{"id":12733,"date":"2008-10-08T06:33:39","date_gmt":"2008-10-08T13:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2008\/10\/08\/dave-does-the-election-midweek-report.html"},"modified":"2008-10-08T06:33:39","modified_gmt":"2008-10-08T13:33:39","slug":"dave_does_the_election_mi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/10\/08\/dave_does_the_election_mi.html","title":{"rendered":"***Dave Does the Election – Midweek Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biggest news on the election trail in the last day or so was not the<\/a> debate<\/a> (initial snap polls show Obama won handily<\/a>, but regardless, that he didn’t lose <\/em>heavily means the campaign continues in his favor), but the way the McCain\/Palin smear-o-rama (can’t talk about issues, so let’s talk about character assassination<\/a>) is starting to have some effect.<\/p>\n

But not effect on the polls, but on the uglier side of the citizenry<\/a>. I mean, do they honestly want cries  of “traitor” and “terrorists” and “kill him”<\/a> from their audience at their rallies? Do they enjoy shouts of “uppity Negro” and “sit down, boy”<\/a> directed at black media personnel covering them? Do they really want to bring the hate-inciting rhetoric and ditto-head followers of the Right-wing shock jocks into the political debate<\/a>? Have they actually sunk that sunk that low<\/a>? <\/p>\n

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Apparently so, though Cindy McCain thinks it’s Obama who’s running “the dirtiest campaign in American history<\/a>” — which betrays both a woeful lack of historical knowledge as well as the sort of reflective myopia that the whole McCain campaign has displayed, projecting its own faults on others (“Obama is an angry, cranky guy!”). She also doesn’t appear to enjoy shaking hands with people.<\/p>\n

Aside from inciting whackos to do something or another (vote for his ticket, one assumes; anything else would just be gravy), more bad news kept creeping out over Monday for McCain. For example, faced with the challenge of how he’d pay for those payroll tax credits for health care that he keeps going on about, he had to admit that the plan is to pay for it costs by cutting Medicare<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

The most startling narrative shift was, in the face of Obama’s counter-attacks on character, McCain is letting his proxies recant the whole Keating Five scandal<\/a>. What makes that so bizarre is that McCain, in books and interviews and articles, has milked that whole episode as a personal, transformative event that turned him into a “reformer” — if, in fact, he’s now tarting it up as political scapegoating of him, why has he gone on at length about how he made serious mistakes? Why has he said it was the basis for his ostensible crusade against lobbyists and corruption in DC? Where’s the transformation?<\/a> <\/p>\n

And on the topic of dodgy associations, some folks are recalling McCain’s involvement (if not leadership) in the Council Of World Freedom<\/a> back in the 80s. Yeesh.<\/p>\n

Of course, he’s also not being helped by support from Jew-baiters at Fox News<\/a> or the always-entertaining James “I will never vote for him but now I support him but it’s not a an endorsement just a support of his candidacy<\/a>” Dobson.<\/p>\n

Not much news on the Palin side of the ticket, since she’s been so busy being the campaign attack dog, appealing to folks just like her<\/a> to get angry at Obama and the “annoying” media. Of course, as she questions Obama’s love of country, she has her own skeletons in the closet<\/a> to deal with:<\/p>\n

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Nothing new there — just a reminder. And a reminder that, given the wide spectrum of political beliefs in this country, even Palin can draw fire from those more conservative and evangelical than herself<\/a> (“very anti-family” and “pro-homosexual”? Yeesh).<\/p>\n

A few other bullets before letting you get back to it: <\/p>\n