There you go again
I do have to ask my opponent– Is that the best you can come up with? Is that really what this election’s about? Is that what is worthy of the American people?
Ancient Chinese curse: may you live in interesting times. This web site is my attempt to document, from my perspective, these "interesting times".
I do have to ask my opponent– Is that the best you can come up with? Is that really what this election’s about? Is that what is worthy of the American people?
The suckers [in the press] are even starting to suspect McCain’s been lying about them, too. Despite the cozy chats on the Straight Talk Express, the Arizona barbeque weekends, the cheerfully misogynist jokes and the teary-eyed moments when John tells one of his patented POW stories – despite, even, the donuts with sprinkles – he isn’t actually their friend at all. In fact it’s pretty obvious he despises them almost as much as he despises a system that forces him to pander both to them and to the voters.I agree that the bloom is off the McCain rose as far as the media is concerned. But if, as billmon suggests, McCain pivots "back to a softer, more upbeat message in September" than we can expect that a lot of those confused journos will start to wilt before the McCain charm all over again (proposed storyline, "McCain, facing a rough summer, toyed with the dark side. But, not having the taste for it, he has returned to his more natural sunshine campaign.")
NEW YORK, NY – July 30, 2008 – Paws, Inc. and Ballantine Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, announced last week at Comic-Con International that Ballantine will publish a book inspired by the popular webcomic Garfield Minus Garfield.
Garfield Minus Garfield (www.garfieldminusgarfield.net) made its online debut in February 2008 and quickly became an online sensation based on a simple premise: What would Jim Davis’ Garfield comic strip be like without its lasagna-loving fat cat? Without the presence of Garfield and other characters such as Odie the dog and Nermal the kitten, the strips “create a new, even lonelier atmosphere for Jon Arbuckle…Jon’s observations seem to teeter between existential crisis and deep despair.” (New York Times)
The full-color book format will give readers the experience of having both the original and doctored Garfield strips together on the same page for comparison. Dublin, Ireland-based Garfield Minus Garfield creator Dan Walsh will provide the foreword to the book.
Garfield creator Jim Davis was intrigued by—and pleased with—the concept. “I think it’s an inspired thing to do,” Davis said. “I want to thank Dan for enabling me to see another side of Garfield. Some of the strips he chose were slappers: ‘Oh, I could have left that out.’ It would have been funnier.”
"It is critical, as we prepare to face off with whomever the Democrats select as their nominee, that we all follow John's lead and run a respectful campaign focused on the issues and values that are important to the American people," Davis wrote. "Throughout the primary election we saw John McCain reject the type of politics that degrade our civics, and this will not change as he prepares to run head-to-head against the Democratic nominee.Unless, of course, it starts looking like we might lose to some upstart.
But it was McCain strategist Steve Schmidt, also on the call, who laid out in clearest terms the exact contrast the McCain camp is seeking to draw with this spot. "Do the American people want to elect the world's biggest celebrity or do they want to elect an American hero[emphasis added]?" he asked.And remember, McCain refuses to use his POW history in this campaign.
"Sigh," emailed one senior party strategist who later added: "Every Obama ad since his announcement has fit nicely into a theme, an argument. McCain ads are just catch as catch can, one wild swing at Obama after another. Their increasing bitterness reflects a campaign that is more about some sort of therapeutic frustration venting for the staff than any coherent strategy to elect McCain. It's unprofessional to the core."McCain believed that the press was is base. His base is starting to rebel. Now he is trying to win it back by shaming it and berating it.
Another high-level party operative grumbled: "It seems like they are talking to the press pack, not voters."
Over the last few years, McCain gave up nearly every substantive position that undergirded his maverick image. But he did retain the basic image that made him so popular among moderates -- the jocular yet dignified bipartisan figure who had a core sense of decency. (I acknowledged as much in a recent column.) Now, I think McCain is in danger of losing that as well, and that's why you see people like Weaver taking the extraordinary step of complaining in public.Chait has worn some of the biggest blinders when it comes to obscuring McCain 2008 with McCain 2000. If even he is starting to wake up then McCain is in real trouble.
"I do notice he doesn't seem to have anything to say very positive about himself. He seems to only be talking about me," Obama said.This is pretty much the point I was trying to make with yesterday's post. McCain is complaining about the campaign being all about Obama. Yet, by his very complaints, he adds to the "All-Obama-All-The-Time" atmosphere.
"You need to ask John McCain what he's for and not just what he's against," Obama added.