this week may have been to tie Palin to Hillary Clinton. Leaving aside the egregious sexism of the strategy (combined with the egregious sexism of calling anyone criticizing Palin a sexist), it seems to have brought Clinton on board the Obama train more firmly than before. Is there anything Clinton would find more infuriating than to be compared to a lightweight such as Palin, who is in hiding until she is ready for prime-time?

The GOP convention has also caused a flood of cash to come Obama's way as many lethargic donors focused on the potential horror of a McCain/Palin presidency.

And it has spurred the traditional media into doing some approximation of its job and to devote resources to understanding who Palin is, and by extension who McCain is (in the meanwhile, the National Enquirer, fresh from its John Edwards success, was once again leading the charge.) Bashing the press works really well at a GOP convention, but it has to be a short-term satisfaction considering the storm of bad news that is coming the way of the McCain/Palin ticket: such a public vetting is unprecedented (although the Clarence Thomas hearings come to mind) and it is hard to imagine what good Republicans think can come of it.

The best thing about the GOP convention, though, is that it will help wavering voters realize that far from the eccentric rebel he likes to portray, McCain is a sad pawn in the religious right's attempt to maintain power in the GOP and over the country. And that if Americans think Dick Cheney is a frightening puppeteer, what will they have to say about Palin and her God-squad holding McCain's feet to the fire (and the brimstone)?

Comments

[toochie50]

ALL WE NEED TO KNOW GUYS:

Electoral vote today
fivethirtyeight.com updated daily - best website for accurate polls/predictions - read all about how it's done:

9/8/08
OBAMA: 303.9
mc: 234.1

that's all we need to count on - 270 needed to win!

[cez]

I find it funny that all you democrats who complain about the lack of experience never seem to remember that she is the governor of Alaska. In this article, "Yes, choosing Sarah Palin, the unvetted mayor of a town of less than 10,000 until 18 months ago",. A great way to win over the electorate-insult them.

After you loose in November, Democrats should take a long sabbatical and understand why you snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

[BetterDeadthanRedState]

As the article very accurately pointed out you're one in four that would vote for Mitt Romney or a broomstick. (Personally I'd prefer the broomstick.) You're not anything approaching a flexible electorate, and while it may not do any electoral good, still, it's great fun to insult you.

[greeniefromOH]

After you lose in November, you should take a long sabbatical and figure out how you snatched defeat from the jaws of ... defeat.

We don't forget that she's the Governor of the least-populous state in the Union. And has been for an impressive 20 months! Don't worry -- we remember.

As far as winning the electorate over by insulting them, let's not even go there.

[Taajq]

Don't be so sad. Sarah Pain and John Bush is giving it their best shot. They do own a gun right, so I'm sure they will be fine....in the backwoods shooting moose and boobies.

[PoliJunkie]

Thank you Mr. Jenkins! Another inspiring piece. Thanks for trying to keep us all focused on the ISSUES and not the hype!

[TommyMcCarthy]

I never want to hear another word from John McCain or his campaign about anyone's patriotism again......particularly that of Barack Obama.

Mr. McCain has engendered a situation in which, if he is elected, ......
A COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED PERSON, with views even more radical, more DANGEROUS than the group of crooks and liars currently in power.......
will be VERY LIKELY to become the President of The United States!!!

I submit to you that a patriot, who so "loves his country" (as we are told at every turn) would not DO such a thing.
tm

[seanseamour]

So true, if only center right Republicans could find their way to constructively manage change under an Obama - Biden administration perhaps we could pull the country out of the doldrums and relegate the extreme right to a minority status. There are social conservatives on both sides of the spectrum, they need to forge an alliance for change.

[swift goat pet for truth]

McCain cannot stand up to Rove. He's going to stand up to Putin?

No way. No how. No Palin / McCain.

[WinnipegJen]

I think that by picking Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly shown his desire to put winning a race ahead of country first. Palin is a polarizing figure but I hope for the sake of American women and their freedom to choose, for the sake of all Americans and their freedom to think and even to dissent, that Palin is not elected as VP. She is clearly the superstar of the ticket and her ties to the religious right would mean they would be the true rulers of the US if McCain were to be elected. Read Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale to see the future of America under religious fundamentalism.

[peterg76]

The deception is one factor, but Republicans also rely on a segment of voters who do see the hypocrisy, self-enrichment, war-mongering and overall destructive effect but don't seem to think it's important enough, or not sufficiently different from the Democrats.

[yorkie]

WE vote for our futures,our families,friends, and in this case fear is motivating me to get out the vote in a way like never before, The john mac BUSH team is an awful,trite,zealot, mean spirited and divisive lot that we can not afford to ruin what's left of our nation and the spirit of the people. This a a very good piece and interesting too as it points out things in a way that has not been as much in relation to Hillary Clinton and her role in the campaign...... I think it's another big piece of the election puzzle...... Team mac BUSH is trying to get the same folks who went with BUSH in 2004..while O is working hard on expanding the map where KERRY and GORE did not win..like NH,NV,NM, VA,CO,ND, AND FLA...... EVERY time I get down,,,something stirs inside like wheel turning that says O can do and he keeps on in new strong effective ways.....I'd ignore the polls,, that msm seeking an easy story...ignore the puns and most tv chatters, they just talk amongst each other.... It's all about getting O' voters out Nov 4 in every precinct in every state!

[Cathy22]

Excellent article! I may print this and carry it in my purse for conversations with Republicans for McCain. One of my many questions about McCain is: If he can't keep track of 7 houses, how will he be able to run a country with 50 states and millions of people? I just don't think he is capable.

[DoTheMath]

Yes! Finally somebody sees the upside of this side-show. I hope the Obama supporters who have been moping around - apparently under the impression that there is a finite amount of enthusiasm in the contest, and any enthusiasm gained by the far right is enthusiasm lost to us - I hope those mopers are reading this post. Sure it's depressing that lots of people are buying into a story made of lies, even though the lies have already been exposed. The only thing more depressing would be for us to let that stupidity take away our enthusiasm = our motivation = our efforts = our victory.

[bobo5]

It's time to get the check book out. again I actually received a McCain solicitation this week. It was postage paid so I stuck some pizza coupons in it. Putting junk in junk takes care of junk mail.

Last weekend on Labor Day I discovered that two of my friends at the BBQ had been laid off.

[momof3inGA]

Good article. McCain did well to ignite his base....but after carefully considering what happened last week, I realized that all McCain did was cause the people that were already planning to vote "against" Obama in the fall to vote "for" McCain (due to Palin). Consequently, it's a wash.

[zedthewizard]

people vote with their wallets, unless their afraid. i believe many in the middle will think before they step into the booth and some of those that would've been turned off by obama might have a hard time getting those lingering thoughts out of their mind.

"this is wrong"
"i can't do this"
"what if, . . . can i really live with this vote"

[TheHoobie]

Well said, cgr! I completely agree---I was an early Obama supporter and not that big a fan of Hillary Clinton, to my mother's consternation. But now, heck, I would 1,000,000 times rather see Hillary as President than Palin as Vice President. And even as an Obama supporter, I thought the media (Fox, of course, but especially MSNBC, who you think would know better) were sexist in their response to her candidacy, and I CAN'T STAND the fact that Palin and the McCain campaign are using the "sexist card" (sorry to use another "card" term) and the disgusting denigration Clinton went through to stonewall legitimate questions from the press.

[Rosewren02]

Mentioning the media, I thought it has been disgusting how the pundits are falling all over themselves talking about how great she is. Listening to her speech at convention actually made me feel physical ill because there was so much hate and venom in it. She was making any points by offering ideas different from Democrats, she was vociferously engaged in character assassination. As for me the only character assassination that was accomplished was her own character.

Also, today when I was watching Meet the Press with Brokaw interviewing Biden, it seemed as if he was attacking Biden not to reveal Biden's views but tho impugn his character as well. The last few days I have been turning off the main news programs and going to c-span for information.

[LetMeUnderstandThis]

Hate is the going theme in the Repuglican party, If they had any issues to talk about then the convention was the place to set it off. But as usual they played the mis-information card, degrading the opponet and continue to not only lie about Barack but about themselves. Talk about Character and Honor!