Sensible, controlled, competent … Presidential. As opposed to muddled, confused, McCain?
I think a question mark is going to have to go after the old vet’s name from now on, written uptalk, McCain? Because from the Iraq-Pakistan border to the President of Russia to the existence of Czechoslovakia, and now how many houses he owns — good lord, perhaps even his own home address? … someone get that man a medi-alert bracelet — I find myself having to double-check so much of what he says. It’s sad, really: he has given so much to his country. Maybe too much?
What do you think.
Please share widely!
tom-m says
I think this has legs. This isn’t a context thing like “100 years” or a mispeak like “57 states” or “Czechoslovakia.” He thought about this, calculated and said “I’ll have my staff get back to you.
<
p>This can be looked at three different ways:
1. He honestly couldn’t remember.
2. He’s truly out of touch with the real middle class.
3. Mr. Maverick Straight Shooter wasn’t sure what the correct answer was politically.
<
p>I personally think it’s #3, but I don’t think any of the possibilities is particularly flattering and I hope the Obama campaign continues to hammer this home.
eaboclipper says
Obama sure looks good when he has a staged answer. Remind me again how he does when he doesn’t have a script, uh um uh um… Ok don’t I’ll show you.
<
p>
<
p>He’s awful unrehearsed. McCain is going to destroy him in the debates. It will be fun.
johnt001 says
Are you any closer to getting that toaster?
eaboclipper says
enrolled for McCain points. I can find these things all by my lonesome.
<
p>That’s good though deflect the fact that Obama can’t speak unrehearsed.
tblade says
…you want to play the game where we dig up YouTube speech gaffes of the two candidates and pit them against each other?
<
p>Ha ha. What Barack Obama needs is a Joe Lieberman to whisper in his ear the correct answers.
<
p>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
syphax says
Let’s set expectations. McCain is the greatest debater since Cicero. If he doesn’t run rings around McCain, he will lose the debates.
kirth says
McCain does seem to be disagreeing with his younger self a lot of the time. No clear winner has emerged yet – it’s too close to call.
syphax says
with the McCain vs. McCain line…
tblade says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
<
p>On Iraq:
http://tpmelectioncentral.talk…
johnt001 says
From Phil Gramm’s “nation of whiners” to McCain’s belief that you need a $5 million annual income to call yourself rich, to the “I’ll have my staff get to you” on the number of homes, this is turning into Jerry Ford’s Poland gaffe, or Bush I’s amazement at a grocery scanner. It’s a game changer, and coming just ahead of the convention, the timing couldn’t be better!
<
p>I can’t wait to talk to the token Republican at my Drinking Liberally meeting next Wednesday – assuming he’s not so demoralized that he stays home. Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll stay home on election day too…
joets says
Just….just like all those other things were…that drove his poll numbers…down?
stomv says
the narrative is that McCain is out of touch. Not that he’s rich and out of touch, just that he’s out of touch.
<
p>If it sticks with the houses and the economy in general, Obama will see if it sticks on the war [remember McCain saying it was safe and all the photos show him with a bullet proof vest and half a battalion defending him as he walked through the market?] If that sticks, they’ll go after green energy, where McCain has voted against [or not bothered to show up to vote] renewable energy initiatives a half dozen times.
<
p>If it doesn’t stick — and it may not because of the timing of the two conventions — then we can say that McCain times his boners awfully well.
joets says
gary says
<
p>You’re confusing him with Bob Dole. But, said fixation says more about you, than Mr. McCain.
syphax says
Google says:
<
p>Definitions of boner on the Web:
<
p> * blunder: an embarrassing mistake
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
<
p> * who or which bones; an erect penis; blunder, a bad mistake; silly or stupid mistake
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/boner
<
p>So stomv’s usage makes perfect sense; you’re the one stuck on middle school bathroom humor (I think most of use moved to more colorful euphamisms in high school and beyond)
bob-neer says
That was pretty funny. Almost as funny as Bob Dole’s campaign for President. But, still, funny. And remember there is a consensus that more jokes are good for BMG. That’s why we spend so much time on McCain? after all. Ba, dump.
syphax says
I was just watching stomv’s back.
ronumd says
“I got mixed up confusion
Man, it’s a-killin’ me.”
<
p>http://www.bobdylan.com/#/song…
hoyapaul says
Here’s what campaign historians will be talking about 20 years from now:
<
p>The 1988 campaign: “Damn, I look good in a tank!” (Dukakis)
<
p>The 1992 campaign: “What the heck is this thing?!?!” (Bush 1, looking at a grocery scanner)
<
p>The 2004 campaign: “I voted for it before I voted against it” (Kerry)
<
p>The 2008 campaign: “I have so many houses, how could I possibly remember them all?” (McCain)
<
p>This thing has real legs — similar, I believe, to all of these other campaign moments/gaffes. I am not exaggerating that you will still be hearing about this in November (and beyond, from those campaign historians). It’s not a two day story.
<
p>This is exactly the sort of gaffe which can resonate throughout the remainder of the campaign, just like those other historical examples.