McCain: The Maverick Has Been Gelded
This must be the clear, clean and simple narrative that Obama must present to voters about Senator McCain. Senator Obama has been testing this theme a bit this week with his pushback against the tire gauge silliness but he needs to be banging this drum loud, hard and often. He also needs to deliver this message himself instead of through surrogates. What better way to show you're not aloof than to get your hands dirty yourself.
I humbly offer that Obama might consider saying something like this:
"What happened to maverick Senator McCain?
Washington happened.John McCain was a hero of mine. He and folks like Richard Lugar and Chuck Hagel were independent voices in an increasingly bitter and partisan Washington. When I was fortunate enough to be elected to the Senate he was one of the senators I was most eager to work with.
I miss that John McCain.
To see the former 'maverick' senator now parrot a broken GOP platform that he had spent his entire career voting against and denouncing I cannot now and don't think I will ever understand.
To see the once 'straight-talker' surrender his presidential campaign to the very same Bush-Rove operatives that so viciously assassinated not only his own character but savaged his own wife and child, just makes me sad.
This Bush-Rove crew is really a piece of work. They seem intent at only appealing to ugliness and fear. 'Country First' is the slogan they've settled on. What other option for an American President is there? Can they really be so vile as to question my unshakeable love for this country?
Because if that is what they are implying at least have the guts to say it to my face.
You can't spout a slogan like "Country First" while at the same time selling out your country to the Bush-Cheney Big Oil interests who've pumped $2 million into your campaign.
That's Big Oil first, country second.
You can't call yourself, "The American President Americans have been waiting for," without implying that I and the other tens of millions of descendants of immigrants are any less American than you are.
You promised to run an honorable campaign and so far, Senator McCain, your campaign has been anything but.
I will not stand for your Bush-Rove henchmen to cheapen one of the most noble and uplifting events in world history -- the election of an American president. And neither should you.
I'm running for president so that together we Americans can fix the corrosive culture of insider politics and the next generation of mavericks can come to Washington and keep the courage that got them there in the first place."
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I wish Obama would show some emotion when McCain says things like Obama would lose a war to win a campaign or he would Forfeit a war to win the presidency. To me that is the most dishonourable thing a person can say about an American serving public office.
Obama should bang on a lecturn, and be visably upset .. but I can't see it happening .. thus playing into McCain's hands.
Take out everything up to and including "I miss that John McCain." and I'll agree - somewhat.
Never, I repeat NEVER, start a statement with praise for the opposition. Most people have an attention span of about 7 seconds after which their brains shut down. That's all they will remember 3 days later.
He can't say this now. He'll be accused of plagiarism.
pottery realized:
"He can't say this now. He'll be accused of plagiarism."
Heh. Right you are. And the can't say anything new, or they'll accuse him of being "too original." America's not ready for that, dammit! What is he, upp***, uh, arrogant?
In the psy chological terms used for students with behavior disorder, McCain would be classified as a "negative follower." He'll be the fall guy doing all the dirty work for the criminal element in the social situation. He gets busted, they don't.
Brilliant - praise then damn..I suspect we will see t his post Olympics and convention. McCain is toast once the big game starts
Please, I love Jon Stewart but if Obama followed his advice and said all those things about McCain, the next thing that would come out of McCain's mouth would sound similar to what he said about Paris' ad making fun of his age, he would say thank you Sen. Obama for the glowing endorsment.
Mr. Ellis.
As always your article is spot on.
Thank you,
BRILLIANT!!
Now, for your next trick, tell us how to get the corporatist media to repeat it :)
Ooops! Look like they were already on it!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/07/dnc-parodies-dems-praise_n_117545.html
I'lll see you one, Trey. All the dems have to do is re-engineer McCain's ad with them praising him, (and putting dates with it) and then saying "Those were the good old days. These days, we just don't recognize him."
QT
And at the end of the video, fade McCain's face into George W. Bush. And put "Maverick no more, now Washingto insider, lobbyist's best friend, George Bush clone."
The amazing thing is the seeming glee with which McCain has gelded himself into becoming a virtual Bush clone.
because NOW he's one of the "kewl" kids.
Gelded? What is it with people like you and Jesse Jackson, and Bob Herbert? Can you comment about something that doesn't involve private parts?
Because like it or not, this campaign is likely to be decided by people who will almost literally be comparing their weight and trying to see whose are better protected.
Nope, they can't. It's a guy thing. It is what they do, it's how they bond.
Yep! That Mars-Venus thing will never go away; it's so hard-wired into our genetic code that only true (and extremely rare) gender ambiguity at birth can result in a Earthling.
Ponder this for a moment and you might see how the so-called middle is a figment of the imagination.
Hey, McCain played the maverick card first? I think that is an excellent one-liner that should be fixed in people's heads by surrogates. Heck, I think I'll you need to do is to pull up some of McCain's primary ads from February and run those. Here in California, we were inundated with "McCain -- The True Conservative" ads. Use those.
Mr. Ellis -- nice, nice piece of writing. I think it furthers Obama's message and theme to take an attitude that is more sad than mad.
And, if you want to get nasty -- but fair and probably accurate -- it conveys the same "lost his bearings" message that McCain whined about earlier. What does make a man pushing 70 start changing his values and have trouble keeping memories and events fresh in his mind? Hmmmmm ....
Should have done this years ago. Your comments are right on. Does create a few really interesting and offensive visions of the Maverick character of the ancient TV days. But, of course, that would have been McCain's prime. Now we are left with only the decaying carcus of a losing horse.
Beautiful, Mr. Ellis. My only supposition as to why Obama and his team of surrogates haven't gone after McBush's nuts is because they're waiting until after the convention acclaims him as the official D. candidtate. But if they don't geld him soon, it may be too late. The electorate may become inseminated with all McBush's lies and pandering. It's happened before. The siren song of "hero" is as alluring as that of "compassion."
Attack ads have been released about McCaine. The polls say it is a dead heat.
Even as a snapshot in time, the focus of current polling is extremely blurry.
1) Neither candidate has ever consistently (or ever in one case ever) polled above 50%.
2) The spread in many of the polls--especially recently--is within the margin of error.
3) We are FAR too far away for any polling to catch even a hint of election day in their snapshot.
4) At present and likely through November, people in general from Wall Street to Main Street are confused, uncertain and perhaps even scared by situations that conventional wisdom said could not occur.
5) We are being over polled.
Thank you Trey for this piece which sums up the situation quite well. Well stated. Now tell him what to do about Hillary Clinton--her latest strategy and planned tactics. No wonder Bill Clinton said what he said the other day about Obama being ready to be POTUS.
No! No! No! No!
VERY bad idea!
As far as this election is concerned, the maverick label--deserved or not--is a great asset when applied to McCain.
If Obama mentions both "McCain" and "Maverick" together, it only helps cement a positive image of McCain into the minds of those undecided and vulnerable voters. Absolute suicide if he would compliment him for past "maverick" behavior. People will think, "If he had this positive aspect in the past, he can certainly get it again," and worse still could easily think, "Perhaps a current lack of maverick status is because his current position in Washington isn't high enough."
Using such logic in arguments would likely get you kicked off a high-school, junior varsity debate team.
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