McCain may not have to do anything to lose the election. His supporters may lose it for him. He apparently lost control of the crowd, and they booed him when he suggested that it might not be a good idea to turn into a mob.
That's what happens when you so blatantly pander to people's darker passions and instincts. Frankenstein's monster just might turn on you.
I honestly don't know whether to be reassured or even more frightened by the mob scenes that GOP rallies seem to have turned into. Will the ugliness lose the election for McCain, or will it catch on?
ReplyDeleteMaybe campaigns were always this vitriolic, and we're only more aware of it because of our information culture. Or maybe America is getting stupider and meaner.
Counterlight --I got the disk --thank you!
ReplyDeleteTerrifying post, by the way.
It is so depressing - and it outrages me as well.
ReplyDeletei am here via FranIAM
ReplyDeletewhat mccain and palin are doing is nothing short of criminal and disgusting..
mccain is now backed into a corner and it will cost him dearly -- he must finally realize it is over --- and that trashing obama is really undercutting any respect he may have had
i know i could care less what happens to john and cindy mccain from now on -- any good in their miserable lives means nothin -- mccain is a cartoon character that cannot escape his cel
tough shit...... you made the bed, now sleep in it
It´s been worsening...not just recently...it´s more than eight years worth of disgusting behavior that has been encouraged as some kind of acceptable ¨conservative¨ speak...my thoughts go to Karl Rove as the originator of the free-for-all instigating of lies and character assinating bile that had been building in individual bigots and self-righteous morons for centuries...those who live in a world of exclusive and purified pretend...somehow, whispering filth and exploiting others became bold and aggressive/smart acts of of machismatic Christian ¨Americanism¨...all inspired by fear, hate and greed with a imagined Godly blessing.
ReplyDeleteOf course it won´t work and finally folks are going to have to face their own dragons and obsessions...ignorance coupled with arrogance will be a good place to start a self-awareness/recovery challenge...like it or not, REALITY is here to stay.
sorry, the above was me,
ReplyDeleteLeonardo Ricardo
Ugly.
ReplyDeleteI have just on an other board discussed the decade leading to the war of 1914. It was the same. Ugly.
To encourage uglyness and divider-policies is dangerous for a Society. Very dangerous.
Do take care!
I'm not sure it's over for McCain at all. According to the daily electoral college map, he's been making some gains; small gains, but gains nonetheless. And there is always the "Bradley effect" where white voters tell pollsters one thing about a black candidate and then do something completely different at the ballot box. On the other hand, Obama has his unknown risks for McCain. There are a lot of new voters this year, the overwhelming majority are registered Democrats. And pollsters rarely reach new or young voters, or the legions of marginalized cranks (like me) out there.
ReplyDeleteWe'll all find out on Election Day.
Thanks a lot Goran! I'm in the middle of teaching the art of Fin de Siecle Vienna, and now you've given me visions of Karl Lueger coming back from the dead to keep me awake at night.
Karl Lueger reincarnated as an American; he'd either be a right-wing talk radio host, or some Republican Congressman from Oklahoma or Idaho (he'd be too far right for Texas or Louisiana; they're not into antisemitism in those states).
Margaret,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the disk arrived, and I'm sorry I took so long getting it to you.
It's yours to enjoy.
It is a frightening fact that not only are circumstances alarmingly similar to the lead up to the first world war, add in the economic crisis and the US is in the exact situation that propelled a certain dictator to power in the 1930. Hate-speak was part of that rise.The identified target today is gay people. We in the US live in perilous times
ReplyDeleteIt becomes acceptable to show bigotry when "authority figures" either engage in it (TV/talk radio hosts) or fail to nip it in the bud forcefully (McCain). McCain's campaign organization has the consultant who made the ads in 2000 about McCain having a black child (a Sri Lankan adoptee, I believe). Interesting - I had not noticed until now that the child is nowhere to be seen. If I were McCain, I'd fire the guy posthaste for having had the nerve to attack his kid 8 years ago. Even Hillary played to racists a bit, although it cost her.
ReplyDeleteNancyP