...and I have been hit with some kind of election malaise, a weariness
born, I think, out of the 24 hour news cycle, and my addiction to the
minutiae that comes out of that news cycle.
But it's not just
that. I've grown weary of the flat-out lying that's coming out of the
McCain campaign. They're not even trying to win on issues now - they're
trying to win on fear. Of Obama the terrorist sympathizer. Of Obama the
socialist. Of Obama the sex-education for kindergartners advocate. Of
Obama the government-run health care advocate. And on and on and on, ad
infinitum, stretching the truth until it breaks. You can find a
collection of the lying, detailing the robocalls and the misleading
mailers,
here at Talking Points Memo.
Both
campaigns engage in distortion, but the McCain campaign just takes it
to new levels. The thing that's wearing me out is the zeal with which
they seem to engaging in this nonsense, especially McCain's running
mate, Governor Sarah
"I'm-just-like-you-everyday-Americans-just-don't-mind-the-$150,000-designer-wardrobe-that-costs-more-than-what-most-of-you-pro-America-folks-who-come-to-my-rallies-earn-in-two-or-three-years"
Palin. Commie pinko liberal that I am, I was listening to NPR's All
Things Considered on the way home from picking up my daughter, and they
played a clip from a Palin speech she gave today at a rally in Troy,
Michigan (or Ohio - it's unclear). (Here's a
link
to it.) The gist of the clip is that Palin, smug as ever, credits folk
hero Joe the Plumber for getting Barack Obama to say in plain language
that he wants to "spread the wealth," and then bashes Joe Biden for
saying paying higher taxes is patriotic, before saying that it all
sounds like "socialism" to Joe the Plumber "who is speaking for all
Americans worried about their economic future," and that "now is not
the time to experiment with socialism." To which the crowd responds
with loud cheers and jeers. Can I remind the Governor that out of
economic necessity, the Treasury Department, led by the former chair of
GOLDMAN SACHS,
JUST NATIONALIZED THE FREAKING BANKING SYSTEM! So clearly, our government, and our Republican Fed Chairman, decided that it
is time to experiment with socialism, at least on a temporary basis.
The rest (yes, there's more to this screed) is here:
http://elliotblake.blogspot.com/2008/10/twelve-days-to-go.html-EB
