Saturday, October 4, 2008

all smear and only smear


A few days ago I wrote:

Given the current trajectory of the campaign, Obama should win. Given that, the last few weeks of the campaign will probably get VERY VERY ugly. I can’t imagine McCain and the Rove junior varsity running his campaign going down graciously. It will be interesting to see just how ruthless those thugs can get when they have nothing left to lose.

Hold on to your hats.


Here it comes!

From today’s
Washington Post:


McCain Plans Fiercer Strategy Against Obama

By Michael D. Shear

McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen.
Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the
conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.

With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain's team has decided that its emphasis on the senator's biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama. The Arizonan's campaign is also eager to move the conversation away from the economy, an issue that strongly favors Obama and has helped him to a lead in many recent polls.

"We're going to get a little tougher," a senior Republican operative said, indicating that a fresh batch of television ads is coming. "We've got to question this guy's
associations. Very soon. There's no question that we have to change the subject
here," said the operative, who was not authorized to discuss strategy and spoke
on the condition of anonymity. …

McCain's only positive commercial, called "Original Mavericks," has largely been taken off the air, according to Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political ads. …


All the positive ads have been pulled. McCain is going all negative from here on out. It’s all he has left of his “honorable” campaign of HEROIC LEADERSHIP. Smear. That’s all the Rove junior varsity knows how to do. That’s what they learned at the foot of the master. And McCain will do whatever it takes. One last Hail Mary. One more throw of the craps. Honor be damned.

But it won't be enough this time.

2 comments:

Michael Markman said...

One reason it won't be enough is that Obama has learned from the Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry campaigns. He's going for a pre-emptive strike according to politico.com.

Here's the script:
“Three quarters of a million jobs lost this year. Our financial system in turmoil. And John McCain? Erratic in a crisis. Out of touch on the economy. No wonder his campaign wants to change the subject.

“Turn the page on the financial crisis by launching dishonorable, dishonest ‘assaults’ against Barack Obama. Struggling families can't turn the page on this economy, and we can't afford another president who is this out of touch.”

I'm happy to see the word "dishonorable" in there. It's time to call McCain out for abandoning honor.

JuhnDonn said...

Obama for President has set up Keating Economics site, detailing McCain's involvement with the S&L scandal. Looks like the gloves are off.