Barack Obama. Too Tall?

Image by Editor

Arianna Huffington has a great post up right now, lamenting the ridiculous levels to which the Presidential campaign has sunk. She wonders how John McCain--having started these attacks at such an early date--will take the tone to a whole. 'Nother. Level.

It's a goood piece, and it offered me the opportunity to come up with a visual to go along with it. So here you go!

[Excerpt]

John McCain, Paris Hilton, and the Politics of Nothing

With just ninety days left in the election it's come down to this: our energy policy and a good deal of this presidential campaign are being discussed through the lens of Paris Hilton. What a big goof it all is! If you just ignore all the soldiers and civilians dying in the Mideast, and all the millions losing their homes and their jobs at home, you could really see the lighter side of it all. . .

. . .Here is a preview -- our best guess -- of what the McCain has in store for us:

"Too Tall." An ad claiming that proof of Obama's arrogance is his refusal to be as short as McCain (5' 6"). . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

McCain's Negative Ads Not Playing Well in the Press

Image from Wall Street Journal

Good. The press has long been considered--by John McCain himself--his "base." A whole lot of gaffes that would have sunk Barack Obama have been brushed off as "McCain being McCain." But now, it would seem, some of the press is wondering, "Where did John McCain go?"

[Excerpt]

McCain negative ad strategy not playing well with key national and state media
Spring Hope (NC) Enterprise: “McCain ads petty and false” – August 6

“It is sad but telling that the presidential campaign of Republican Sen. John McCain has already slipped into the gutter before the nominating convention has even been held. It would be even sadder, considering the nation’s desperate desire and need for a change in political leadership and policy, if American voters fall for the inane, irrelevant, mean-spirited, and flatly false commercials now attacking Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama. . .”

Lots more at: AmericaBlog

Brave New Films: The REAL McCain

Increasingly in this campaign, John McCain is not only going negative, he's lying to do it. All of the negative campaigning McCain was opposed to during the 2000 race is being appropriated by McCain '08. The challenge will be for the Barack Obama campaign to hit back hard, and to get his message out as loudly as McCain does. Already, we've seen the press go McCain's way on the "Obama is presumptuous" meme, fueled by an erroneous quote. Some of them are still at it.

I'm proud to do my little part in my small segment of the blogosphere.

McCain Going Negative, GOP Worried?

Image from source, New York times

This week, I'm reading a book called Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush by Robert Draper. The read is unsettling, at least so far. The section I've just finished reading detailed the 2000 Republican primary, and Bush's fight against John McCain.

McCain was doing well--too well--so Bush's hit man, Karl Rove, released the dogs. Nothing was too slimy, too underhanded. And true to form, Rove was not afraid to use innuendo and lies to further his objectives. At times, I just want to jump into the book and do something--anything--to put a stop to it. All of it.

But McCain, for the most part, did not jump into the negative fray. And as far as I can see, he didn't lie either. Sadly, after Bush secured the nomination, McCain caved, and fell in line behind Bush. And now that he's running again, McCain seems to have taken on the tactics of his former adversary.

Lately, McCain has been attacking Barack Obama at every turn, with no care for accuracy, hypocrisy or truth. If the attack sounds good--in other words, if it has "truthiness"--he's issuing it. Smacking him down has been a fairly easy exercise for bloggers, left-wing pundits and the like. But the vast uninformed electorate often only gets the high (or low) points. Still, it would seem that some in the GOP are a little worried about the former Straight Talk Express, and its shotgun approach.

[Excerpt]

McCain Goes Negative, Worrying Some in G.O.P.

In recent days Senator John McCain has charged that Senator Barack Obama “would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign,” tarred him as “Dr. No” on energy policy and run advertisements calling him responsible for high gas prices. . .

Read more at: New York Times