Quote of the Day

On Sarah Palin, Andrew Sullivan points out " But even if she is history, she is history that matters", and then goes on to say:

"The impulsive, unvetted selection of a total unknown, with no knowledge of or interest in the wider world, as a replacement president remains one of the most disturbing events in modern American history. That the press felt required to maintain a facade of normalcy for two months -- and not to declare the whole thing a farce from start to finish -- is a sign of their total loss of nerve."

One of the most irritating tactics of the Republicans, ever since at least Reagan, is trying to come off as being for the "common man", when in fact they are and have always been a party of, and for, the wealthy ("not that this is anything wrong with that..."). Toward that goal, they have succeeded in placing figure heads that appeal to the working class. With Reagan, they found, quite appropriately, an actor. This was a landmark in politics, a milestone representative of the culmination of the video age. Bush Sr. was an aberration for the Republicans, a result of the inconvenient settlement of the Republican primary in 1980 which resulted in Bush being picked as vice-president.

Not quite willing, perhaps out of incredulity, to pick a true "common man", the Republicans found in Bush Jr. a man of their social class that, due to his dimness, actually fit the role of the "common man" quite well. His lack of qualifications pushed the limits of the public, no, the press, even more. The envelope had been pushed and tested: yes, the press would let such a character pass their inspection.

With Palin, we had a run in with pushing that envelope even further. And I supposed in 2012 we'll see if the Republicans continue with that tactic or whether a new age is truly borne.

The Last of the Couric Interviews

I love Katie Couric's response to the claim it was Gotchya Journalism!

Republican Rage: McCain = Paul von Hindenburg

From CNN:

...
One member of the Palin audience in Jacksonville, Florida, Tuesday shouted out "treason." And at another rally in the state Monday, Palin's mention of the Obama-Ayers tie caused one member to yell out: "kill him" -- though it was unclear if it was targeted at Obama or Ayers.

At several recent rallies, Palin has stirred up crowds by mentioning the "liberal media." Routinely, there are boos at every mention of The New York Times and the "mainstream media," both of which are staples of Palin's stump speech.

Some audience members are openly hostile to members of the traveling press covering Palin; one crowd member hurled a racial epithet at an African-American member of the press in Clearwater, Florida, on Monday.

And at a McCain rally in New Mexico on Monday, one supporter yelled out "terrorist" when McCain asked, "Who is the real Barack Obama?" McCain didn't respond.

So far, neither Palin nor McCain have explicitly called on their supporters to tamper down the attacks.


...

Also, the McCains said months ago they didn't wanted their son Jimmy -- a Marine serving in Iraq -- dragged into the campaign.

But on Thursday, Cindy McCain brought up her son.

She criticized the Illinois senator for voting against a bill to fund troops in Iraq, a regular line of attack from her husband's campaign.

"The day that Sen. Obama cast a vote not to fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body, let me tell you," she told a Pennsylvania crowd before introducing her husband and his No. 2.


The vote Cindy McCain is referencing came in May 2007, when Obama was one of 14 senators who voted against a war-spending plan that would have provided emergency funds for American troops overseas.

A CNN fact check deemed the charge that Obama voted against troop funding "misleading."

Update:

McCain Faces Backlash Over Rabid Crowds frighteningly demonstrates that McCain is unable to contain the crowds that Palin has unleashed. Let me be the first to compare Palin to Hitler in 1932. McCain = Paul von Hindenburg.

Update 2:
I'm not the only one who sees this:

Is John McCain our Paul von Hindenburg?

McCain is a weak figure, the Hindenberg to Palin's Hitler.

Update 3:
WSJ comment:

People are conflicted about what they want. They want activist liberal government but they also want muscular American foreign policy and a dynamic capitalist system. So, logically, the only way to go forward is National Socialism.

Vote McCain/Palin, our version of Hindenburg/Hitler ticket, an aging war hero and a revolutionary who “speaks” to women and the great middle….

You know the next step of the pirouette… the war hero dies and there is a new terror attack resulting in a new Enabling Act….

Some things never change.

Comment by Only way to go forward now! - September 12, 2008 at 1:07 pm

This YouTube video has been out since Palin was announced as McCain's running mate, but it kind of fits in here: