Fear and Loathing in Bethlehem

 

The nastiness of the campaign escalated yesterday in Bethlehem, PA at a McCain-Palin rally. Governor Palin seems to be good at bringing out the worst in people, especially Republican Party activists. Shouts of “terrorist”, and even “kill him” were heard as compassionate, moralistic, church going, family values conservatives expressed their sanctimonious anger. One can’t put all the blame on them, though. They’re scared silly over all the buzz-words they were trained to respond to by the right wing, drooling fear like Pavlovian pit bulls.

Today, things just got uglier as the Republican ticket continues to circle the drain. Palin actually opened one of her rallies with a fog machine and a straight-talk express prop rolling right onto the stage. At McCain’s rallies today audiences were seething, shouting about socialists, and railing over every Democratic Party leader, calling them nincompoops.

The McCain campaign is degenerating by the minute, failing to raise valid points that are concerned with putting our country first and instead inciting hateful, even racist and murderous epithets. Repeatedly, Cindy McCain, Sarah Palin, and even the candidate himself, use phrases so close to the line of propriety, that they encourage the mob to cross that line. Obama is accused of being Muslim (insulting Muslims and all people of good will), by using his middle name over and over. They imply that he is a terrorist, and a socialist, by talking about Bill Ayers. They even imply that there is some sort of conspiracy that compels people to vote for Senator Obama. Even more insanely, some McCain supporters think that it is all part of “the end of days”; the Apocalypse or the Rapture.

And to all the people who think that Sarah Palin’s critics “just don’t get her”, I can only say that…well I really can’t say anything without resorting to the petulant insolence of the Republican base. Let’s just say that I think I “get” her just fine. But I wouldn’t allow her around my kids.

This is why they’re freaking out

Sarah, You Betcha! Doggone It

So Palin had enough prepared notes to avoid sounding like a community college dropout on drugs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Unless you’re running for the second highest office in the land.

Let’s see what some journalists had to say.

She subverted the whole purpose of the exercise by merely repeating the key points of her running mate, Sen. John McCain and ignoring questions that called for more specific answers.

…Palin’s answers in the debate were more about herself than about the policies of McCain or George W. Bush or even the country’s current economic crisis.

MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow, one of the fastest-rising and most enigmatic personalities in talk television, listened patiently to Buchanan’s praise for Palin’s presentation and responded, “Boring but right versus exciting and wrong — that’s America’s choice?” Commentators on many of the networks marveled at Palin’s insistence on avoiding substantial comment on issues and on simply ignoring questions she couldn’t answer convincingly.

Palin basically stated early in the debate that this would be her strategy. She said she wasn’t necessarily going to respond to the questions of the moderator or charges from Biden, but instead, “I’m gonna talk right to the American people.” Since this was billed as a debate, not a speech, her remark came across as arrogant, and as an admission she would duck tough questions.

By Tom Shales Friday, October 3, 2008; Page C01Washington Post

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Palin, in her 90 minutes on the stage Thursday night, left the firm impression that she is indeed ready to lead the nation — with an unnerving mixture of platitudes and cute, folksy phrases that poured from her lips even when they bore no relation to the questions asked.

“Let’s commit ourselves just everyday American people, Joe Six-Pack, hockey moms across the nation,” she proposed when asked about the mortgage crisis. (HUH?)

“I want to go back to the energy plan,” she said when asked about the federal bailout plan.

“I want to talk about, again, my record on energy,” she said when asked about bankruptcy.

At other times, her answers defied comprehension, as when Ifill asked about her trigger for using nuclear weapons. “Nuclear weaponry, of course, would be the be-all, end-all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet, so those dangerous regimes, again, cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, period,” she answered. (WTF?)

When backed into uncomfortable terrain, such as defending the Bush administration’s economic record, she exploded into cliche and non sequitur: “Say it ain’t so, Joe. There you go again pointing backwards again. . . . Now doggone it, let’s look ahead.” Before finishing her answer, she mentioned her “brother, who I think is the best schoolteacher in the year, and here’s a shout-out to all those third-graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School, you get extra credit for watching the debate.”

By Dana Milbank Washington Post

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My Gal: On sarah Palin’s speech patterns. Satire

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/09/22/080922sh_shouts_saunders?currentPage=all

by George Saunders September 22, 2008 The New Yorker magazine       

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    The End Is Near

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/georgepacker/2008/09/ill-always-thin.html?yrail

Posted by George Packer September 29, 2008 The New Yorker magazine

Say Goodnight Sarah

Maybe Senator Joe Biden should bring a good cigar to Thursday’s debate. This way it will just look like an old Burns and Allen skit when non sequiturs and nonsense come flowing out of Governor Palin’s mouth, and everyone could just have a good laugh.

I was appalled, but not surprised when the latest episode of Katie Couric’s Palin interview was aired. Either Palin suffers from anomic aphasia, or she hasn’t read a Supreme Court opinion in her life. When Couric’s second question to Palin was for her to name another Supreme Court decision with which Palin disagreed, besides Roe v wade, Palin appeared stymied. She knew enough (sort of) to stay on topic and repeat the mantra of “States Rights” and Federalism, but as usual she lacked any knowledge of specifics. So the answer to Katie’s second question was a paraphrase of the answer that Palin had already given when answering the first question about Roe v Wade. When this was compared to Senator Biden’s answer to Couric’s question as to why Biden supported Roe v Wade, Palin’s lack of ability to express herself, as well as her general ignorance of major issues facing us, became even more painfully apparent.

So McCain expects us to believe that he puts Country first even after his stunningly inappropriate choice of a running mate. He is guilty of reckless grandstanding at its worst. Like suspending (give me a break!) his campaign. He injects election politics into the important discussion surrounding our current financial meltdown, contributes nothing, possibly motivates House republicans to reject the only viable offer on the table, blames Obama for politicising the process after delivering rhetoric which demanded Obama’s presence in Washington. Then he sits through the meeting, saying nothing except a few inconsequential remarks at the end of the meeting. Then he spends the next day on the phone even as his aides are proclaiming that Senator McCain didn’t “phone this one in”. Then we have the prematurely released ad declaring his victory in a debate that not only did not yet occur, but to which McCain had not even decided to attend; at least he hadn’t announced his intention to change his mind again.

Is this the person we want trying to solve the economic crisis? Is this the team that we want to represent us in dealings with Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, al Qaeda, et al? If he tries one of his foolish stunts in conducting our foreign policies, what price will we ultimately pay? This is a very dangerous time for America, and we need our A team to deal with the myriad challenges of the 21st century. Instead we will have a desperate, geriatric narcissist and a bubble-headed beauty queen at the helm if, God forbid, they are elected.

So, putting country first, I can only hope someone asks Governor Palin to “Say goodnight, Sarah”. And since she was in (like) second grade when Biden was elected, she may fail to see the humor in her own reply, which will probably be ”Good night, Sarah”.

Pitbull With Lipstick Still a Dog

A major question about McCain’s judgement must be raised about his politically charged choice of a running mate. Not only did he make a calculated selection designed to energize his base (not a bad thing in itself) but he knew she was unqualified to assume the mantle of Vice President. Why else would he lock her away for a month? A month in which she apparently crammed as much information as her pretty little head would hold, only to embarrass thinking conservatives and our entire election process when she was finally allowed to be interviewed.

From Reuters

Conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks called her candidacy “embarrassing.”

“Palin is Ready? Please” a headline in Newsweek said this week of the moose-hunting Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, capping a turbulent week in which Palin’s fitness for the job came under growing scrutiny. “Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be vice president,” Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria wrote.”She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start,” he said.

“Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin, should conditions warrant her promotion,” Parker wrote in the conservative National Review. Palin could withdraw from the race for personal reasons such as wanting to spend more time with her newborn, added Parker, who in September rallied behind Palin for showing “strength, conviction, determination” and confidence.

And yet, the Conservative base, Republican party activists, still support her. They don’t seem frightened, or even mildly concerned that this woman may well be only a proverbial heartbeat away from being leader of the Free World. Has eight years of George W. lowered the bar of this mighty office to the depths of incompetence?

Check these:

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/10/palin-is-destro.html

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/the-lies-and-li.html

The McEmperor’s New Clothes-Spin

The transparent maneuvering of the McCain campaign is a 21st century twist on “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.  At first no one would bring up the fact that Governor Palin’s qualifications for the second highest office in the land was woven out of nothingness posing as ”invisible threads”.  The McEmperor “changed his clothes (campaign tactics) almost every hour and loved to show them off to his people”. His tailors (McCain’s all-lobbyist high command ) said, “we have invented an extraordinary method to weave a cloth (choose a VP) so light and fine that it (she) looks invisible. As a matter of fact it is invisible to anyone who is too stupid and incompetent to appreciate its quality.”

“Besides being invisible, your Highness, this cloth will be woven in colors and patterns created especially for you (your ticket).” The McEmperor gave the two men (top advisers) a bag of gold coins in exchange for their promise to begin working on the fabric(ation) immediately.

“Just tell us what you need to get started and we’ll give it to you.” The two scoundrels (con and neocon) asked for a loom, silk, gold thread (money from the RNC) and then pretended to begin working (on finding a credible VP candidate). The Emperor thought he had spent his money quite well: in addition to getting a new extraordinary suit (running mate), he would discover which of his subjects were ignorant and incompetent. A few days later, he called the old and wise prime minister (himself), who was considered by everyone (on the right) as a man with common sense.

“Go and see how the work is proceeding,” the McEmperor  told him(self), “and come back to let me know.” The prime minister was welcomed by the two scoundrels.

      ”We’re almost finished, but we need a lot more gold thread (campaign donations). Here, Excellency! Admire the colors, feel the softness!” The old man bent over the loom and tried to see the fabric that was not there. He felt cold sweat on his forehead (just as he did during the debate).

“I can’t see anything,” he thought. “If I see nothing, that means I’m stupid! Or, worse, incompetent!” If the prime minister admitted that he didn’t see anything, he would be discharged from (or not elected to) his office.

      “What a marvelous fabric, he said then. “I’ll certainly tell the McEmperor (myself).” The two scoundrels rubbed their hands gleefully. They had almost made it. More thread (money) was requested to finish the work.

Finally, the McEmperor received the announcement that the two tailors had come to take all the measurements needed to sew his new suit.

      “Come in,” the McEmperor ordered. Even as they bowed, the two (Rovian) scoundrels pretended to be holding large roll of fabric (Palin’s resume).

“Here it is your Highness, the result of our labour,” the scoundrels said. “We have worked night and day but, at last, the most beautiful fabric in the world is ready for you. Look at the colors and feel how fine it is.” Of course the McEmperor did not see any colors and could not feel any cloth between his fingers. He panicked and felt like fainting (or suspending his campaign). But luckily the throne was right behind him and he sat down. But when he realized that no one (the electorate) could know that he did not see the fabric, he felt better. Nobody could find out he was stupid and incompetent (try keeping that one under an invisible hat). And the McEmperor didn’t know that everybody else around him thought and did the very same thing.

The farce continued as the two (Rovian) scoundrels had foreseen it. Once they had taken the measurements, the two began cutting the air with scissors while sewing with their needles an invisible cloth.

      “Your Highness, you’ll have to take off your clothes to try on your new ones.” The two scoundrels draped the new clothes on him and then held up a mirror (poll). The McEmperor was embarrassed but since none of his bystanders (supporters) were, he felt relieved.

“Yes, this is a beautiful suit (babe) and it looks very good on me,” the McEmperor said trying to look comfortable (creepy smile). “You’ve done a fine job.”

      “Your Majesty,” the prime minister said (to himself), “we have a request for you. The people have found out about this extraordinary fabric and they are anxious to see you in your new suit.” The McEmperor was doubtful showing himself naked to the people (so he kept her in his closet for a month), but then he abandoned his fears. After all, no one would know about it except the ignorant and the incompetent (the republican base who likes Palin because she is “like them”, and who are used to believing in things that aren’t really there).

“All right,” he said. “I will grant the people this privilege (veep press conference).” He summoned his (straight talk) carriage and the ceremonial parade was formed. A group of dignitaries ( McCain’s all-lobbyist high command) walked at the very front of the procession and anxiously scrutinized the faces of the people in the street. All the people had gathered in the main square (cable news), pushing and shoving to get a better look. An applause welcomed the regal procession. Everyone wanted to know how stupid or incompetent his or her neighbor was but, as the Emperor passed, a strange murmur rose from the crowd.

      Everyone (republican base) said, loud enough for the others to hear: “Look at the Emperor’s new clothes (running mate). They’re (she is) beautiful!”

      “What a marvellous train (to nowhere)!”

“And the colors (shades of red)! The colors of that beautiful fabric! I have never seen anything like it in my life!” They all tried to conceal their disappointment at not being able to see the clothes, and since nobody was willing to admit his own stupidity and incompetence, they all behaved as the two scoundrels had predicted.

      A child (progressive voter), however, who had no important job and could only see things as his eyes showed them to him, went up to the carriage.

      “The McEmperor is naked,” he said.

“Fool!” his father reprimanded, running after him. “Don’t talk nonsense!” He grabbed his child and took him away. But the boy’s remark, which had been heard by the bystanders, was repeated over and over again until everyone cried:

      “The boy is right! The McEmperor is naked! It’s true!”

      The McEmperor realized that the people were right but could not admit to that. He though it better to continue the procession under the illusion that anyone who couldn’t see his clothes was either stupid or incompetent. And he stood stiffly on his (straight talk) carriage, while behind him a page (Rick Davis) held his imaginary mantle (of wisdom).