I’m sitting here watching CNN and they just polished up a story about Sarah Palin’s glasses. Her glasses. Ten minutes on how everybody just has to have Sarah Palin’s style of glasses like they were Rachel’s hair.
John McCain has been hammering Barack Obama about his celebrity status.
Who is a bigger celebrity in the country right now than Sara Palin? And what is she a celebrity for? Being plucked from Alaska and propped up on the national stage. She may have had some sort of presence in the political world prior to her selection for the ticket, but she certainly wasn’t a celebrity, the likes of which I saw on the cover of two tabloids and People magazine at the grocery store this afternoon.
Now … would Obama’s campaign be wise or foolish to seize this as an attack?
I think if they played it right, they might be able to get away with it. Something along the lines of pointing out “more of McCain’s hypocrisy” or something along those lines. And trying to point out somehow that at least Obama’s celebrity is as a result of more than just being picked out of nowhere.
Thoughts?
Nope. If I’m Obama, I use the financial crisis and put Palin on ignore. Like I said in the McCain forked thread, the news isn’t going to be about Palin or who is a pig for the next few days. Then, we get to the debate. Palin is yesterday’s Rev. Wright story.
As someone supporting Obama, I found the accusations of celebrity tiresome and completely irrelevant. My opinion of that wouldn’t change in the slightest if they were levied at the other side, and I’d consider it even worse since it has already been done.
And I would have to imagine McCain supporters would say that it’s just a weak attempt by Obama to deflect attention from his own, true celebrity status. Obama has nothing to gain by going down that road, and would probably do nothing but annoy people who are on the fence about him.
You don’t run for President by running against the other party’s candidate for Vice-President. The Democrats tried running against Dan Quayle in 1988 (and Spiro Agnew in 1968) and got nowhere with it.
Contrast that to the Republicans, who pretty much ignored Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.
I think you guys are forgetting that many of the votes Obama and McCain are struggling for are from “the common clay, the salt of the earth, you know … morons.”
These people may be vaguely frightened by the news of big financial institutions failing, but it’s a remote thing to most of them. As long as they still get a paycheck, they don’t care. If they gave a shit about money, they never would have voted for the Republican Party, since on economic issues the Republicans have always been about screwing the middle class.
I think the common clay, unlike many posters on this board, may find Palin more bright and shiny than the financial crisis. Palin, they can understand. Interlocking financial networks hurt by the fallout from sub-prime loans … oh, look, shiny sunglasses!
Most everyone has been through enough downturns to know that if Wall Street goes south, their jobs may soon follow. (Or their neighbors’ jobs.) They’ve also been told the Repubs about needing to cut spending, which they can get - then all of a sudden they see that this money shortfall isn’t there when Wall Street is considered. The anti-Bush numbers also shows that they are beginning to get what a clueless president means - so long as McCain keeps showing how clueless he is, we’re in good shape.
Judging from the paper today, the narrative has just switched from how poor lil Sarah is being beat up by the big bad media to how McCain is making a 180 on economic policy. It’s now about him.
And before anyone brings up the canard of “democrats insult the public by saying they are all dumb”, this is indeed (as per the OP), similar to what Obama’s supporters have been accused of; going for the “celebrity status”, and voting for style over substance.
As to whether it would work as a turnaround ploy, I’m not sure. I think that dalej42, Shayna and kunilou have the right idea - ignore her completely, and give the impression that she’s not actually worth talking about.
Yes. I’m sure it would be unwise, despite my devil’s advocate like claim that they might be able to get away with it. But I do think it is valid debate fodder.
Maybe if the Swiftboat 504’s get rolling they can latch on to this and run with it.
Hmmmm …
The Swiftboat 504’s … Live at the Cleveland Auditorium … with special guests, McCain’s Black Baby. Note to self … call Capitol Records.
