John McCain’s speech today.
Today, we are the world’s oldest constitutional democracy, yet we remain a young nation. We still possess the attributes of youth — spirit, energy, vitality, and creativity. America will always be young as long as we are looking forward, and leading, to a better world.
Which image makes more sense?
1) America is young, so elect an old president.
2) America is young, so elect a president that reflects that youth and vitality.
I think message 2 makes more sense. The problem for McCain about message 2 is that it’s the Elect Barack Obama argument.
Which even more so, makes an argument for Obama over McSame.
We need to move forward, not backward! Upward, not forward, and always twirling, twirling toward tomorrow!
That’s not fair, he’s a war hero. Stonewall Jackson wouldn’t make a move without his advice.
There’s a clip in “Near Dark” when, asked how old he is, Lance Hendrikson says “Let me put it this way; I fought for the South! (Pause) We Lost!”
Let’s see… in the last couple of days, one candidate has boasted of a non-existent uncle who, along with the Red Army, liberated Auschwitz, and also praised America’s fallen heroes, some of whom were in the audience to hear his speech. The same candidate has also said that he’s campaigned in 57 states, repeatedly forgotten what city he’s in (Sunshine/Sunrise, Sioux City/Sioux Falls), claimed a tornado killed 10,000 people (more than the entire population; the total death toll was 12), said Arkansas was closer to Kentucky than Illinois, said his parents first met at a protest march that took place when he was four years old, says we need Arabic translators in Afghanistan, cited his “racial awakening” as triggered by an article in Life Magazine that never existed…
And people say McCain is senile?
J.
Of course, in Jay Tea’s world, Republicans never misspeak and George W. Bush speaks like William Jennings Bryant.
And “NOO-KYU-LAR” is now the official pronunciation cited in the OED of the word “nuclear”, doncha know.
I just find it fascinating how Bush’s gaffes (which he freely admits and even mocks — he once mentioned getting diction lessons from Schwarzenegger) are indications of his stupidity, but Obama’s gaffes (which get purged from his web site and are NEVER discussed) are immediately deemed irrelevant.
As far as nuculer… it grates the hell out of me, but someone once pointed out that Jimmy Carter tends to give it the same pronunciation, and he was a nuculer engineer, so that lends credence to it being more of a general southern thing than anything else.
But damn, it does grate on me. THERE IS NO LETTER BETWEEN THE “C” and the “L!”
So… is anyone going to say anything about all the Obama gaffes, or just say “Bush does it too, and is funnier!”?
J.
Obama’s uncle liberated a different Nazi camp. He got the camp wrong, big whoop, that doesn’t change what his uncle did. The very few gaffes Obama has had have been normal human mistakes, not insane misstatements of policy beliefs.
JT, do you seriously think it’s a big deal that someone who’s been on the road as much as any of the candidates mixes up Sunshine with Sunrise or Sioux City with Sioux Falls?
Really?
Dang, you should see how often I mix up my kids’ names.
(How about someone who mixes up Shia and Sunni even after being corrected several times? Or someone who makes claims of sniper fire even after the video tapes turn up? Do you really want to make these trivialities the basis for deciding the president?)
At what point does the “candidate of youth and vigor and energy” stop getting a free pass for a seemingly endless stream of verbal gaffes? As I pointed out, Obama’s got a lot longer list of “tired” moments than McCain has.
Meanwhile, McCain’s medical report shows that — despite several bouts with cancer and years upon years of being tortured while a prisoner of war — he’s physiologically a lot younger than his years. I’d be curious to see Obama’s medical record in comparison — especially in light of his smoking habit.
Satchel Paige once asked, “how old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” On that scale, setting aside simple calendar years and merely looking at their health, I’d bet Obama and McCain aren’t that far apart — certainly not enough to make the “young man vs. old man” comparison overly valid.
J.
certainly not enough to make the “young man vs. old man” comparison overly valid.
So let’s stop making it, J. Let’s stop picking at verbal gaffes and instead only discuss item’s of actual significance.
C’mon. Just for a week. Let’s kick the habit for just that long.
Works for me, Sean. Of course, that could put our host at a serious disadvantage… if he can’t put up pictures comparing McCain to Grandpa Simpson or shout out about how McCain has former lobbyists working on his campaign, he’d have very little to say.
So, has Obama said anything about recent developments in Iraq? Or put forth any substantial solutions for our current energy issues — short term or long term? Or discussed how the proposed new GI Bill Of Rights he supports threatens to gut our military, by removing incentives for enlisted personnel to stay longer than three years and not make a career out of the service? Or how the version he backs also isn’t transferable to spouses and children?
I’d call those matters of actual significance — not the nuances of who said precisely what or who supports what candidate.
J.
Frankly I’m far more afraid of John McCain’s policies and beliefs than any of his “gaffes”.
Let’s stop picking at verbal gaffes and instead only discuss item’s of actual significance.
I’m in. Though McCain’s lobbyist ties, I think, are significant. At least for a, you know, maverick reformer.
“At what point does the “candidate of youth and vigor and energy” stop getting a free pass for a seemingly endless stream of verbal gaffes?”
Not sure. He’s gotten through selling us a bogus invasion without a plan and he’s still getting a pass from your kind.