Monday, October 13, 2008

Campaign Droppings -- XV

Look!

Ever notice how John McCain, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton and every single television pundit begin making a political point with the word, "Look?"

How strange. The imperative used to have a nasty tinge, like "my friend." It was shorthand for, "Look, asshole." Now it is the word of the year, and I wonder if it still subconsciously doesn't mean what it used to mean.

Another phrase that came from politicians unable or unwilling to be specific and that has receded in usage somewhat is "out there." As in, "There are a couple of good ideas out there." Or, "We don't know what's going on out there." Or, just plain, "It's out there" (as in, "It is what it is.")

My advice in the event of a McCain-Palin victory is, "Look out, there!"

Seeking Command Without Purpose

The Washington Post, in another in a series of in-depth biographical sketches of the candidates, talks today about McCain's lust for leadership for its own sake, without any grounding in belief. It is another sad case, like Bush's, of a total screwup intent on outachieving a distinguished father without having the brains or talent.

Rolling Stone replows some of the Post's previous ground with new material and accounts from reputable ex-military men demonstrating that not only is McCain unfit for command -- which the Navy itself determined --he met the standards for a court-martial. The article reveals the extent to which McCain was heroic as POW (not at all), how he lost five planes, how he cowardly ran and hid from the inferno aboard the U.S.S. Forrestal that he may have helped start and how he has flipped positions on almost everything, easy to do since he never had any political views to begin with.

Now, it gets good. According to Jeff Stein, a national security author of high repute, writing in the nonpartisan Congressional Quarterly, there are reports that McCain caused the deaths of 134 men and almost sank the Forrestal because of a prank.

McCain, I now believe, is not only unfit for command, he is not fit for even the U.S. Senate.

Great Moments in Presidential Rhetoric

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933

"We'll get through this deal." -- George W. Bush, Oct. 9, 2008

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:32 PM

    And we wonder why Republicans believe the emails stating Obama is a Muslim, when our side so easily and stupidly perpetuates slanderous lies such as you wrote.

    http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_mccain_crash_five_planes_did_he.html

    You do us no favors, sir.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You do us no favors by posting anonymously.

    I read Timberg's book and I have read excepts of McCain's book. I recently became aware of the Rolling Stone article and the Congressional Quarterly articles.

    The Factcheck citation is from the day before I wrote this blog posting and I was unaware of it. Having said that, I put a lot of credence in the Rolling Stone piece, the late Johnny Apple, Congressional Quarterly, McCain's own recollections and Timberg's accounts.

    At best, we have the new release of official records contradicting McCain's OWN accounts, which is so typical of this cowardly lyin' SOB that I am standing by the post.

    Furthermore, Brooks Jackson, that tool of the mainstream journalism, claims McCain couldn't have been at fault because he kept getting promoted. Duh!!!!! He kept getting promoted because of name.

    Finally, anything slanderous about a Republican candidate for president is quite fair, and minimal, payback for what they have done to our candidates.

    They want slime? We got plenty of it, too.

    ReplyDelete