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August 10, 2008
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Sunday
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Sha’aban 7, 1429
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McCain veers onto the low road
By Jim Shea
CONNECTICUT: Barack Obama is “The One”. This is the theme of one of the personal attack ads John McCain has been running.
I’m confused. I thought Richard Nixon was “The One?” Or do I have the wrong Nixon? Maybe that was Mojo Nixon? Or Cynthia Nixon? Or Trot Nixon?
And what the heck is Charlton Heston doing in the ad? Is it about gun control? And why is he parting the sea? Is this to make way for swift boats?
And what is the message here? That Obama is just too darn inspirational? Isn’t that what leaders are supposed to be?
The thing I do get is that the McCain campaign has come to a fork and decided to take the low road. This is rather surprising, because McCain himself has been run over on the low road. But now a disciple of the operative who was driving that car, Karl Rove, seems to be steering McCain’s campaign.
Too bad, because McCain had always seemed like a straight-and-narrow road kind of guy. I guess when the low road is the only route to where you want to go you have to take it.
The other attack ad McCain has been running I get I think.
This is the one in which Obama is pictured along with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears and charged with being the “biggest celebrity in the world”.
First off, this claim is factually incorrect. Manny Ramirez is/was the biggest celebrity in the world when he played for the Boston Red Sox, although now he is just another dreadlocks-wearing dork in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform. (Sorry, that was bitter and gratuitous.)
The ad has created quite a stir in pundit land. Some think the ad is an attempt to paint Obama as a lightweight. Some think it is just old-fashioned, race-based fear-mongering. I think the intent is even more insidious.
The message is clear: Would you vote for a person to be president of the United States who goes commando?
The answer to this question, of course, would be a resounding no!
Regardless of party affiliation, ideology, income level or race, Americans are never going to be comfortable with a president whom they perceive to be just a little bit too freedom loving.
—Dawn/ The LAT-WP News Service (c) The Hartford Courant
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