Yeah -- You and Whose Army?

So everyone's talking about the nasty spike of nastiness in the presidential race -- a spike brilliantly orchestrated by the Republican machinery -- and Republican John McCain takes a moment to point out that even this is Barack Obama's fault.

Y'see, all the crap being thrown at Obama -- the fear-mongering, the half-truths, the full lies -- all the character assassination hurling Obama's way, is in fact, his own doing.

"I think the tone of this whole campaign would have been very different if Senator Obama had accepted my request for us to appear in town hall meetings all over America," the Senator from Arizona tells us.

Am I just losing my friggin' mind? Seriously. I keep looking around the room to see if I'm living in some suddenly altered state where everything we know is now called the opposite, and nobody notices. Or can stop it.

"I wish I didn't have to take your lunch money, but you should'nt of hadda brung it."

We're in the 3rd grade again. The skinny, smart kid who just moved in to the neighborhood is getting roughed-up by the asshole bully. The kid who hits you in the head with your hand and says, "Why're you hitting yourself? Why're you hitting yourself?"

"Um, actually I'm not. You're hitting me."

"You calling me a liar?"

"No, I'm just pointing out that..." SMACK!

"Why're you hitting yourself?"

And there seems to be no one to appeal to. There're no grown-ups around when you need 'em. No one to step in and say, "Alright, that's enough now. We don't do that here, fella." And in the absence of any authority, the asshole gets to keep doing it.

"Why're you hitting yourself? SMACK! Why're you hitting yourself?"

From the few minutes of the GOP convention I could stomach watching, all I could think was that Giuliani and Sarah Palin were doing some big-person, lethal version of "I know you are, but what am I?"

America: "Well, respectfully, Governor Palin, it could be argued that you are, in fact, relatively inexperienced."

Her: "I know you are but what am I?"

"Hm? No, perhaps you misunderstood. We are talking about you."

"I know you are but what am I."

"Well, Governor, just listening to your speech, you seem awfully caustic."

"You are."

"And, frankly, a little bitter."

"You're bitter."

"I mean, where's your sense of humility?"

"I'm rubber, you're glue. It bounces off me and sticks to you."

"My God - you're... dangerous."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Maybe that's the problem. Obama treats us like adults, and McCain's team treats us like children.

Obama seeks to inspire and raise us as a nation. McCain's people want to reduce us to infants.

Obama asks us to be deep. And courageous.

McCain prays that we're simple. And cowardly.

Now everyone is calling for Obama to "get angry." "Get out there and frown this way, curl your lip that way, and clench your fist like so." And, I don't know..... That'd be cool. Sure. But I don't think the fix can come just from him. There's only so much the guy can do. It's going to have to be us. I don't know what exactly we need to do, but I know we'll do it. I have to believe -- I mean I really have to believe we're big enough, strong enough and smart enough to reclaim what's ours. I love my children too much to let the assholes take over the school yard.

Comments

[mrsmdressup]

Amen to that! On CNN right now, when Wolf Blitzer asked Gov. Pawlenty to respond to a statement Bill Richardson made about Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience he answered, and I'm paraphrasing here "Well, if Barack Obama had agreed to do Town Hall's with John Mccain"...­WTF?

What's the difference between a duck? True or false?

[AlieNation]

Paul, you're a funny guy. And you hit the nail right on the head. It is amazing that the reporters McCain has explained this absurd logic to have not called him out on it. What a bunch of losers.

But there is one scenario you missed. In this one Obama is the skinny guy who's afraid the bully is going to beat him up on the way to school. So he walks 6 blocks out of his way in order to avoid getting beat up.

The bully then goes to the skinny kid's home, after school, when he knows the kid's parents are out.

“Hey kid get out here, I know you been trash talkin' me!

But the kid keeps his head down, doesn't move around and hopes mom gets home soon.

[dd2chi]

I am in complete agreement. My husband and I look at ourselves and say what has happened to our country. We have done what we can, vote, protest, support our candidates, and it seems to no avail. I can only hope that as usual the media is making us feel isolated and that no one thinks the way that WE do. and there's many more of us than them. And we're tired of this reduction of election to as you say 'schoolyard bullies'. it's happening here in Oregon too, and we're not buying.
right on with your column.

[Goodmom08]

I can't believe any liberal person could be on Huffpo and still feel isolated. My goodness. I also am amazed that liberal folks feel as if the media makes them feel isolated. I'm a conservative, and it seems to me that most members of the media are more liberal. For instance: when Charlie Gibson interviews Joe Biden, I predict Charlie will not wear those eyeglasses and look down his nose sternly at Mr. Biden the whole time.

[willynel]

That's your criticism? Seriously?

Read up on your VP candidate. She is very similar to GWB and Cheney.

If you liked the last eight years, then go ahead and vote for her. But if you want gas prices to get worse, your kids to have less because we keep increasing the deficit and health to become less affordable, don't pick McCain/Paln.

[corinam]

And what if he does? Will that make Joe Biden answer differently. Will Biden claim he has vast knowledge about Canada or some other country because they are close to Delaware. Will he suddenly not know what the Bush doctrine is because the interviewer looks sternly at him. Your argument is ridiculous.

[torbin]

Well, yes, the media does appear liberal -- but half of the republican party is liberal compared to Governor Palin, too.

[maumeeone]

Of course, I can only speak for myself, so I can only hope there are others who also feel this way. Sarah Palin makes makes my skin crawl. I just get this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. She's the battery on the McCain wheelchair! He can not make it on his own, so she is there to prop him up. And that's what scares me most. My inner voice is telling me that if McCain/Palin win this thing, we will end up with President Palin in the long run! What is your inner voice telling you?

[Bongborg]

" The End is near."

[willynel]

She scares me to death.

Read the NY Times article. I know they skew left, but they quoted Republicans who hated her tax increase on oil companies (the only thing that I have liked about her, which she won't do again).

They immediate became labeled as a "hater" and an enemy of the campaign.

By the way, if she rejected the "Bridge to Nowhere" how come she kept the money?

I know of a bridge in Minneapolis that could have used that money a couple of years ago.

[BowlingForRevenge]

That's the present situation pretty much in a nutshell..­.sadly

[905Grape]

Another perceptive and entertaining opinion. Thank you for sharing your wonderful wit. I was just saying that the GOP campaign had resorted to grade school school yard taunting this past week about who is calling whom a pig, and it worked. I even got sucked into the latest cycle myself. Is referring to or using lipstick now sexist? As a professional woman, I even found myself hesitating a minute before applying my favorite fall shade to my own lips before heading to the train and the office. I looked in the mirror and said, "snap out of it!."

You made me laugh at myself. Thank you for that.

[cyndeewi]

I totally agree Paul. It has to come from us. We have to stop the republicans and the swift boat organizations from these scare tatics and lies.

[grrrlrobyn]

i had the exact same response
here's my LTE published last week
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/COUNTY09010501/809110310/1164/COUNTY09

[acklebee]

other concern , we are the bully of countries, and like someone else said, some people like this....
and some of them believe in manifest destiny...­....
we are gods people
just us.
i was thinking what is different now rather than in the 50's and why they cannot get away with it..is
because we are a more diverse nation than ever- and everyone who is not white and rich....or white ignorant and poor will have to think twice or 500 times about voting for McCain

[Osprey3]

While I am in general agreement with your article, the fact remains that the best way to deal with schoolyard bullies is to confront them. They are typically cowards who shrink away when stood up to. Campaigning on the issues works well with informed, reasonably intelligent voters, but unfortunately they are in the minority. The flag-waving crowd following McCain/Palin usually vote with their guts, not their heads. These "lemmings" are easily swayed by gutter politics and especially by unwarranted fear. The Republicans understand this, which is why Bush/Cheney got a second term. If Obama/Biden want to win this election, they're going to have to take off the gloves. It's time for the Dems to blow the dust off the old Goldwater mushroom cloud ad. After all, didn't Palin suggest to Charles Gibson that The US and her NATO allies may need to militarily confront Russia on her own border with the Caucasus (great idea!)?

[Bongborg]

The best thing to do is kick them in the 'nads.

[acklebee]

I am concerned, the swiftboaters are going to come out full force. what can we do? vote, get others to vote?
How do you convince people that sarah pain is a lying a-hole? esp. where I live.

I do remember something i read...i think in bury my heart at wounded knee or other books about the genocide of American Indians...­..

they stopped letting them gather, use their own language, pray to their gods, perform their rituals,,,,,,,made them dress as whites....­.etc..

so i think- sarah palin has infected my brain- their plan is working, take away our faith- our hope for the future....
sidetrack our energy.... it sounds silly but I think it could be right.....­sarah palin is a large sucking sound

and we have to get out of the cesspool, expose her but stand firm- keep up the good work and do not let it get us in the dumps.....

(it is hard to understand human beings when you see people supporting her- a certain cynicism sets in)
but no, no no!!! we can believe in Barack....­..we can and we can change this country as much as the mega billionare swiftboaters want it to go on the same.

[barriosbabe]

Great article, Paul.

Palin? Vett the husband!

[VetTheVeep]

ROVE-BOTS MUST WAKE UP
You are so right. Thank you Paul for stepping forward and calling it what it is - Bullying. I live in a small town in the south and the bullying that goes on here is incredible. So many people are afraid to come out and talk about their views if they differ from the Republican Party line.I've started my own email news report for those who believe there must be a better way to run this country. Most people do not or cannot do their own research so send them real articles and links from the Internet. Today we are a hopelessly RED state, but hopefully we can find more people who don't want to live like a Stepford Wife or a Rove-bot.

[Steve69]

Why doesn't someone run an ad that shows the footage of McSame on stage singing BOMB BOMB BOMB BOMB BOMB IRAN to the tune of the Beach Boy's Barbara Ann?

That shows exactly what type of person he is and what kind of president he would be.

OBAMA/BIDEN 08

[crayola 08]

well i don't want obama to "get angry" but there are opportunities out there for him to give mccain a good metaphorical punch in the mouth. take this mccain quote below for example:

"I didn't decide to run for president to start a national crusade for the political reforms I believed in or to run a campaign as if it were some grand act of patriotism. In truth, I wanted to be president because it had become my ambition to be president. . . . In truth, I'd had the ambition for a long time." - John McCain

audio reference: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=6eKwTL8SwbI

why the obama camp never used that quote to their full advantage in a political ad is beyond me. it's out there, practically being handed to them on a silver platter and they've failed to take advantage of such a golden opportunity to completely skewer mccain with his own words.

no, obama, don't get angry, don't lower yourself to mccain's half-truthes and blatant lies. but take the opportunity to use damage him with his own words while you still have time.

[corinam]

I think the biggest problem is that he is critized no matter what he does. If he were to put out an ad like that the pundits would say he is going back on his promise to run a positive campaign. If he doesn't do things like that they complain that he is not fighting hard enough. I personally think that he needs to focus mainly on the issues but start doing some hard hitting ads on the lying that McCain/Palin is doing. We are starting to see some of that with the press releases this weekend but I don't think we will see any new ads until next week.