Pick a Meme, Any Meme

As a rule, Republicans appreciate the value in defining the Democratic presidential nominee, and the GOP is usually pretty good at it. In 2000, Al Gore, they said, was an "exaggerator." This was not only effective, thanks to a quick embrace by the media, it was also part of a narrative -- when Gore takes credit for some of the successes of the '90s, don't believe him because he exaggerates.

In 2004, John Kerry, they said was a "flip-flopper." This, too, was relatively effective, and was once again parroted by the media. The narrative here was equally clear -- in the first post-9/11 election, in a time of war, we don't want someone who's inconsistent.

Four years later, the effort to define Barack Obama is proving to be more difficult for Republican attack dogs. The GOP keeps experimenting with new memes, but not only are they not sticking, some even contradict each other.

For months, Karl Rove & Co. has sought to characterize Obama as a dangerous outsider who we don't really know and can't trust. Everything about him, the argument goes, is "foreign." The various far-right smears -- about Obama's religion, his family, his name, his patriotism -- were all part of the same conservative frame.

More recently, Rove and his cohorts reversed course, and went with the opposite message: Obama isn't a dangerous outsider anymore, now he's an elite insider, hanging out "at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette."

This week, Rove used his Wall Street Journal platform to push yet another meme: Obama the narcissist.

Such arrogance - even self-centeredness - have featured often in the Obama campaign. [...]

The candidate's self-centeredness has been on display before.... Mr. McCain will be helped if he uses Mr. Obama's actions to paint his opponent as someone driven by an all-powerful instinct to look out only for himself.

Yes, we should reject Obama because the outsider/insider candidate is now concerned about his (cue scary music) ... self-interests.

If you're starting to get the impression that Obama's conservative detractors are just throwing every attack they can think of at a wall, hoping desperately that something will stick, we're on the same page.

The bad news for Republicans is that they're stuck with garbled message and an undefined opponent four months before Election Day. The worse news is, these memes are largely nonsensical and easy to disprove.

Keep searching, guys, you're bound to come up with something eventually.

Comments

[lindalipscomb]

Obama - king flip flopper. Stands for change - yes, change from many things he said before. Consistency? Backbone? Principles? - a moveable chart, for him. Still, he seems smarter than McCain on the economy. But is he smarter on Iraq? Don't know. Obama - an unknown, untested, uncharted, and slick quantity. Ughh! What a choice!

[shivadas]

So staying in Iraq for 100 more years is "smarter"? Nice try.

[sasse1]

I think you've got it backwards lindalipscomb...that would be McCain.
Him and his party never cease to amaze me with their shameless tactics.
I respect McCain's military service, but remain baffled by his stance on issues facing our soldiers today. Yes Obama is somewhat inexperienced, but he is willing to learn from the
mistakes of others (unlike the current administration) and to see things with a non biased eye.

[evolution1223]

And what exactly has McCain been tested on? Sitting in a POW camp doesn't prepare you to be president. And if being senator for 30 years was key, then we would have elected a senator for president sometime in the past 20 years.

I'm really tired of the "we don't know him" mantra. Try reading an article or two or Obama's website if you're interested in his views. If you're not interested, then no amount of knowledge will be enough.

Who, may I ask is smarter on Iraq? No one in the Senate was smart enough to keep us out of there. It will take military strategists to get us out of there responsibly. I venture to say Mr. Obama can find military strategists just as well as Mr. McCain.

And honestly, I don't understand the "slick quantity". What is slick about Sen. Obama? Just asking.

[TahoeEditor]

Obama doesn't exaggerate: "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."

Obama doesn't flip-flop: "I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election."

Your headline is the best part of your column. There's a lot of material here.

[ChristianEcon.com]

Two counter-examples = "a lot."

[Marlyn]

"The GOP keeps experimenting with new memes, but not only are they not sticking, some even contradict each other."

The GOP has never worried about being consistent, nor about truth, for that matter.

[Donald Wolberg]

he world is a logical place if we take time to appraise its components. We can read, listen analyse and be as objective as possible. After some effort, an analysis of Mr. Obama's statements, actions and history mud lead logical people to wonder if the "real" Obama is a work in progress (disturbing when someone is his age), or is simply a more normative politician in terms of behavior and positions assumed. These are separate issues from those other qualities of "experience," "preparation," or "judgement." These separate aspects that fill out the public Obama are, I suggest fair attributes for evaluation. I suggest that the questions raised about Mr. Obama differ from those that emerged during the Kerry run, or the Clinton run--these are people with an extensive resume and a documented record for good or bad. Such a list of attainments, experience, or verbal record does not exist for Mr. Obama. In many ways he not so much a "clean" slate as a slate without a lot written on it. Whether thsi does or does not impact the appeal of Mr. Obama will remain to be seen, although it does seem remarkable that Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain seem to be in a dead heat, perhaps because Mr. McCain does have a very full and documented record.

[JoshuasGrandma]

Since when is a 10-15% lead considered a 'dead heat'. Sounds to me like the old GOP ploy- say something enough times and maybe people will think its true - The more people learn about flip-flop McCain, the higher Obama's numbers go.The poor old guy can't even claim to being smart - 6th from the bottom in his USNA class and a legacy at that...can't remember what his current position on an issue is because it changes with whatever group he's speaking to. And the only advisors he can claim are big money and foreign lobbyists - and we haven't even started on the Keating scandals
Face it, the GOP knew they were going to lose this one big - so threw the war hero to the wolves.
What else would you expect? Loyalty to the troops?- McCain won't even vote for the current GI bill...

[birdandcat]

"Bad things happen when democrats are in total control."

must be comedy night. If you have net worth over 10 Million then the last 8 years was probably good for you especially if you took your tax cut and invested it overseas where you've helped create many new jobs. Less then 10 million, well, you're not part of GWB's base, " the haves and the have mores".

[Rosey]

The Republicans have been in control.... can you name any good things that have happened. Yes the daughter's wedding was good but does not count.
How about nay-saying to climate control, stacking the courts, nay-saying to stem cell research, a war-for-oil with no exit strategy, hiding the dead bodies of our brave soldiers from photos, a hideous response to the blacks of Katrina, trying abstinence for teens which has proved NOT to work, a regime so secretive and conniving, a Vice-Prez who shoots his friend and the friend is so scared he says HE got in the way of the bullet of the VP, sucking up/kissing the tushes of Big Oil, Big Biz, Big Agribiz, Big Pharma ad nauseum to the detriment of the "little" people who actually needed the support. Let's stop there - Billionaire Charles Schwab has needed subsidies all the years???
This list could go on and on for the Republicans have given the country to the rich and turned their noses on the poor, the disenfranchised, women in general, Blacks, Hispanics..... Oops sorry both Bush and McBush are now courting Hispanics. I am interested to see what they offer for their votes. A new direction on illegal immigration?

[Quitcherbichin]

As we are limited to 250 words, there is no way I can respond to all of Rosey's psychobabble. I will confine my remarks to just these few.

Stacking the courts - Heellloooo Rosey.. the Democrats do the same thing when they have the White House.

Hiding the dead bodies of our brave soldiers from photos. Now just WHY would you want the government to publish pictures of the bodies of our dead service people? You think that is going to work for the appeaser crowd? Why don't we publish the pictures of the slimeball terrorists holding up the heads of innocent American contractors that they have decapitated? Might that work against the appeaser crowd?

There has never, repeat never, been a natural disaster of this magnitude in the history of our republic. The mayor of N.O was, and still is, (shows how much sense the voters of N.O. have) a black man. The governor of the state refused to allow the Louisiana National Guard to be put under the command of the federal authorities because she feared "losing control" of them. She refused GB's offer of federal troops until it was obvious that she could not control the situation. As far as the response to the blacks is concerned, why is it Bush's fault that these people did not have enough sense to evacuate N.O. when they knew that a cat 5 storm was coming right at them?

[gadfly55]

Most people can't spell the word, narcissist, or know the story of Narcissus, or can imagine a politician as a person interested in the way they appear to themselves, as distinct from how they appear to others. Everyone knows politicians are egomaniacs who want to be the center of everybody's attention. They don't look at themselves, everybody is looking at them.

[booksnmore4you]

The biggest scandal here is that the WSJ opens its pages to Rove's pen.

[onelife1]

when repubs run the country (All good things happen)

Billions of dollors go missing in Iraq
No one is accountable for anything..
The american people are feed a steady diet of lies
They want to tell you that you are better off with them, while they make themselves better off.
And don't forget the fear card. (everytime the public gets out of line, play the fear card.) hey what ever happened to that color coded fear system which helped Bush get re-elected?

[gjoh]

"Such arrogance - even self-centeredness - have featured often in the Obama campaign. [...] "

Say what? With a campaign slogan of "Yes We Can!"

You're really reaching here, Rove.

[JerryK]

We may think that these memes are nonsensical and easy to disprove, but we must always keep in mind that just because they are nonsensical and easy to disprove there are many citizens out there who will still believe. Karl Rove and his fellow bottom feeders have proven over and over that sense and truth are irrelevant. Obama needs to be himself and be on offense when it comes to defining himself.

[LTCKal]

Why not turn the tables? I've got one for McCain that I am surprised no one used: Captain Queeg.
Doesn't his delivery remind you of Humphrey Bogart in the Caine Mutiny?

[BlackWidowPilot]

LOL!! Brilliant indeed!!

I happen to refer to him as "Hundred Years War" McCain...

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[MPeter]

Yep. They are old school politicians and Americans using new technology have caught up on the them. They know that they are divisive distortionists who have destroyed this country and will stop at nothing to get back to power and continue the damage.

[mike53]

Republicans only have to ask one question over and over. Do you want Reid, Pelosi and Obama running the country?

Bad things happen when democrats are in total control. Even you liberals don't like Reid and Pelosi.

[fauve]

And, exactly what good things happened when the Repubs were in total control?

[jvarga]

Depends on your point of view. Maybe you make lots of money off the suffering of others or the destruction of the environment. Those guys probably have loved the last few years.

[alejo699]

Do I want Obama, an intelligent, well-spoken, thoughtful man in charge? Do I want to elect a man who will say what he believes even if his audience might not agree with him? Why yes, I believe I do!

As for the post itself, Republicans can strut stiff-legged all they want, they're terrified of Barack Obama. He's young, he's smart, he's brown, and he's popular. Of course they're going to do everything they can to attach negative labels and he, being the true statesman that he is, will address them calmly and coherently.

I think it's gonna be a good year.

[thebeerdoctor]

Perhaps Obama's recent boiler plate about extending the death penalty for child rapists, suggests he might not be as thoughtful as you believe.

[Cheryllou]

I'm with you. The country is in it's best shape right now. Oil is down, gas is down, food prices is wayyyyyyyyyyy down. The only thing that is up, is our pay checks. Way to go Republicans!!! NOT.

[arglebargle]

To which the Dems reply: How have Bush, DeLay, Frist, and McConnell worked out for ya?

Hilarious.

[BlackWidowPilot]

"Bad things happen when democrats are in total control. Even you liberals don't like Reid and Pelosi."

"Bad things" Mikey? You mean bad things like Cheney's war for oil and empire launched and sustained by over 900+ *Documented* lies about WMDs and debunked claims of connections between Saddam Hussein and 9/11?

Bad things like Hurricane Katrina and "Heckuvajob" Brownie?

Bad things like a foreclosure epidemic?

Bad things like Cheney crony KBR serving rotting food and contaminated water to out troops in Iraq?

Bad things like warrantless wiretapping, runaway deficit spending threatening to bankrupt our country, while Bush and Cheney cronies pocket the taxpayer's cash and run?

Bad things like a dollar in freefall, runaway foreign debt to China, and global climate change?

Bad things like over 4,000 dead US military personnel, over 12,000 wounded many maimed for life, and upwards of a million Iraqi casualties including *children?*

I happen to be an independent voter, mikey, and from where I'm sitting your vaunted "Greedy Old Perverts" look a helluva lot worse than anything such enabling Dinocrats as Pelosi could possibly inflict that hasn't already been done by the Busheviks and their corporatist cronies.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[shel3364]

They're trying to nail Jell-o to a wall....