Here it comes. If there is a sense of "how the eff did this happen," these folks have two groups to blame:
1.) Themselves. These are exactly the sort of people who forward out "Obama is a Muslim/socialist/terrorist" e-mails. They are the reason that the ugliest of smears have hung in the air for this entire campaign. The media likes to talk about the expectations game--but here is the real expectations game that they've missed. When you portray your opponent as Satan incarnate, as the herald of the invading Muslim hordes, when you inflate him into a total caricature, then you make it incredibly easy for him to dispel the cartoon. Indeed, all he need do is show up in his three-piece suit, smile, and deploys all the skills he inherited from his time at Harvard Law. If he can get people to say--"Hey, he doesn't look Satan to me"--then he wins.
On the flip-side, if you think Obama is a total wimp, who isn't strong enough to stand up to the world's dictators, all he has to do is assert his desire to kill Bin Laden, and then look you in the eye and enumerate why and how you were wrong. It doesn't help that you can't meet his gaze. Look, the "Americans are stupid" line is wrong--whether deployed by right or left. In this election, conservatives have mistaken the most rabid sections of their America, for America itself. They are wrong--again.
2.) The media--but not in the way these guys think. The bias toward "on the other hand"-ism, toward covering every little McCain or Obama ad as a potential "game-changer," distorted the picture. If you've been a dedicated viewer of cable news, you might think that Lady Lynn would have an impact on this election, you might believe that the "celeb ads" are an actual stand-in for a solid ground game, you might think that, this year Sarah Palin "exciting the base" would erase the fact that her base is smaller than the Democratic base, and thus you might be pissed at the polls.
But this is like you watching NFL-Live, with the volume off, and concluding that the reverse, or the corner blitz is somehow a substitute for the consistent five-yard off-tackle, for a solid, unyielding 4-3. But now is the fourth quarter of their era. Five minutes left. Down by ten. The enemy has the ball, and he is slowly, mercilessly grinding it out. The frustration comes from the ticking clock, from the dawning sense that you are going down, that you are all out of time-outs.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Copyright © 2009 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All rights reserved.
That last paragraph is one of the better sports metaphors I've seen in a bit.
They can blame themselves twice over. These people are the same people who have given their full throated support to President Bush and his policies for the last few years (right up until he proposed immigration reform).
Not to excuse the man, but does anyone else get the feeling that McCain is not entirely comfortable with this line of attack and he can't control the beast he's unleashed?
That's how I felt watching this and other videos. I really don't think this is how he wants to win. Which is not to say that he would prefer to lose of course.
Otherwise I agree with Ta-N's analysis almost entirely.
I know the post below was a what if the worst happened hypothetical, but honestly. Obama took out Hillary against all odds. Now he's got the wind gauge against a flailing opponent. He's got this shit. A lot of ugly people will be coming out of the woodwork, but whatever. Let this sip on their haterade. All they are doing is making damn sure that the Republican party is going to be spending even longer in the wilderness.
Nobody does "stunned at the injustice of the world! Mad as hell! WHY ARE YOU NOT TAKING ME SERIOUSLY" like priveleged folks.
The reason that Democrats do not get as much disrespect for forged votes is that last election, machines were rigged to register votes as for Bush. Republicans are not going to get the same mileage for their campaigns because that historical tactic has favored them.
Well, as I recall, there were a lots of Republicans who were acting just like this in 1992 when they realized that Bill Clinton was going to be President. I want to say they got over it, but the historical record indicates that many of them never did.
Good post, I liked the football metaphor as well, but the wind gauge! - Not only does Obama have the wind gauge but he can lay it closer to the wind then McCain.
One thing I can tell you for sure, William Ayers is not getting my vote.
Excellent. My thoughts exactly. All the way down to the football metaphor. Thanks
To continue the sports metaphor briefly, though, I'm a little concerned that the Obama campaign might make the tactical blunder of running out the clock before the game is really decided. They showed a tendency in this direction in the primaries, where Clinton definitely "won the fourth quarter" (OK, this is getting dumb). This is a concern both in terms of actually winning the election (though that's looking increasingly secure) and also in terms of winning it decisively and with momentum so that the non-lunatic fringe elements of the right have to concede Obama's mandate to govern. Some--not all, but some--of the bitterness of Clinton supporters came from the stronger showing their candidate made late in the race. And these were people who essentially agreed with Obama's politics. How does Obama establish his mandate without resorting to scorched-earth tactics (i.e., "running up the score")?
does anyone else get the feeling that McCain is not entirely comfortable with this line of attack and he can't control the beast he's unleashed?
Yes, I do get that feeling. He knows these people are volatile and he winces when the crowd screams and he does nothing to calm them down.
He is a moral coward.
Losing campaigns become undisciplined campaigns. Internally, factions undermine each other and people spend a lot of time figuring out how not to be blamed for the defeat, instead of figuring out how to win. Externally, supporters get embittered ("Why didn't he hit harder??!!") and find they have no reason to listen to the future loser, rather than the future President and his staff. So they say whatever they feel like saying.
Those guys who were selling that Obama cereal at the Hatefest convention a few weeks back? That was when they were on good behavior, for the sake of the victory. Once victory is off the table, their version of good behavior goes, as well.
As we approach election day, and it becomes clearer and clearer that the US is going to elect a black man to be President, it's going to be id time for a whole lot of this country. We're going to see much higher levels of ugliness, bile, racism, and threatened (and likely actual) violence than now.
Turns out that Jay Gould was being modest when he boasted, "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half." Looks like he mighta been able to get them to do it for free.
Oh, and on the football metaphor? No taking a knee here. Go Jim Brown on them and hit them before they hit you. Ram it down their throats and put the ball in the end zone again.
Watching these rallies has been surreal. I feel like I'm watching the election of some other country. Not America.
My brother is a Republican and has supported McCain, until this week. He can't bring himself to associate his name, his vote, with McCain's campaign. He said it was a series of events: the Palin nomination, McCain's non-position on the economy, and the mob rallies. He's embarassed, disappointed, disgusted. I NEVER thought he would switch his vote. But he is---voting for Obama.
If McCain/Palin have lost my brother, they'll lose others as well.
Sharky says: "Nobody does "stunned at the injustice of the world! Mad as hell! WHY ARE YOU NOT TAKING ME SERIOUSLY" like priveleged folks."
Sharky, how in the hell did you determine that that asshole is privileged? I hope it's not because he's white.
I saw something to this effect in the comments to the last post and it is ridiculous. Again, I could be reading you wrong.
Hey, I'm a regular reader of yours... always insightful and decent--as in 'he's a good egg' decent. I disagree with one word and the suggestion behind it: "Indeed, all he need do is show up in his three-piece suit, smile, and deploys all the skills he inherited from his time at Harvard Law."
I'd argue that Obama honed, not inherited, those skills at Harvard Law. University influences but doesn't make us; our background does. I tire of what I consider a classist tendency to speak as though elite universities are where superstars begin or are fundamentally formed. Harvard ain't nobody's mama.
Shift the attention and the credit to where it belongs: Obama's working class upbringing by a single mom and his grandparents.
Nice one Mr. Coates.
This is when the disciplined team, takes those four yard runs up the middle to get another field goal and their opponents get hit with the 15 yard holding, unnecessary roughness, face mask, & taunting penalties that scuttle their own drives.
Chris Bowers at OpenLeft assesses the situation:
http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=16AE5E72EE66F64BCDA37B4B70262523?diaryId=8971
Can't get over confident, and Sen. Obama knows that. He's grinding it out.
As to whether McCain is conflicted about the way his campaign is headed, read this and consider the question again:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain
Mentioning white privilege isn't the same thing as saying "white people have it easy." It's saying that, however hard a white person has it in the USA, there is a whole set of things they just do not have to deal with that a person of color does.
Moreover, mentioning white privilege does not deny or belittle other sources of privilege: gender, sexual orientation, religion and class all do as well.
Not to excuse the man, but does anyone else get the feeling that McCain is not entirely comfortable with this line of attack and he can't control the beast he's unleashed?
Maybe he isn't. I don't care at this point. There's no excuses for letting people shout 'terrorist!' at your rallies. There's no reason you can't say, "Now, now, he's not a terrorist. He's just not qualified to be President of the United States." He's neck-deep in sleaze, but he waded in there on his own; I really don't feel sorry for him if he doesn't like the smell.
I think this is just the second stage of grief. They'll be bargaining next, then depression, then acceptance. We saw this from Hillar in the primaries.
TNC, just a mild request: it's easier if you link to the single-page versions of stories. I can't be the only person who hates the way that some websites split stories across pages, like they're running out of pixels or something.
In this case, it's the Print link.
You People have this all wrong. After the Rovians savaged McCain in 2000 and the Redneck Repugs dashed his chances at winning, McCain went into deep cover mode, intent on destroying the party that robbed him. He's a true Manchurian Candidate, and is succeeding beyond anyone's expectations in destroying the conservative movement. He knows full well that putting the spotlight on the crazy Palin wing of the GOP that will permanently discredit them. Same goes for the hack journos over at the Corner and similar publications who dare to follow him into the black hole of Ayers accusations in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis. McCain has seen the beast up close, and knows that it must be destroyed - even if it means going down with the ship and destroying his own reputation in the process. GOD BLESS JOHN SIDNEY MCCAIN! He really is willing to lose a campaign (and gloriously lose!) in order to save the nation! At the end of the day many of his most ardent supporters will realize that they were taken down by the Maverick, and Palin will realize before too long that she was targeted for destruction by Johnny Mac! Bombs away - another one bights the dust thanks to Johnny Mac!!!
One more thing...Johnny Mac was also a peacenik during Nam. While the character exposes allude to him palling around with anti war journos, he was actually fully invested in ending the occupation of and illegal war on Viet-Nam. He has always been a true Maverick, working within the system (and pertending to work for it) in order to destroy it. He was a total shit at the Academy - he nearly brought the place down but wasn't an experienced demo artist yet. He perfected his destructive abilites as a Navy pilot, learning how to destroy ships, planes, and even the institution of marriage and officer ethics. He later applied his skills against the S&L barons and telecom conspirators - he brought their shady business into the light of day by helping to "drop the ball". Now he's achieved the ultimate coup - total destruction of an entire political party and movement! Johnny Mac - a true kamikaze demo artist and USA PATRIOT!!!
Aaghh, sports metaphor, noooo.....
Excellent analysis, though I also agree with Zak worrying about Obama thinking it's over before it really is because of the recent poll numbers. Wasn't Dukakis leading Bush by 20 or whatever points after the convention? I know, I know, the Willie Horton, elitist liberal, with "pallin' with terrorist" twist won't work anymore in these days and ages, but I wonder if too many people are being too optimistic?
The McCain rallies these days remind of the the sketch on "Chappelle's Show"in which Dave plays an old blind black man who's in the KKK. When he ends up removing his hood at a klan meeting, a klansman's head actually explodes.
Right now, the heads of thousands of American racists are exploding.
laborlibert, you probably are, because I'm not even talking about him--I'm talking about the overall mood of the article. It gets specific mentioning a business owner who says she's furious partly because of stolen votes, and the outrage here is that Barack Obama has something that he should not--they're accusing him of having something he hasn't earned, and they're doing it from the perspective of someone used to determining who gets what.
Both sides do this, but the last time it truly mattered, the Republicans were the ones who used it and laughed off Democrats' protests. This despite things not just like dead people voting, but things like rigged voting machines that changed people's votes into votes for Bush.
So yeah, I am going to claim there's some privilege operating there.
I am a former Republican turned Independent, voting for Obama. A transplant to the Nashville, TN area, I'm appalled by what I've seen and heard here.
A man stands on a street corner downtown with a sign that says, 'I'm campaigning for Jesus.' A place where wrapping oneself in the flag is the only option for showing one's patriotism. Where people routinely brag about their Bible Schools and their 'values' yet put your e-mail on their mailing list and forward you messages of lies and vitriol. These are the intolerant, hate and fear-mongering followers of McCain/Palin - they are the epitome of hypocrisy.
Hot Beef Injection, Jr., WOW!
A neighbor, who is a long time GOPer, actually made that pitch (sort of) to me a couple weeks back. I thought he was joking.
He said McCain and Lieberman were laying the groundwork for a new party, a party without the religious right but with the old Baker, Percy, Brooks types of Republicans that would attract the Bayhs, Rockerfellers, and Webbs from the Dems. A real shakeup to the 2 party system. Hmmmm.
If this "new party" will let me keep my guns and stop trying to put me in jail for the my films, I'm in! (Maybe)
I wanted to believe he was just desperate, but I'm starting to think "60s radicals" does mean a fair amount to McCain. However I think the vehemence and violence of some reactions is stunning him a bit. I'm thinking/hoping he was wanting more of a "Obama as a snotnosed college war protester and apologist for radical academics" reaction than an "Obama is a scary foreign terrorist" reaction. A small hope on that is he's mostly trying to link him to middle-class white radicals, but he was maybe naive if he thought his audience's mind wouldn't go elsewhere.
I haven't liked how he's doing his campaign. (And if I shouldn't be here, as I'm likely voting McCain, I will leave)
As for the other thing McCain losing was always the most likely result. Democratic identification is up and the incumbent Republican President is highly unpopular. Add to that an economic downturn, which generally hurts the incumbent party.
Thomas, if he does mean that, we don't know. We don't know because, I think damningly, he won't say.
He won't stand up and question Obama when he's sharing a debate stage with him, even though he's trying to claim, before and after, that everyone should be desperately afraid of letting an unchallenged Obama near power.
And yet he won't turn around and bring his own supporters into line, either. What kind of maverick neither challenges his enemies nor his supporters?
To those who worry about Obama running out the clock because he didn't finish Hillary off I would remind you that he was trying to keep the democratic party intact so that there would be one after his nomination. So bashing Hillary really wasn't in the cards. Notice how Obama isn't bashing republicans in general but McCain and Bush. Whether or not he gets a fully democratic congress he is going to need some republicans at one point or another. That is one of the things he is campaigning on.
To those who think McCain isn't REALLY aware of the ugly crap going on I would say he is as aware as he WANTS to be. Self-Deception is the best deception.
As for a McCain-Lieberman 3rd party triple-bank shot, outta left field, ( insert more sports stuff here ) play ... self-deception is the best deception. I appreciate the creativity involved but I wouldn't spend too many neurons on that particular meme.
I love it: eight years of unbridled support for the least capable president in living memory, pointless war with no end in sight, looming economic collapse spurred by greed gone wild, and who does the base blame? Everyone else, a who's-who of historical scapegoats: Blacks. Immigrants. Gays. Terrorists. Feminists. Poor people. Who'd have thought that the party of social responsibility would be so constitutionally incapable of acknowledging their own shortcomings?
"Not to excuse the man, but does anyone else get the feeling that McCain is not entirely comfortable with this line of attack and he can't control the beast he's unleashed?
That's how I felt watching this and other videos. I really don't think this is how he wants to win. Which is not to say that he would prefer to lose of course.
Otherwise I agree with Ta-N's analysis almost entirely.
Posted by laborlibert | October 10, 2008 10:44 AM"
I agree with this to a certain extent. I think it is becoming more and more obvious that McCain is not in control of what is going on around him. Problem is, he is feeding into it, not trying to stop it. McCain could have stepped up and condemned the vicious comments, but he hasn't. Instead, he is clearly pouring on more gasoline. His weak attempts to cover his true intentions make it even worse.
TNC
Thanks for this piece of informative commentary. All I can say is I wish, hope, and pray for decency in public life. I was planning on voting for Obama anyway this just seals the deal.
I guess McCain is culpably capable of tolerating the forces of intolerance. What's next for the Republican Party? Free admission to "Birth of a Nation?"
I don't think that many moderate conservatives will vote republican after this election. Goodbye to the Party of Lincoln. It seems that the Republican Party is only using the cross so that they can burn it on people's yards.
So much for temperance in public debate.
I love it: eight years of unbridled support for the least capable president in living memory, pointless war with no end in sight, looming economic collapse spurred by greed gone wild, and who does the base blame? Everyone else, a who's-who of historical scapegoats: Blacks. Immigrants. Gays. Terrorists. Feminists. Poor people. Who'd have thought that the party of social responsibility would be so constitutionally incapable of acknowledging their own shortcomings?
So true. Man oh man. That is so true.
Oops, in my earlier post I meant "personal responsibility" instead of "social"—the latter is pretty much anathema to the GOP.
The "destroy the Republican party in order to save it" theory postulated by JT Chicago's neighbor and Hot Beef Injection, Jr. (is there a Hot Beef Injection Sr.?) sure is fascinating. While far fetched it actually explains a lot.
Great post by TNC and great thread. This blog is keeping me sane these days.
On the recent 'Obama-as-terrorist' angle, there hasn't been enough investigation of the possible connection with the mass-mailing of many million copies of the DVD 'Obsession' ramping up the fear of Islamic terror before the election.
On Obsession, if you didn't get one in with your NY Times:
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n19/shtz01_.html