Watch this new tv ad for John McCain:
What is he trying to tell us?
Chris Bowers thinks the “McCain campaign is clearly trying to push the age card,” emphasizing his age in order to gain advantage with the huge senior voting bloc in states like Florida and Pennsylvania. Bowers and Marc Ambinder call attention to the visuals in the ad, especially the closing profile photograph, which clearly shows the lines in McCain’s face.
Although McCain may be hoping for a “senior backlash” against Obama, I don’t think that’s what he’s getting at in this ad. Close your eyes and listen to what he is saying, especially the first lines in the ad:
Only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war. When I was five years old, my father left for war. My grandfather came home from war and died the next day. I was shot down over Vietnam and spent five years as a POW. Some of the friends I served with never came home.
I hate war, and I know how terrible its costs are. I’m running for president to keep the country I love safe. I’m John McCain, and I approved this message.
Gee, who do you think he’s referring to when he says only a fool or a fraud talks tough about war?
The subtext of this ad is clear: McCain is telling us that he understands what war means (unlike Bush), that he has lost family members and close friends in war (unlike Bush), and he is not going to swagger around as president, excited by the prospect of starting more wars.
It sounds as if McCain’s campaign is worried about the public taking him at his word when he said staying in Iraq for 50 to 100 years would be fine by him.
We need to keep reminding Americans that McCain wants permanent U.S. bases in Iraq and has no problem with our troops staying there forever. It also wouldn’t hurt to show clips of his comment from last year: “I’m sorry to tell you, there’s gonna be other wars.”
This You Tube parody from a few months back made the point effectively. Pass it around:
The tag line at the end is classic: McCain 08–Like Hope, but Different.
2 Comments
This makes me wonder...
what John McCain’s defense would have been if he were involved in an incident like the Amadou Diallo shooting.
“John McCain knows how a gun works. He knows that a gun shoots bullets that kill people. People have shot at him. Unlike some others, he realizes that shooting wildly at unarmed men can kill them. He hates shooting wildly at unarmed men. So when John McCain shoots 41 times at an unarmed man, he intends to kill him, because John McCain believes that wallets are dangerous. Vote not guilty for John McCain.”
The issue isn’t whether John McCain thinks war is “totally rad.” It’s whether he supports this ridiculous war in Iraq and will support others like it. It doesn’t matter how reluctant you are about being trigger-happy if you’re trigger-happy nonetheless.
abkad Fri 6 Jun 8:54 PM
John McCain
Senator McCain bubbled to the surface of the Republican pool against the wishes of many of the Republican base. I have a great deal of respect for Senator McCain as both a person and a Senator. The Republicans, despite their best efforts, have nominated the most the most moderate, most experienced and most tempting candidate they had in their roster.
His age is venerable, his military service commendable. He represents all that was ever good about the Republican party.
But that’s precisely the problem. The Party he represents doesn’t suit him very well.
* The Republican party is struggling internally between the religious right and the financial conservatives, and that struggle has led to a bizarre stance on issues like teaching evolution, stem cell research and the like.
* Meanwhile, the financial conservatives cannot possibly be happy with Republican performance; We’re borrowing billions from Communist China and spending it on a war.
* The Security-oriented Republicans can’t reasonably believe the United States’ security interests are being well served. Even if we succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan, have we not compromised our security situation with China, our current source of money?
* The Republican party demonstrated lack of attention and organization on even basic domestic needs, most famously during hurricane Katrina.
I’m worried that targeting McCain himself will backfire, because he is a strong, rugged individual that inspires and demands respect, who actually strenuously disagreed with (then) Governor Bush and later with President Bush. McCain’s party, on the other hand, is vulnerable, unpopular, unsuccessful, divided and weak.
Does anyone else share my concern?
johnnyschad Fri 6 Jun 9:48 PM