Is It Just Me?
August 12th, 2008
Or does the main thrust of McCain’s recent spate of ads seem to be that the fact that lots of people liek like Barack Obama is some sort of character flaw? I mean, the message seems to be: “Don’t vote for him! People like him!” I suppose the idea is supposed to be to paint Obama as all style and no substance, but I just don’t see that as a winning argument in American electoral politics. Setting aside the falsity* of the repeated claims that Obama lacks substance, if substance were really important to the American electorate, W would have lost badly in both 2000 and 2004. The at-large electorate seems to believe personality is a lot more important (hence the silly “Do I want to have a beer with him” test).
*Counterexample: Have a look at Obama’s energy plan, compare it to McCain’s plan, and remind me again who exactly is supposed to lack substance. The former consists of specific actions to be taken, while the latter consists mainly of wishful thinking.
Cross-posted at TennesseeFree.com
Categories: Politics | 106 Comments
