Saying the McCain campaign is on the ropes may be too generous an assessment at this point. Even the conservative media outlets are finding it difficult to ignore the fact that Senator McCain's briefly resuscitated run for the White House is simply indefensible. The poorly run campaign has gone from not-so-bad to far worse than most—including me—could have predicted.
From the Wall Street Journal—a publication that is traditionally both fiscally and socially conservative:
Some McCain campaign officials are becoming concerned about the hostility that attacks against Sen. Obama are whipping up among Republican supporters. During an internal conference call Thursday, campaign officials discussed how the tenor of the crowds has turned on the media and on Sen. Obama.
Someone yelled "Off with his head" at a rally Wednesday for Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin in Pennsylvania. Later that day in Ohio, a man stood outside a rally holding a sign that said "Obama, Osama." At a rally in Jacksonville, Fla., on Tuesday, someone in the crowd wore a T-shirt depicting Sen. Obama wearing a devil mask.
The Economist, fiscally conservative but more moderate socially, has shown good judgment from early on, more willing than it's U.S. counterparts to state the facts without fear of bullying verbal abuse by the GOP. In a September 4 article entitled The woman from nowhere: What Sarah Palin means:
Mr McCain has based his campaign on the idea that this is a dangerous world—and that Barack Obama is too inexperienced to deal with it. He has also acknowledged that his advanced age—he celebrated his 72nd birthday on August 29th—makes his choice of vice-president unusually important. Now he has chosen as his running mate, on the basis of the most cursory vetting, a first-term governor of Alaska.
Mr McCain had met Mrs Palin only once, for a 15-minute chat at the National Governors’ Association meeting, before summoning her to his ranch for her final interview. The New York Times claims that his team arrived in Alaska only on August 28th, a day before the announcement. As a result, his advisers seem to have been gobsmacked by the Palin show that is now playing on the national stage. She has links to the wacky Alaska Independence Party, which wants to secede from the Union. She is on record disagreeing with Mr McCain on global warming, among other issues. The contrast with Mr Obama’s choice of the highly experienced and much-vetted Joe Biden is striking.
These two articles say more than enough in making it clear that (I'll say it if no one else will in such plain terms) John McCain has just plain screwed up. But there is another out today from the normally mild-mannered Economist that sounds to me like the death knell for the McCain / Palin sideshow.
More evidence is surfacing that whole McCain-Palin crowds are increasingly comfortable calling Barack Obama a "terrorist" (not just a friend to a terrorist), "commie faggot" and similar. Look how many people repeat the theme, in these two videos (from Ohio and Pennsylvania).
The story links to two videos of McCain / Palin supporters that should be both embarrassing and alarming for any American. The story then concludes:
Add these two scenes, in your minds, to the racial slur and "kill him!" seen in Ft Meyers, Florida. Add this scene, in New Mexico, where John McCain asks who "the real Barack Obama" is and someone screams "terrorist!" One after the other after the other. Around the country. Boldly, stepping out to vent at a political rally in front of cameras, not being sought out in their communities.
Mr McCain and Mrs Palin are not playing with fire. They are handing out fire to drunken, angry crowds. If someone's house gets burned down they will point to the fire-safety pamphlet that was free for the taking at the entry to their rallies. (Mrs Palin: Sure, Mr Obama is not a terrorist but "This election is about the truthfulness and judgment needed in our next president.") Would you accept that as a defence?
McCain Campaign Is at Odds Over Negative Attacks' Scope | WSJ
The woman from nowhere | The Economist
McCain and Palin are not saying | The Economist
The folks at Rhapsody have impressed me. Since I posted my last entry, Rhapsody has pushed multiple updates to their iPhone app and has introduced an impressive update to their web-based service—currently in beta. Both are stable and offer a set of features and music catalog that MOG can't seem to touch at this point.
If you're a regular OPB listener like me, you're probably about ready to throw your radio through the nearest window at this point. Just when I think it has to have been a full month since OPB started what seems like their monthly "give us your money and we'll only harass you for two weeks" campaign, I turn on the radio and they're still at it! I either have the worst timing ever or they spend fifty minutes of every hour doing everything from begging to guilt tripping to barking orders for listeners like me to show my support by calling right now. Well what if I gave a week ago? Do they give me a secret, pledge-drive free frequency to which I can tune my radio to get my regular programming back? No! Even if I'd been the first person to call on the first day of the programming hostage drive, I'd have to put up with the grating mess for just as long as the last person to call on the last day of the drive. It makes no sense!
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