Countering the Fear Card
Andrew Sullivan is right that the central McCain campaign message at this point is "fear, fear, fear." That's his only real hope of winning in a year like this. It's a twofold message: 1) the world is a very scary place and 2) we can't risk having this Obama guy at the helm:
The ultimate irony, of course, is that--by any rational standard--McCain is the riskier choice for Commander-in-Chief. He's the most hawkish member of the Senate, a hardliner whose instincts almost always lead him to call for the most aggressive and provocative response to any international incident. And he's a guy who is notoriously excitable and volatile, someone who many of his fellow Republican colleagues are on record saying they don't want anywhere near a trigger. Not only that, but McCain has surrounded himself by a cadre of ultra-crazy neoconservative advisers.
In short, the odds of the United States getting involved in some kind of disastrous international adventure will dramatically increase if we elect McCain president.
But that reality needs to be spelled out to people. The Obama campaign needs to put together commercials cataloguing all the quotes from McCain's worried colleagues. Every American needs to know that a Republican senator said--this year--that "[t]he thought of [McCain] being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." They need to know that another Republican senator said that he doesn't "want this guy anywhere near a trigger." They need see McCain singing "bomb bomb Iran" over and over again.
The fear card is the only effective card McCain has to play in this election and if it can be neutralized or blunted even a little bit, Obama will win.
The ultimate irony, of course, is that--by any rational standard--McCain is the riskier choice for Commander-in-Chief. He's the most hawkish member of the Senate, a hardliner whose instincts almost always lead him to call for the most aggressive and provocative response to any international incident. And he's a guy who is notoriously excitable and volatile, someone who many of his fellow Republican colleagues are on record saying they don't want anywhere near a trigger. Not only that, but McCain has surrounded himself by a cadre of ultra-crazy neoconservative advisers.
In short, the odds of the United States getting involved in some kind of disastrous international adventure will dramatically increase if we elect McCain president.
But that reality needs to be spelled out to people. The Obama campaign needs to put together commercials cataloguing all the quotes from McCain's worried colleagues. Every American needs to know that a Republican senator said--this year--that "[t]he thought of [McCain] being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me." They need to know that another Republican senator said that he doesn't "want this guy anywhere near a trigger." They need see McCain singing "bomb bomb Iran" over and over again.
The fear card is the only effective card McCain has to play in this election and if it can be neutralized or blunted even a little bit, Obama will win.
posted by A.L. at 2:29 PM
3 Comments:
Amen, AL. And I think this ad should start next week when Republicans are at their nastiest and most bellicose. Their Zell Miller style fear-mongering would work against them by reinforcing the meme. Perfect jujitsu move.
Oh, McCain scared some Republican Senators by yelling at them? Thats terrible. Doesn't he realize that nobody is allowed to yell at a member of the world's most exclusive club? If a Senator is upset and angry, he or she is supposed to yell at the lowest-ranking staffer in the room. Didn't anyone teach McCain the protocol?
This is what McCain said about his temper: "I have regretted losing my temper on many occasions. But there are things worth getting angry about in politics, and I have at times tried to use my anger to incite public outrage. I make no apologies for that. . . . When public servants lose their capacity for outrage over practices injurious to the national interest, they have outlived their usefulness to the country."
Obama should definitely make an issue of this. Sure, Members of Congress may be pushing earmarks, pork barrel spending, farm subsidies, ethanol programs and a variety of other special-interst items, but there is no reason to get angry about it. The most important thing is that we all go-along and get-along. Remember we are the change we have been waiting for.
"In short, the odds of the United States getting involved in some kind of disastrous international adventure will dramatically increase if we elect McCain president."
Pish tish who gives a? At least the USA will never be accused of replicating Munich 1938 and that's the main thing, isn't it?
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