A Cautionary Tale

[BT]

NICE V.P. CHOICE, KID. DON'T GET COCKY. Lots of Republicans are excited about the Palin pick. My email is full of stuff (if I missed your email, sorry -- I've been flooded even by my usual drinking-from-a-firehose standards), Memeorandum is overrun with items, and the enthusiasm of the G.O.P. grassroots is at levels that would have seemed impossible just a couple of weeks ago.

But I think that Republicans should be careful about launching a cult of Sarah Palin. She's the V.P. pick, not the head of the ticket. She's still a relative newcomer to national politics. She's virtually sure to commit at least one major mistake between now and November. And -- yes, I know I said this before -- she's the V.P. pick, not the head of the ticket.

The Dems built a cult around Barack Obama. It energized some folks, but it ultimately backfired. Republicans might want to restrain themselves just a bit, here.

http://www.pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/archives2/024051.php

[Religious Dick]

I agree, but let's remember even before the Palin announcement McCain was doing a pretty good job of pulling Obama off of his pedestal. Whatever you think of McCain's politics, he clearly knows how to run a campaign. I was willing to bet McCain would eventually win even when he was trailing badly in the polls, and I still think he would win even if he hadn't picked Palin.

McCain has demonstrated a willingness to run a disruptive, take-no-prisoners campaign, and something tells me Palin isn't the only ace he's got up his sleeve. I'm waiting to see what he does for an encore. I have a feeling he's got a few more surprises for us between now and November.

[Plane]

Perhaps time is on our side , but time is short.

People of shallow enthusiasms will tire of the charismatic Obama and leave him short, but the Charisma of Pallin might have the same half life problem.

Which side has a greater staying power , and with little more than a month to go ,is there enough time for patience to make a difference?


Entirely on the other hand, which side has real fortitude and wisdom in its candidates? is having real qualities as much of an advantage as charisma?

[Michael Tee]

Speaking of surprises up one's sleeve, when is Obama going to have his surrogates go public with the tapes of broadcasts that McCain did for the Vietnamese in order to get better treatment?

[Xavier_Onassis]

Speaking of surprises up one's sleeve, when is Obama going to have his surrogates go public with the tapes of broadcasts that McCain did for the Vietnamese in order to get better treatment?

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I don't think this would have much impact here and now.
Vietnam happened too long ago and no one wants to remember it, because it was a stupid war, stupidly fought, and ultimately lost. Making people think about it is like reminding them of fights with their ex-wife.

Americans don't like to think about when they lose. Check out the mood of any planeload of suckers returning from Vegas. Observe that we prefer the term "Funeral Home" to the terms "Morgue" and "Mortuary". In our imaginations, we never lose and never die. Even our pets go to Heaven.

[kimba1]

not just a stupid war but I think a starting piont on how the parties started to polarize.
it showed how ugly both sides are and how stupid bothsides are.

[Xavier_Onassis]

The Viet Nam War started out as a bipartisan effort. The idea was to swing into Viet Nam, score a fast triumph on the Commies, and get out. Of course, just as in Korea, the opposition was a lot more determined than our allies were. Our allies were basically those who had sucked up to the French for the past 50 years and they were in it for the money.

It was only after 1968 that the war polarized the parties, with the Republicans talking about victory and later peace with honor while they tried to postpone the inevitable rout, and the Democrats demanding that we just make any deal and pull out NOW.

McCain actually believes that the Nixon administration could have propagandized the people into supporting a victory.

There could have been a victory, but only if they had used nuclear weapons, and that would have done the country irreparable damage all over the world. By 1968, they could not draft enough soldiers to win.

[Plane]

Speaking of surprises up one's sleeve, when is Obama going to have his surrogates go public with the tapes of broadcasts that McCain did for the Vietnamese in order to get better treatment?

Why wait for anyone elese , If you really think it a good idea you do it.


I think it is too crass for Crassus and sure to galvanise support rather than opposition to McCain , but it is a free country.

[Lanya]

Michael,
I don't want any part of something like that.  Are you kidding me?  You don't seriously think that would even be thought of, much less condoned, much much less done?  I  despise those people that say that stuff about  former POWs, or any service member, for that matter. 
Remember the Purple Heart Bandaids at the RNC 4 years ago? Now they might run with something like that.  But they dishonored all vets, all service members by doing that.  I don't want any part of it.

[Xavier_Onassis]

Vietnam is over. I don't think that anything McCain did there, unless it was unmistakable weird sex with barn animals and/or fellow prisoners that someone might show on YouTube, would affect the vote.

I doubt that the Vietnamese would have anything that would be of any use at all, and if they did, it would just annoy as many people as it would convince to vote against McCain.

It is always sad that our elections in this country are never about real issues, but nonsense that has no bearing on the future of this country, because there are so very many issues that need to be resolved. The trouble is that all the issues involve at least fifteen minutes to an hour of attention, and many of the undecided voters that decide the elections have the attention span of a housecat.

I am hoping that this time they will be able to see through the phoniness, the manipulation, the advertising hype and the bogus issues (that Bridge to Nowhere is one of them, since it will never be built now).

[kimba1]

and not so strangely in a small dregree vietnam is mixing with our culture.
in a little thing called pho` and ban mah
I never expected a stripmall in reno would serve pho and it`s growing in popularity.
and ban mah is truely one of the tasties sandwiches around for $1.50
cheaper than american sandwiches
but since thses foods are usually cheaper than american food it`s a no-brainer people are gonna embrace it.
now if only noc nam get`s introduce
noc nam is fish sauce served with any rice or noodle dish.
it don`t smell great but it`s soo good to eat .

[Michael Tee]

The problem with the Democrats is that they are just too good and too nice to win elections against the Party of the Rich.

The Republicans will pull out all stops.  They'll impeach a sitting President over a blow job.  Well, they'll say it's perjury, but the perjury came in the course of a persecution that began over a BJ.  Worse yet, they will attack the medals of a thrice-wounded soldier who put himself directly in the line of fire on at least three separate occasions where the fire was close enough to wound him.  They tried as hard as they could to disenfranchise black voters with phony "purges" of the rolls and phony police stops on voting day.  There is nothing too low for the Republicans to stoop to to win an election campaign.

But when similar tactics are proposed for the Democrats, it's a no-no.  No revealing tapes that John "Duty Honour Country" McCain made for the Vietnamese; no exposing the phony claims of torture that his own jailer now denies ever happened.  The tapes aren't faked, they're real.  Nobody is being asked to lie about John McCain the way the Swift-Boaters lied about Kerry.  But there are moral and ethical limits that bind the Democrats that just don't apply to the Republicans.  Not only will they refuse to lie about the opponent, they won't even tell the truth about him, when the truth is too hurtful.

Maybe it's better that way.  I always have a soft spot in my heart for the good guy who won't stoop as low as the bad guy.  There was a name for it once, "Beautiful Losers."  They'll lose the election, but they'll keep their halos on straight.   Maybe they're doing the right thing.  Maybe just this once, the American electorate is ready to acknowledge that they are in fact the good guys and give them the votes to prove it - - votes that might not have been forthcoming had the Democrats followed the Republicans' dirty lead and proven themselves no better than their opponents.

[Amianthus]

The problem with the Democrats is that they are just too good and too nice to win elections against the Party of the Rich.

ROFL

There is a reason why the states that are well known for election day fraud (Illinois, Maryland, etc) are heavily Democrat.

[sirs]

The problem with the Democrats is that they are just too good and too nice to win elections against the Party of the Rich.....Maybe it's better that way.  I always have a soft spot in my heart for the good guy who won't stoop as low as the bad guy. 

   Now that is indeed, the epitome of priceless