The Cynicism Against the American Public: The Soda Pop Campaign

As President Obama and Congress attempt to reform health care, there is a new group attempting to fight the reform through a juice and soda campaign. It is like the Twinkie Defense, only different.

Seriously.

First, watch the ad here. Then, continue reading....

Watching.

Watching.

Watching.

It is an interesting argument:

In the current economic climate, families are trying to save and not spend (and, hence, not always enjoying life. Except this family who looks like their enjoying life. But see, they are a nice, middle-class, suburban family who needs to camp instead of going to Dizz-Knee-Land. And no one likes to go camping, especially suburban families. Hence, this tax is hurting the family in question.)

Congress wants to tax the simple pleasures of life (the only thing you may be enjoying right now): juices and soda. If Congress taxes these as "some in Congress are thinking about it," you will not even be able to have this pleasure. (And then you too will need to go camping on vacation.)

Taxes do not make people healthy. Only education, exercise, and a well balanced diet will make people healthy. (Um.... and you should eat your vegetables because people in Africa are starving.)

As this ad appeals to an "educated public" it is also deeply cynical as it expects the audience not to understand the role of juice and soda on health care. An educated public would know that the increase of juices and soda in our daily diets increase the chance for obesity (see here, here, and here). Obesity increases medical costs (see here, here, and here). Health care reform is urgent because of rising costs. Consequently, a tax on juice and soda will reduce obesity. Reducing obesity will reduce costs. This means there is great social benefit to this tax even if there is no reform of the health care industry, which I would argue is still necessary. But that is the subject of another post.

But this has very little to do with the real issue of the ad: preventing health care reform.

Yet, for Americans Against Food Taxes of all this means is that 46 million Americans should go without Health Care insurance because suburban middle-class family X wants to drink soda even if drinking soda increases health care costs. The group would like people to say no to discriminatory taxes that burden those who drink soda and, consequently, who burden the rest of society for increasing health care costs.

Enjoy liberty with no social duty!!!

Coca Cola for everyone, especially if the company puts the cocaine back in!!!

Why Don't Conservatives Plan Revolutions When Republicans Are in Office

First, Chuck Norris announced that he may run for President of Texas because the Country was on the verge on losing its identity/ rights/ path/ deep discounts at Walmart/ ability to beat up bad guys in scripted confrontations.

Now, Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) invoked the right to revolution. According to Politico:

"I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people – we the people – are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.”

Of course, Bachmann must not have actually read the Jefferson quote and does not know the irony of the quote. Here is what Jefferson wrote:

"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion... We have had thirteen States independent for eleven years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half, for each State. What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion?" --Thomas Jefferson to William S. Smith, 1787. ME 6:372

Ironically, when the revolution were to occur, Jefferson was president of the United States and I do not think he used the bully pulpit to argue for a revolution.

I would argue that Norris and Bachmann are just grandstanding, but what do I know...

Quote of the Day

I should be writing but instead I am reading Rush's speech CPAC. As of right now, this is all I have to say: Oh Rush:

"We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault."

I wonder: is this a deliberate mistake or does he not know the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?

But Rush, please know that it is hard for you to make the argument that other people are bastardizing the Constitution if you have no idea what the Preamble of the Constitution actually states. (Hint: "We the people.") This argument seems like you yourself do not know what is in the Constitution, which may explain why you never challenged the Bush Administration when they violated the Constitution.

Some Funny Political Cyber-Rhetoric

Harrogate has seen the following as a forwarded email and on two political blogs. Original Source unknown, but apparently it is getting around quickly.

Dear World:

We, the United States of America, your top quality supplier of the ideals of liberty and democracy, would like to apologize for our 2001-2008 interruption in service. The technical fault that led to this eight-year service outage has been located, and the software responsible was replaced November 4. Early tests of the newly installed program indicate that we are now operating correctly, and we expect it to be fully functional on January 20. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the outage. We look forward to resuming full service and hope to improve in years to come. We thank you for your patience and understanding,

Sincerely,

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Ahhhh Metaphors. Where would we be without them.

So Long and Thanks for the Um....

Gray hair and the portrait...

It is all too much: the banality; the claims that fail to correlate to reality; the smirk.

So, um. Yeah. Instead of delivering this address, I think soon to be former President George W. Bush ought to have said, "Thank you. My work here is done. I've enjoyed my time, especially the vacations.... Terrorism, Terrorism.... Iraq... Iraq... Now please, let me be the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Thank You. And God Bless America."

I, of course, would be all for it as baseball would be in a position to fold in five years, which means I would not have to pay more in city and state taxes... Damn you Yankees and Mets.

But serious, a few choice lines:

"You may not agree with some of the decisions that I have made, but I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."

No. I'm sorry. You are the POTUS. You do not work at Blockbuster or the DMV. No one cares if you make "tough decisions" if your decisions are poor. I don't think that I should grade my students on answering the questions rather than checking to see if they answer the questions correctly.

"Moral clarity? Good and Evil?" What about Torture?

Yet, he continues: "Murdering innocents to advance an ideology is wrong. Every time. Every where." Again, if you believe in absolutes, what about torture? What about creating the conditions where a prolonged civil war will take place? Who is responsible for this? Who has been responsible for the last 8 years? Oh....

Oh well. So long. As my daughters and their children pay for your debt, "moral clarity," and "tough decisions," I bet they will thank you, over and over.

Worst speech ever....

Is She Being Ironic?

An in interview, Sarah Palin told Human Events (via CNN) that she regrets she did not "seize the opportunity" to speak more to the American through the media. This quote seems priceless:

“I was not allowed to do very many interviews, and the interviews that I did were not necessarily those I would have chosen. But I was so thankful to have the opportunity to run with John McCain that I was not going to argue with the strategy decisions that some of his people were making regarding the media contacts.

“But if I would have been in charge, I would have wanted to speak to more reporters because that’s how you get your message out to the electorate.

Palin's rhetoric style downplays any conception of irony. Her calling for more interviews is quite odd since in her interviews she did quite poorly (see here) and is quite hostile to the media and the first amendment.

Yet, her ignorance of irony on one level works to her advantage as she negates McCain's handlers by praising McCain.... "I did not come to bury McCain, but to praise him..."

Only four more years till she runs a campaign on her own....

OMFG: A Tribute to Sarah Palin

Today, the Hammer dropped on Sarah Palin. On Fox News no doubt. This is the first of many "one the record" stories-- stories which reporters cold not discuss until after the election.

And the "real" Conservatives still want her for 2012. Please...



Generally speaking, the segment of American voters who support Palin may want to pay closer attention to the real world.

Here is another interview, discussing the same subject, on The O'Reilly Factor.

While some of this, I'm sure, is not on the level and the McCain camp is attempting to punish Palin to save McCain, some of it makes sense, especially considering the "joint" appearances with McCain and Palin towards the end of the campaign.

Dear Gov. Palin,

Soon my posts discussing your basic inequalities as a public servant will end. You will return to "real" American and hopefully, once there, the Alaskan voters will ensure you will not be their Governor because of your abysmal performance.

But until that time, I just wanted to let you know we are thinking of ya.'

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serangetti
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become

It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Sincerely,

Your BFFs at The Rhetorical Situation

How to Control the Media 101; or, Political Violence and the 2008 Election

As Solon recently pointed out, political violence is becoming an issue with respect to this election. Both Senator McCain and Governor Palin have been giving speeches amid shouts of "kill him!" and "he's a terrorist!" Has anyone seen a clip where either of these political figures reprimanded this kind of talk from their peanut galleries? No? Neither has Harrogate. But John McCain is an honorable man.....

Look. It is upon us now, whether we like it or not. See the desperation of the GOP, horrified at what seems like a very good chance that Barack Obama will win. Rhetorically, their last refuge is to blow racial dog whistles and to hope that somehow, by screaming 'William Ayers,' 'Jeremiah Wright,' and 'ACORN,' Americans will come to the conclusion that Barack Obama is a terrorist.

It is that ugly. We know that. But here's what's uglier, what really worries Harrogate the most. This is a blog first and foremost about Rhetoric. And so it needs to be pointed out, on this Blog, the obvious Truth that by screaming over and over again "Why isn't the Media covering the Ayers connection? Why isn't McCain running Ads calling Obama a terroirst enabler? Why is there a coverup for Obama's nefarious otherness?" By screaming these things, they create a story. Goddammit. Just turn it to any Cable News network, choose your M&M. You'll see that the Talking Heads are all Talking About Obama "palling around with terrorists." Some are criticizing the meme, some are pushing it, others are just reporting it. But ALL are replicating the meme. And that, dear chums, is all that the GOP ever needed.

So that's how the GOP drives the National Conversation. And as Readers know, Harrogate has long ascribed to the Argument that Controlling the Conversation Means Controlling the Kingdom. But in the end Solon is Also right that the Media's power at times gets taken away by the People themselves. Witness the Terri Shiavo fiasco, no matter how hard the Media tried to convince us that Shiavo's tragic situation belonged in the political discourse, people refused to bite. It was a good moment for our country. And now, it is going to be up to the Voters whether to buy this current garbage or not.

What a stain on the soul of this country if the GOP's beneath the floor tactics work. This is a gut check for the United States. A chance to prove that we will not be held hostage by Rhetorics of Fear and Loathing. That we are a people capable of being serious and capable of prizing thoughtfulness & pragmatism as values in solving large problems. Sigh. But it is also our chance to prove that we are the most infamously, banally unserious population imaginable.

But more on political violence. Little memes of violence are seeping in everywhere now from the Right, all of it connected to the Idea that to prevent Obama from winning, bloodshed is viable. Witness Townhall's Head Reporter, Amanda Carpenter. Pretty, charming, giggly, and always telegenic on Bill O'Reilly's show. Now see this blog post in which she blithely suggests:

There needs to be a backlash against these people. Those angry men at McCain's rallies need to start storming the Capitol

All hail "those angry men"!!!! All hail the idea of "storming the Capitol"!!!!! This is what we have come to. It is all these greenbloods have left.

And then today, we have a former (and indubitably, future) Assy McGee Award® winner, Ann Althouse, derisively blogging the following Headline:

McCain/Palin supporters are an angry mob. That's the virulent meme this week.

So the idea that Obama pals around with terrorists is not a "virulent meme." God, no!!!

But, the idea that charging Obama with terrorist ties is Real Hate Speech--That is a virulent meme.

The first sentence of Althouse's post tells you everything ye need to know:

To my eye, it looks as though the MSM is anxious to squelch any enthusiasm.

Hear that, Readers? To the extent that Some Media Outlets are worrying about the growing potentiality for political violence playing a role in our elections, said Media Outlets are really just Fuddie-Duddies wanting to "squelch any enthusiasm."

Just good clean Enthusiasm. That's what it is, when people are screaming "Kill him!"

Damn. Harrogate hopes that this is all a Tale Told by an Idiot, Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing. He really, really hopes so.

Ideas Have Consequences: State of the Race

With 28 eight days to go and the second presidential debate scheduled for this evening, the bottom is about to fall out.

Currently, the Republican "mavericks" rely on guilt by association arguments. Of course, the self-defined "mavericks" do not engage in any introspection over the consequences of their actions.

Cases in point: First, at a McCain rally yesterday, McCain asks his audience, "Who is Obama," and an audience member responds a terrorist. Second, at a Palin rally, while the Hockey Mom attacks Obama as a terrorist, an audience member shouts out "Kill Him!!!" Additionally, as Matthew Yglesias notes, at the Palin rally, Palin continued to attack a press that dare ask her questions while her audience members wave thunder sticks at the press and another Palin supporter shouted a "racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, 'Sit down, boy.'"

Democracy is quite a dangerous game when your opponent is not a colleague but your enemy and the proper course of action does not involve compromise but death. If this election concerns without outbursts of violence, I will be mildly surprised.

Thanks to A.S. for finding this above photo.

Rules for Tomorow's Debate

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow....

According to Ben Smith and Lynn Sweet, here are the rules for the debate tomorrow.

Under the deal, the moderator may not ask followups or make comments. The person who asks the question will not be allowed a follow-up either, and his or her microphone will be turned off after the question is read. A camera shot will only be shown of the person asking -- not reacting.

While there will be director's chairs (with backs and foot rests), McCain and Obama will be allowed to stand -- but they can't roam past their "designated area" to be marked on the stage. McCain and Obama are not supposed to ask each other direct questions.

[T]he candidates are banned during the debates from moving to the other side -- and from wielding proposed pledges.

From this description, no one can ask a follow up. Pander Fest USA!!!

Why should the candidates agree to this? This is even bad television as there will little chance for conflict or disagreement. At most, one can have a "I feel your pain" moment, which no one could possibly believe; one candidate could avoid providing a substantive answer to any question deemed remotely objectionable and where have we seen that; or maybe, for entertainment's sake, a candidate will look bored and stare down at his watch. What substance?

Knowing the rules, my initial take will be this will only be one ad hominem after another. Maybe McCain will call Obama a terrorist to his face.

Update: if you read Sweet's blog, you'll find out that the candidates agreed to a process that prohibited notes. Now, in the VP debate, Palin stared at notes, which means she violated the rules and brought notes or, to answer Harrogate's question, while Biden was speaking, she wrote as many topoi as possible, which means she was not listening to Biden speak. What class!!!

Who Won Last Night's Debate???

Ralph Nader's views were pretty clear.



That's right. Ye hear Bill Maher right. It was in reference to Ralph Nader that he said "This should be the voice of the Democratic Party."

Hmmmm. But not today.

But One Day. Hopefully during our Children's Lifetime. There will be a Party with real stroke, with real representation in Congress and with a real shot at the White House, that takes our Republic with the seriousness that it deserves.

Because we are not there yet, sad fact 2008. Is the only reason Harrogate can think of, not to vote for Ralph Nader.

In the end what we have, those of us worried about the corporate lockdown and who would rather not raise our children to die young, for reasons nobody can even articulate, let alone credibly defend, is the same ole lesser of two evils reasoning.

Yes, the Dems are a lesser evil, Obama is a lesser evil. And MUCH lesser. This is the argument to make against Ralph Nader's candidacy.

Letterman v. McCain

John McCain was scheduled to appear on Letterman tonight. Because of the economic crisis, McCain canceled his appearance and headed back to Washington to help pass the bill being discussed [on a committee McCain is not on-- try to figure that out].

However, it appears that McCain did not head to Washington and, according to Keith Olbermann, is not in Washington tonight. Instead, after he canceled Letterman, he visited Katie Couric over at CBS. And guess who found out and has live footage?



The health of our democracy is not good when our comedians offer a better analysis of politics than our media.

How many times must McCain lie in one day. Palin?

A Theory of Public Pouting; or, Why McCain's Suspension is really about Sarah Palin

According to CNN, McCain's friend and spokesperson, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-Land That Time & Modernity Forgot, er. S.C.-- I kid friends from the Great White North) announced that the McCain campaign will lobby the Presidential Debate Commission to cancel Friday's debate, reschedule it for Tuesday, and then cancel the Vice Presidential Debate. The VP Debate will be "rescheduled."

The McCain campaign announced that McCain will not debate if a deal is not announced. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), someone who is working on the bailout and knows something about economic policy, stated on Race to the White House that a deal will happen but it will not happen by Friday.

I am beginning to think that there may not be any debates. Or press conferences by Palin/ McCain. Or interviews. Or any public gathering in front of a non-partisan audience.

Essentially, the McCain campaign is rejecting any form of information exchanges that occurs in a democracy where the people, sometimes through the press, can challenge and question their rulers.

This is terrible. Absurd, really. If this is their campaign, I cannot imagine what their presidency would look like.

No, I can imagine. It would be worse than the one we have now: the absolute rejection of accountability.

Debate of the Day

Resolution One: This House believes that John McCain's campaign relies on the presumption that the American people are stupid, irrational voters.

Resolution Two: This House believes that since McCain's strategy relies on the stupidity of the American people, he will win the election.

Debate.

I think that the election rests on these two propositions.

Fox Reports, You Decide. Or, Heh: Cindy McCain not Happy with The View

Yesterday Cindy McCain cried out at the myriad injustices committed by the Media against her husband's campaign, and especially those committed by the ladies on The View.

Look, Readers, at the combination of Fox's staff writing and of Cindy McCain's quotes. It is really quite artistic:

"In spite of what you see ... in the newspapers, and on shows like 'The View' — I don't know if any of you saw 'The View' yesterday, they picked our bones clean — in spite of what you see, that's not what the American people are saying and what they are believing," Cindy said at Saturday's 119th annual Oakland County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, ABC News reports.

"In spite of what you see ... in the newspapers, and on shows like 'The View' — I don't know if any of you saw 'The View' yesterday, they picked our bones clean — in spite of what you see, that's not what the American people are saying and what they are believing," Cindy said at Saturday's 119th annual Oakland County Republican Party's Lincoln Day Dinner, ABC News reports.

During the McCains' appearance, they were asked about everything from Gov. Sarah Palin to their houses to the separation of church and state.

Ahhhhh. Such a wonderfully figurative turn of phrase, "picked our bones clean," and it made it into the headline of the piece. And then Fox "substantiates" Cindy's claim by pointing out that she and her husband were (GASP) asked all kinds of questions on the set.

Gee. Isn't that something candidates for office should be inviting (Palin)? Even if you wanted to cede the claim that too much is being made of how many houses they own--the McCains seem to be doing pretty well coming out and saying tha too much is being made of it. Of course, some might make a connection between the McCains' class status and John's claim that the economy is sound. But again, they are free to rebut this. It is called a free press and an accountable government.

Now, Readers here know that Harrogate is no fan of The View. More often than not he finds it banal and even insulting to thinking people everywhere. And Whoopi Goldberg (Harrogate's least favorite of them) certainly sounded dumb when she asked McCain whether his view of the judiciary's relationship to the Constitution meant that she might have to go into slavery. Technically at least, adherence to the Founders' intent also means you are in favor of the electorate's right to amend the Constitution. There are so many things noxious and wrong with McCain's attitude towards the judiciary--why not focus on them, Whoopi, instead of going for a feelgood line empty of substance?

But overall, Harrogate was pleased to see how well the View ladies did. Indeed, Harrogate would like to see the Hard News Media learn a bit from what those ladies did. They appropriately grilled McCain on a number of fronts, including Roe.

And, come on. Joy Behar may as well have been saying the sky is blue when she said that McCain's Ads have been lying. This doesn't stop Fox from making it seem like Behar's words were scandalous:

At one point, co-host Joy Behar told McCain that two of his campaign ads are "untrue ... they're lies"

Heh.

Roe Roe Roe Your Boat

Again, it is important that Americans not allow Abortion Rights to be a sleeper issue in this election. This election is likely the Climax, so far as Roe v Wade is concerned. This is what the Palin pick was about. McCain sent his signal loud and clear that Abortion Rights would be kneecapped under his administration.

If this is what Americans are ready to do, then that is one thing. Harrogate will still be horrified at it, as he hates the idea of civil liberties being put to a vote in individual states. He thought that was what the Bill of Rights was for.

But then again, not everyone sees Abortion as a civil liberties or as a womens' rights issue. Some see it as a murder issue.

And so back to the point. If Americans are ready to see Roe overturned, and to see this issue thrown to the States. We are talking State-By-State Warfare here. Violence highly likely. But if the country is ready for it, then that is one thing.

But if the Plurality is not ready for it. If instead the Plurality is Pro-Choice, but not single-issue zealots in the ballot box. Then we have a real Breakdown in our System coming.

See Pat Buchanan's recent article. This sums it up. Ole Pat wants Roe overturned and all Abortion criminalized. Despite, or perhaps even because of this bias, his description of what this election means for Abortion Rights, is clear and true.

A final word on this. Oh the irony, Sarah Palin is attracting Independent Women voters in droves, according to every poll out there. And most of the Women polled in those Polls, say they are Pro-Choice but do not care, because they just admire Sarah Palin so damned much. And so. A charming woman, Palin. Pretty, and indeed "likeable enough," as the saying goes. In other words the Perfect Weapon against womens' rights.

Someone explain to Harrogate again how Sarah Palin is not the most Just Punishment Imaginable, for Liberal America and It's Fetish for Identity Politics.

God exists, has a twisted sense of humor, and sometimes pays attention to American politics. Sarah Palin and her impact on this election proves it.

This is what democracy looks like

Republicans in Michigan plan on challenging who can vote on election day, which really is no surprise to anyone who lives in the country. Of course, their method is far beyond unethical [really, there is no word to describe this move. It is just another literacy test or moral character qualification]:

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.

I probably cannot express how much I despise this tactic right now. We are told this is the most important election and this is how the Republicans in Michigan treat voters.

Oh, I forgot, those who would most likely not be able to vote because of a foreclosure would not vote for Republicans.

The Macomb GOP’s plans are another indication of how John McCain’s campaign stands to benefit from the burgeoning number of foreclosures in the state. McCain’s regional headquarters are housed in the office building of foreclosure specialists Trott & Trott. The firm’s founder, David A. Trott, has raised between $100,000 and $250,000 for the Republican nominee.

The Macomb County party’s plans to challenge voters who have defaulted on their house payments is likely to disproportionately affect African-Americans who are overwhelmingly Democratic voters. More than 60 percent of all sub-prime loans — the most likely kind of loan to go into default — were made to African-Americans in Michigan, according to a report issued last year by the state’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth.

Is it legal? Possibly though it is as unethical as lying to get the country in a war.

One expert questioned the legality of the tactic.

“You can’t challenge people without a factual basis for doing so,” said J. Gerald Hebert, a former voting rights litigator for the U.S. Justice Department who now runs the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm. “I don’t think a foreclosure notice is sufficient basis for a challenge, because people often remain in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance.”

As for the practice of challenging the right to vote of foreclosed property owners, Hebert called it, “mean-spirited.”

In a close race, denying these citizens their right to vote can swing the election. The article notes that Republicans will try this tactic in Ohio as well. Even if they just challenge voters, which slows down the process, it could prevent people from voting. Inner-cities are notorious for having outdated machines while suburbs have plush machines that are fast and work correctly.

This must be stopped. Republicans are morally and intellectually unfit to govern.

The Roof is on Fire...

Earlier in the day, The Roof Almighty posted a Matt Damon interview where Damon addressed Sarah "I'm Close to Russia" Palin.

In an interview with a reporter form Maine, John McCain addresses Sarah "I'm qualified because I am a hockey mom" Palin. The interview is just painful. In comparison, Damon does a better job since he is more more believable.

Excluding the statements that are not baseless lies, the John McCain interview contains one fallacy after another: non-sequitur, red herring, emotive language, bandwagon, ad personam. Blah, Blah. Blah, Blah, Blah. Blah, Blah. I'm John McCain. Blah, Blah. Blah, Blah, Blah. Blah, Blah.

This entire election is absurd. We might as well speak in tongues. Oh wait.

Time's Joe Klein wants John McCain to apologize for his sleazy tactics like he did after supporting the Confederate Flag during his 2000 failed run. Right. That would take Honor.

Obama the Terrorist...

From Politico: Here is a new ad by the McCain team and my fucking G-d is it reckless. In addition to trying to define Palin as a hapless victim in society, it echoes the idea that Obama is a communist and terrorist who threatens the US.

Rhetorical Echoes:
The new ad by the McCain campaign echoes previous commercials from 1984 and 2004. The entailment is not only that Obama is unfit for office because he is attacking a defenseless woman (though isn't this a virtue for Republicans, to attack the weak?); the danger with this ad is that it suggests that Obama is a communist and a terrorist, who will invade the US.

Again. This campaign is absurd. A politician running for office will not take answers from the press. No one knows a damn thing about her except through her false statements in her speeches. A presidential campaign does not address any issues and will fuck the country through the culture war. And will not answer questions to the press. And then this ad?

Context of the Ad:
The ad from 1984 focuses on the U.S.A. versus the USSR, with Reagan as the only person to perceive the true threat of "the bear." In 2004, the Bush Administration echoed this commercial though it redefined the terrorists as wolves- a numerous, but unseen danger that travels in packs. In 2008, McCain relies upon the echo effect from the ads in 1984 and 2004. Yet, in 2008, the McCain campaign redefines the wolves to represent Obama and his invading army.

Watch for yourself and see the decline of the American Republic with your own eyes.

The ad from 1984:


The ad from 2004:


The ad from 2008:

McCain Squeals Like a Stuck Pig

".... but John McCain is an honorable man."