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More of The Same — Literally

Cara

Last night, I saw a new John McCain attack ad.  I was unable to find it online — please someone let me know if you do — so I’ll describe it for you as best as I remember.  It began with the “celebrity” theme, showing a sort of animated representation of Obama’s acceptance speech at the DNC.  Then the voice over said something along the lines of “once the lights go down, what does he really stand for?”  Cut to some menacing pictures of other Democratic leaders (Chris Dodd???), with the voice over calling them Obama’s “liberal allies” and then telling some lies about how he’s going to raise taxes, saying something about how he opposed offshore drilling, and using a couple of other really standard GOP talking points.  Then it ends with the words . . . “That’s not change, That’s more of the same.”

WTF?

In complete and utter seriousness I ask you: what the hell does John McCain think he’s doing?

First, he tried to steal Obama’s campaign tagline with this “a leader we can believe in” crap.  Then, he completely nonsensically tried to steal the campaign talking point of change, while ignoring that “kicking the bums out” means kicking him and his party out.  And now, they’re trying — again, nonsensically — to steal his newest slogan “thats not change, that’s more of the same.”

Is there something I’m missing that makes this a winning strategy?  Are they just trying to neutralize all of Obama’s arguments because they can’t argue against them?  Do they honestly think that they will somehow get voters to associate “change” with McCain over Obama?  Really?  Because it seems to me that just sticking with the “higher taxes” flat out lie is a smarter strategy.  Is this a good sign for us?  What does it mean?

I do know one thing: if this situation were reversed, we’d be hearing stuff about how the Dems are, yet again, allowing the GOP to set the media narrative and determine which issues really matter in this campaign.  We’d hear about how they’re constantly on the defensive — and interestingly enough, I keep hearing crap about how Obama supposedly is the one on the defensive more than the reverse.  If Obama was stealing McCain’s slogans, commercials, talking points, etc., we’d hear pundits gabbing about how the Democrats ought to stick with their strong points, otherwise voters are just going to go for the “real deal” rather than the imitation.

I’m really interested to hear the thoughts of others on this.

20 thoughts on More of The Same — Literally

  1. Yeah, it doesn’t make sense to me either, but I’m never very good at figuring out what is going to play will with “middle America” or what have you.

    Of course Obama has “liberal allies”, he did win the nomination, ya know? Someone has to agree with him for that to happen.

  2. Mostly I’m just completely frustrated that the MSM has put up the headline.

    “McCain and Palin Lie Repeatedly”

    I mean how many times do they have to “stretch the truth” or “misstate” or “mislead” before the MSM calls them out.

    Kerry got swiftboated and we got involved in this stupid war because the media refuses to engage in the simple act of INVESTIGATING AND REPORTING THE TRUTH.

    Okay, I feel better now.

  4. From seeing how McCain has been co-opting and twisting Obama’s “Change” message and progressive ideas for GOP ends…..this behavior is starting to resemble that of an elementary/junior high school kid whose retorts to being pwned in a battle of wits are variants of “I know you are, but what am I?!! Neh-neh neh neh neh neh!!”

  5. As a young person who is waiting to participate in her first national election, this angers me beyond belief. I am so ready to see legit political discussions take place in this country. I would be in heaven (as I’m sure many others would be, as well) if both parties stuck to the facts and didn’t play games like these and the people chose not from between evil and good, but between two goods.

    McCain’s campaign, along with his policies (and Palin’s, at that) just make me sick.

  6. I’ve seen that ad a bunch of times. My guess is that the McCain campaign is trying to create an echo chamber of sorts, in the belief that, if people hear the same things from both campaigns, they will cease to believe any of it. There seems to be this perception that McCain can win a “personality” election; so, if his campaign can undermine Obama’s credibility as he attempts to talk about actual issues, that’s all to the good for them.

  7. You’re right. They’re trying to neutralize all of Obama’s messages. But the telling part is that McCain has finally acknowledged that this election is about CHANGE.

    Ol’ boy fucked himself by turning from The Maverick to Bush’s Ideological Twin. About the only difference between them is evangelical, and McCain made up for that by choosing wackaloon Palin.

  8. I think its a little more sophisticated than just creating an echo chamber. Right now McCain knows he literally has nothing to lose and the presidency to gain, he’s down in the polls that matter, he’s having to fight in states that should be his, he isn’t getting money, he forgot to have Palin vetted, and he’s sweating the debates. Obama’s biggest perceived strength is that he is something new, that he isn’t more of the same old politics. McCain’s strategy is to co-opt Obama’s taglines so that Obama sounds like McCain. If both candidates are putting out the same slogans, then they look similar to the uniformed voters. More importantly, it brings down just a bit of Obama’s shine because he has to deal with not only his own negatives but an unconscious association with McCain, while McCain gets to ride on Obama’s positives.

    Those of us who have followed this election just drop our jaws and say what the fuck, but this election isn’t about us. This election is about what could charitably be called “low information voters.” McCain isn’t playing for a unity bid, he isn’t playing for a landslide, he’s playing for 50%+1. This stunt might fool a few rubes who aren’t paying attention, same with Palin (which is why she isn’t speaking to the press), same with the complete fabrications. Get a fool here and a fool there, and the only people you piss off are people who weren’t ever going to vote for you anyway.

  9. This stunt might fool a few rubes who aren’t paying attention, same with Palin (which is why she isn’t speaking to the press), same with the complete fabrications.

    If anyone is interested and doesn’t already know…..heard Sarah Palin will be interviewed by Charles Gibson tonight on ABC’s Nightline at Anchorage. Tomorrow, ABC will do another interview with her in Wasilla.

  10. Like a good football team, the republicans are using a tactic that has won them the white house 2 times in row, so one can’t blame on that level for doing that.

    However, if the american people fall for it the third time, it’s just disgraceful. If less than 30% think the republicans are doing a good job with their policies in the white house, a vote for McCain would be voting against one’s best interests for 70% percent of the population.

    And that is why they need the election be about personalities, not issues, because on issues the McCain camp face the fact that they have failed the country for the past 8 years.

    It is also disgraceful that most of the media are co-operating in allowing outright lies by the McCain camp go uncalled for, like bad football referees allowing the other team to play in their own terms.

  11. It’s the Karl Rove platform: Take what is your biggest weakness and actually RUN on it as a platform. So McCain isn’t a change candidate. He simply runs on the opposite of that as platform and no one has access to enough media outlets to deny it.

  12. See, the idea of McCain winning on personality just kills my brain. I’ve heard the character argument — and though I certainly think that Obama has much better character, I guess they can use the POW thing enough to make people think otherwise. But personality? Have we seen these two men? How could anyone watch both of them for more than a minute and conclude that McCain can win the campaign on personality???

  13. But personality? Have we seen these two men? How could anyone watch both of them for more than a minute and conclude that McCain can win the campaign on personality???

    Two presidential cycles ago it might have been possible. Back when he was still painting himself as a maverick McCain was pretty charismatic. McCain has a certain appeal to a certain group of people. He’s hardbitten, sometimes brutally blunt, and is known for having the kind of hair trigger that a lot of people read as being tough. When he was towards the end of his prime in late 90s/early 00s he was a force to be reckoned with.

    I think the argument that McCain can win on personality comes from three things. The first is that I don’t think a lot of conservatives quite realize just how much McCain has slipped. The second is that a lot of people on the right have a disdain for Obama and it clouds their judgment about just how charismatic and well liked he is. The third is that I still think its an open question as to which personality is more marketable in the states and within the demographics that matter most in this race.

  14. If Obama was a white man running on the same platform he’d be elected hands-down.

    McCain is a white man.

    Seems pretty simple to me.

  15. The illogic of it is pretty irrelevant, I think. It really doesn’t matter that it’s Obama’s message, or that it makes no sense because McCain is the opposite of change, only that he sounds appealing to people. We will be exhausted from pointing out the nonsensical-ness of it long before he is done using it as a campaign strategy, and that’s the point. Who cares that it’s stealing the other team’s prize? When was that ever forbidden by some political rule? It’s working very successfully for him and it’s hard to even pin him as a flip flopper because in fact he hasn’t changed anything.

  16. “But personality? Have we seen these two men? How could anyone watch both of them for more than a minute and conclude that McCain can win the campaign on personality???”

    By personality they mean whiteness.

  17. Just finished seeing Charles Gibson’s interview on ABC’s Nightline. Palin seemed nervous and even got defensive at at least one point.

    From her responses to the foreign policy questions….I got the impression she was like the many classmates in college who were caught napping in classes by the teacher/Prof and then were put on the spot to explain what was just covered in the lecture.

    Must give her some props, however, for her attempts to dodge Gibson’s questions so she cannot be pinned down to a definitive yes/no answers on questions dealing with US responses to unilateral Israeli actions against Iran’s nuke capabilities and whether the US is justified in invading Pakistan w/o its government’s approval.

  18. By personality they mean whiteness.

    I think thats an oversimplification. Theres a lot of bad things about the Republicans, but poor strategy is rarely on th list. The fact that McCain is white definitely plays a part in this narrative and we’ve already seen that the GOP isn’t above using that to their advantage, but race isn’t the only thing wrapped up in the McCain personality. Part of it is white vs. black. Part of it is Urban vs. Rural. Part of it is Educated vs. Homespun. Part of it is College Boy vs. War Hero. Part of it is Globalism vs. Jingoism.

    Politics isn’t about the truth, its about the story. Right now McCain’s story is that of the hard boiled, down home shit kicker from Arizona who spent years in a POW camp taking beatings and spitting blood in the faces of his captors then rolled into Washington to be Captain Manly of the GOP. Think “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” with John Wayne instead of Jimmy Stewart. Nevermind that the story is complete and utter bullshit, thats the personality he has built for himself. Thats the story people think of when they see McCain. Obama has his own story, the big question of this race is which one is going to appeal to the people who haven’t started paying attention to the race yet.

  19. I think McCain could definitely win on personality! Remember, he was the republican darling of the democrats before he won the presidential nomination. He appeared regularly on the Daily Show, and was (and still is) always good for a quip or pun to provide levity to any political discussion. He’s all gentle seeming too. As a native New Mexican– one of the crucial swing states– I think it’s dangerous to underestimate his appeal to independent and undecided voters. The southwest loves McCain.

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