Down to the final 10 days before the election (OK...11 days but I am so close to midnight I'll write off today) and the media blitz has been escalated to obscene levels. Both sides are bombarding the airwaves with ads and automated calls to the point that one news report indicated people were getting dozens of auto calls a day. I wasn't a poli-sci major at university but common sense should tell the campaigns that a dozen calls interrupting someone's life is probably not going to get them to vote for your candidate.
Maybe this is just another sign of how the candidates are not in touch with working America? I'm incredibly busy just trying to do more with less in this down economy and hold on to the job I have because there is no $150 million dollar savings account waiting for me. This is reality for all but the top 1% of America but we are being asked to choose between millionaires who really don't understand what it is like to lose sleep worrying about the future. I've been very fortunate in my life but know many who have not been and it angers me to see politicians playing on fears and spreading false promises simply to capture a vote.
I am especially disappointed in the McCain ads (and the larger Republican ad approach) for fostering suspicion and fear through half-truth and inferences all the while providing nothing positive to the race. I've always believed that if you have a strong position then you don't need to take cheap shots at your opponent. Of course, McCain is now taking cheap shots within his own party as he's claiming that W has been a total failure (On this point, I completely agree!) and that he will not be another George W if elected. The only problem here is that he has voted with W. over 90% of the time so it's a bit late for the feigned anger and demands for change. Is that what it means to be a maverick? You ride with the herd while your party is in power but when it suits your own self-interest, you decide to stand against the status quo. It's a bit short-sighted and much too late to have any impact for McCain as he is squarely aligned with W. even though he personally HATES the man.
The hate in their love/hate relationship was cemented in the SC primary in 2000. George attacked John in the most vile ways such as spreading the rumor that John had an illegitimate, black daughter (Fact Check: He adopted a child from another country. The race element was incredibly important in SC as old fears and hatred are never far from the surface) and this was the turning point that lead to George securing the nomination. Here's the irony of the situation, the John McCain of 2000 would have been an EXCELLENT leader for this country. He had bold ideas and was very much a moderate willing to compromise for the good of this nation...his biggest liability back then was his uncontrolled temper. The negativity of that campaign set the standard for future Republican campaigns and it has been repeatedly employed in this campaign. In another bit of irony, McCain now employs the same people who ran the negative, false ads against him during the 2000 campaign. They say politics makes for strange bed fellows but I would have a very hard time shaking the hands of anyone whose sole purpose eight year prior was to attack me and my family. Maybe it’s just another example of McCain becoming the man who defeated him in 2000.
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