Nicely played, Mrs. Obama. Keep swinging away on this issue. Harrogate admits, it makes the election less nauseating for him, when you talk like this.
Then there is this piece by the inestimably shameless Matt Towery, a pundit Harrogate regularly experiences, O Readers, so you don't have to.
Towery first of all continues to perpetuate the great Lie that Georgia might fall into the Barack Obama column. While one supposes that anything is possible except for American politics attaining bedrock decency, this has got to be among silliest memes we have seen yet, although if it causes McCain to spend real money there, then it might be a worthy one.
Towery also blasts the media for blasting away at Charlie Black for saying that if there is a terrorist attack on the United States before the election, this would benefit McCain. Towery rightly points out that those attacking Black on this issue refuse to engage the actual comment. But then, that's the way with our great Media, aint it--that Towery gets this right only proves once again the great saying, a blind groundhog will find an acorn every now and then.
Finally, this statement is just so precious, and so unironically delivered, that it must be replicated herein:
First, no one knows how President Bush and Vice President Cheney might react if we were attacked. This poor president, who I now feel is being abused beyond any justifiable level, can hardly take any measure without dropping in the polls. And any perceived mistake on his part would be guilt by association for McCain.
(Note to the nefarious blogger over at rhetoricalsituation.blogspot.com: When Harrogate boldfaces a particular section, that means he is drawing especial attention to it.)
Tis wonderfully hyperbolic of thee, Mr. Towery, to say the fucking least. Poor President Bush indeed. He and the GOP have only gotten some 90% of what they wanted since his inauguration in 2000. Witness the recent wiretapping bill, for example.
2 comments:
The Georgia strategy may not be a "great lie" meme. (And why is it meme? It should be topoi as meme seems more fictional than argumentative.) While there are a few factors that need to occur, it is quite possible, especially since the last poll conducted in Georgia had Obama down by one point.
I do not think it will turn blue in November but it may be reasonable for it to do so:
Examine the Exit Poll data from 2004
Senator Obama will be able to improve upon Kerry's totals. In addition to a badly hurt Republican party that does not like its nominee and is not enthused for this election, the Democrats have increased voter turnout and registration. Senator Obama will send campaign workers to attempt to flip the state, which will be more important than the advertising dollars used there.
Finally, there is the Nader effect: former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr is running on the Libertarian ticket. If he will have an impact anywhere, it will be in his home state. If Republicans are divided ideologically, then Libertarians will defect to Barr, knowing that McCain may not be a real alternative. Call it a protest vote against eight years of Bush.
The key concern is if can Obama raise his numbers to the point that Barr will take those numbers away from McCain.
With limited resources, McCain will call Obama's bluff by not campaigning heavily in Georgia, as he will in Virginia and North Carolina. These states may be open. As long as Obama takes one, with Virginia being the paramount, McCain's path to 270 is almost impossible.
Harrogate just has a hard time taking it seriously, the idea that Obama will win in a bellweather GOP stronghold. This quite possibly speaks more to Harrogate's own intellectual sluggishness than to reality.
You, like Towery, make arguments on the Georgia front that Harrogate hopes are sound. But hope is the smiling twin of fear, and Harrogate tries to avoid both whenever possible.
Thus, given the ethos of the writer, the Rhetorical Situation justified the fictionally-connoted word, "meme."
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