The Politics Of Mockery, Part 2: Obama Again Hits McCain Over Tire-Gauge Stunt
Ben Smith posts some good video of Barack Obama again mocking John McCain today over the tire-gauge stunt. It's worth a watch -- the scene illustrates again that the GOP doesn't hold the same advantage in the mockery realm that it did in the last two presidential elections:
In the vid, Obama notes that McCain has now said keeping our tires inflated is a good idea, even though the GOP has been ridiculing Obama for saying this, and adds:
"In the coming days it's going to be interesting to watch this debate between John McCain and John McCain."
Atrios says that mockery is "the way to drive McCain crazy." On that score I'd like to revisit the point I made yesterday: Obama is managing to strike a lighter tone than the GOP and McCain, a development that's strikingly at odds with what happened in 2004 and 2000.
If you look at the "celeb" ads and the tire-gauge stunt, it's clear that the effortless mocking tone Republicans struck against John Kerry four years ago -- in the wind-surfing ad, in Bush's ridicule of Kerry's tortured rhetoric -- is eluding them this time around.
This isn't to say the "celeb" ads are't working in some way. They may well be. But the GOP's previous virtuosity at political ridicule is more or less gone. The barbs have a sneering, defensive, high-school-lunchroom-hazing quality to them. Obama is proving a far less mockable figure than Kerry was. And the punditocracy -- perhaps turning on McCain's negativity -- doesn't appear as willing to play along with the GOP mockery of the Dem in (quite) the same way as last time.
Meanwhile, Obama is managing to hit notes of levity from time to time in a way Kerry struggled with. His latest "McCain versus McCain" line even has accents of Bush's mockery of Kerry's infamous "voted for it before I voted against it" line.
Beneath the campaigns' efforts to mock one another, of course, lies something far more serious: The life-or-death struggle to define the opponent. The GOP's mockery of Obama is about portraying him as a vacuous pop-culture phenom who's out of touch with ordinary folk. Obama's mockery of McCain is about portraying him as befuddled and adrift, un-moored from whatever principles once grounded him.
Who knows what Obama's current advantage in the mockery realm will translate into November, but given the high-stakes definition game underlying the mutual ridicule, Obama's ability to rise above and appear impervious to GOP mockery projects confidence and enables him to avoid the lethal trap of defensiveness. It's an advantage he'd do well to maintain.
Comments (130)
I bet the GOP will steal the McCain vs McCain idea, and create an Obama vs Obama ad.
August 6, 2008 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think they already did
OMG, Photo of Edwards with Love Child, In HOTEL
August 6, 2008 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Greg, one quick point about the politics of mockery. Obama was GREAT today and I was thrilled to see him hit McCain the way he did.
The difference that you should highlight, however, is that the GOP follows-up their mockery with a coordinated and concerted surrogate strategy during which everyone has the same talking points to keep the mockery alive.
The Obama camp has the candidate go out there, say it once or twice, and then think that's all they need to do.
The mockery of McCain itself is highly effective, but the Obama camp still needs to learn that repetition is the soul of branding.
http://strategy08.wordpress.com
August 6, 2008 1:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
VERY interesting point. well taken.
August 6, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly right. Hope y'all will forgive this re-post from the Obama must respond to being called a celebrity thread. . . .
Getting into a tit-for-tat with McFeeble about who's a bigger celebrity is a big mistake. That's their agenda. BigO should not allow McCranky to dictate the debate.
Have ya noticed that McSame has been hitting BigO with the same meme for a couple of weeks? That's what Obama needs to do. Hit McSame from the same angle over and over for at least a week, maybe two or three.
What angle? You pick it. I personally like the "26 years in Congress" meme 'cuz it plays the age card subliminably™. And I've noticed that the pictures of McSame shown when that text is spoken have him looking very old. That fits well with his recent spate of frequent melt-downs.
But the point is to pick one caricature and hammer it home for a while before moving on to some other angle of attack.
August 6, 2008 2:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oops... sorry.
August 6, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes! "26 years in Congress" is good because 1) it cements McCain's image as a D.C. insider, responsible for the problems we now face, 2) it emphasizes the "McCain=Old" meme, and 3) it makes Obama's newness on the scene into a virtue rather than a liability.
August 7, 2008 12:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent point.
August 6, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Pawlenty looked ridiculous waving around the tire gauge. Not a lot of surrogates could pull it off the way Barack does. Imagine Kerry trying his hand at snark? Or Bayh? or Daschle?
I think having the surrogates run with it makes it an attack campaign, rather than a small part of a stump speech.
I say let the mocking be the sole domain of Obama within his campaign. Leave the surrogates to stay on message on on the high road.
August 6, 2008 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Matter of fact, Pawlenty prised Obama today:
From The Page:
"Say what you will about Barack Obama, people gravitate when you have something positive to say."
Time article here:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1829944,00.html
Pawlenty can say goodbye to the VP slot.
August 6, 2008 2:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Still have to disagree. Pawlenty looked ridiculous because the mockery itself was ridiculous. And you're right, the right surrogate has to be the one saying it.
But just putting out Obama to say something once and hope it gets reported is not an effective communications strategy. The better alternative is ENSURING that the meme gets reported by getting surrogates to repeat it.
August 6, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm agree too.
August 6, 2008 2:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly right. Hope y'all will forgive this re-post from the Obama must respond to being called a celebrity thread. . . .
Getting into a tit-for-tat with McFeeble about who's a bigger celebrity is a big mistake. That's their agenda. BigO should not allow McCranky to dictate the debate.
Have ya noticed that McSame has been hitting BigO with the same meme for a couple of weeks? That's what Obama needs to do. Hit McSame from the same angle over and over for at least a week, maybe two or three.
What angle? You pick it. I personally like the "26 years in Congress" meme 'cuz it plays the age card subliminably™. And I've noticed that the pictures of McSame shown when that text is spoken have him looking very old. That fits well with his recent spate of frequent melt-downs.
But the point is to pick one caricature and hammer it home for a while before moving on to some other angle of attack.
August 6, 2008 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's a good point... But I would argue that with Obama's recent factual "mocking" of McCain has more bite because it's based on facts...
Today Andrea Mitchell (who I swore was in the tank for McCain two weeks ago) even debunked every one of Carly Fiorina's "talking points" that all of the surrogates have been sputtering. It was great.
Hitting McCain like Obama has this week is a good strategy because it's just enough to get under McCain's skin... When McCain and his surrogates are angry, they make mistakes.
Right now Obama is building up his arsenal which if his strategy is to come out swinging after the convention... McCain and his campaign have given Dems a ton of ammunition while Obama has stayed above the fray.
August 6, 2008 2:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
It might have more bite now, but I think the point is that people have to remember it later.
August 6, 2008 4:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, build for after the convention and stay focused. But we who are not in the Obama campaign can lend a hand by creating images that may stick, just as McCain is attempting to do. And we should have fun doing it.
Images matter......
"Who Does McCain Remind you of? A New Game for Hard Times"
http://msa4.wordpress.com/
August 6, 2008 5:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
How's this for surrogate action das:
“I don’t know if you know this. John McCain is looking for someone for vice president who has more economic expertise than he does. So congratulations to all of you, you’re on the short list.”
- John Kerry
When you get Kerry out there giving decent zingers, you know this is going to be different from 2004.
August 6, 2008 3:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Cute. It would not make a good 30 second ad, but it was funny and it will stick in the memories of the folks there or the folks who see it on t.v.
August 6, 2008 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
They need a "McCain versus McCain" faux boxing promo advertisement.
August 6, 2008 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
the more they put out the pick of a dwarfed mccain hugging bush the better.
August 6, 2008 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Celebrity Death Match
August 6, 2008 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
that would be PRICELESS!!
August 6, 2008 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd just like to point out that before Obama was the "hot thing," as it were, that was mccain's role as the "maverick.". There's numerous appearances on Letterman, Leno and even Saturday Night Live to point to as proof. Is he just jealous?
A sad old man with nothing to offer but another lying gop presidential campaign. Can't fool all the people all the time. Say goodnight dicks.
August 6, 2008 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Goodnight, Dick.
August 6, 2008 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
That was Maureen Dowd's shtick in the NY Times today:
“John’s eaten up with envy,” said one. “His image of himself was always the handsome, celebrity flyboy.
“Now somebody else is the celebrity,” the colleague continued, while John looks in the mirror and sees his face marred by skin cancer and looks at the TV and sees his dashing self-image replaced by visions of William Frawley, with Letterman jokes about his membership in the ham radio club and adventures with wagon trains.
For McCain, being cool meant being a rogue, not a policy wonk; but Obama manages to be a cool College Bowl type, which must irk McCain, who liked to play up his bad-boy cool. Now the guy in the back of the class is shooting spitballs at the class pet and is coming off as more juvenile than daring.
August 6, 2008 5:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Crap, that whole thing was supposed to be in the blockquote. I don't think the tags are working the way they're supposed to...
August 6, 2008 5:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that this is the fallback method for Obama to respond to almost all McCain attacks.
By gently but effectively mocking and dismissing McCain, McCain lookos more and more like Grampa Simpson, yelling at a cloud, with Barack looking like the in-control operator.
In addition, though he tries to hide it, McCain has NO FUSE, and constant mocking by Obama and his surrogates WILL lead to an explosion (or at least an awkward attempt to control his raging indignation) by McCain.
It wouldn't hurt is Obama came up with some dogwhistle terms for old and out-of-touch for McCain. McCain has made this election a referendum on Obama, and Obama subtly reminding the electorate that a vote for McCain is a vote for your bitter old uncle might turn the tables a bit.
August 6, 2008 2:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Barack is mocking McCain's mockery, not McCain personally.
That is the beauty of it.
August 6, 2008 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is the oskie as in "wow wow"? If so, then good on you.
August 6, 2008 2:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
That would be "Oski", with no "e".
Oski wow-wow
Whiskey wee-wee
Or...fire it up, you SOB, the Golden Gate is passed.
Jeez, I'm even persnickety about mascot spellings. I need an outside hobby.
August 6, 2008 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I still prefer Oskee Wow Wow. Obama is the Juice Williams of politics.
August 6, 2008 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nope, "oskie oskie" is what a football player yells when his team intercepts a pass or recovers a fumble as a signal to his teammates to block the nearest opponent.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oskie&defid=2166716
August 6, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
In other words, the defense is now the offense, so knock the crap out of somebody cuz we are gonna score!
August 6, 2008 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, good stuff. I had no idea. As a Cal grad, Oski will always be the name of our mascot, who was named after the Oski(e) wow wow cheer.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f200/Pab2222/oski.jpg
August 7, 2008 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is fantastic! I have heard "oskie" since my days of high school football. In fact, it may have been as long ago as Pop Warner. I thought the term was something somebody in my town made up, or that it was unique to my little corner of NJ. I had no idea it was used more broadly.
August 6, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fantastic! I haven't heard "oskie" in years, at least not since high school and maybe even further back in my Pop Warner days. I always thought it was unique to my town and/or little corner of NJ. Had no idea it was used more broadlly.
August 6, 2008 3:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry for the double post - or kinda double post since they are slightly different. Didn't think the first one went through.
August 6, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
The term was commonly used in Texas and Oklahoma back in the 1960s.
August 6, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was?
I guess it was a guy thing - I never heard it.
August 6, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
You weren't a linebacker, Tena?
August 6, 2008 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, and I wasn't a cheerleader ,either.
LOLOLOL!!!
That's the problem- I was a hippie in high school - one of the first, in fact.
August 6, 2008 4:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe that explains this game that my dad played with all three of his kids...we'd sit on his lap and he'd put his hand over our mouth and say "Oskie has a Chevrolet car" but he'd take his hand off our mouth at random times while saying that, and we were supposed to say "mouth" when he did. Strange strange game, but never failed to make us laugh our heads off.
I always wondered what Oskie was. Yes, he played linebacker in HS football in TX in the early 60s.
August 7, 2008 11:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Same old tired failed politics -- those *are* dogwhistle terms, folks.
August 6, 2008 2:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
cloud? did you say cloud?
:]
dang cloud! i'll teach you, you stupid cloud!!!
August 6, 2008 2:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
And the McCain camp will say they're getting to Obama because they've got him to drop his high-minded above the fray persona. The last time we saw Obama go this route was when Sen. Clinton was landing body blows in Pennsylvania and Obama did his "Annie Oakley" routine.
Another thing to point out is that McCain can't do "mocking" very well - proof of point being the green background speech and his "That's not change we can believe in" line and goofy grin.
His campaign can and have and will again, but McCain personally can't take part (which could be a good thing down the line).
While I worry about Obama lowering himself to mock possibly being framed by the GOP as him going negative, he did wait for the MSM to promote that McCain had gone negative first, so Obama can explain it off/frame it as him counterpunching or defending himself.
August 6, 2008 2:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Doesn't matter, Edwards new love child will be all over the media from here to the olympics
August 6, 2008 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
I know. Usually I don't believe anything of the National Enquirer but if (and if...) this is true, damn , that would be very, very sad.
August 6, 2008 2:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
i dont think it matters if its true or not, the msm will have a field day and they are gonna blame obama because mccain was a POW
August 6, 2008 2:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Those pictures look doctored to me...
But the more Edwards keeps silent, the more truthful this allegations are. He should come out say what's really going on.
August 6, 2008 2:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
The pictures aren't doctored. And the blurriness proves they're legit, IMO. You don't photoshop blurry pictures. The one with him holding the baby is a bit hard to make out but the one where he's alone is definitely him and he's wearing the same shirt. Check out the hairstyles on both--the cut, the bangs, sideburns, etc. That's him.
Big ole phony!!
August 6, 2008 2:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
You *can* Photoshop blurry pictures! Not saying this one is, but it's certainly possible...
August 6, 2008 2:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
chess rocks! e4 or d4? the eternal question of life...
August 6, 2008 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
David Bronstein a very very strong Grandmaster once spent the first 30 minutes of his clock time at an interzonal deciding exactly that, whether to open e4 or d4. He went d4. :)
August 6, 2008 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think i'm nostalgic for the old days cause I almost always open e4. it might not be the best 'technical' chess but few games are more enjoyable than some of the wilder variations in the Kings Gambit or something like the Danish Gambit.
August 6, 2008 5:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Of course you can photoshop blurry pictures but why on earth would you??? You don't go through the trouble of making a fake if you're not going to make it clear!
August 6, 2008 4:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
So... perfectly clear photo of him working the blinds, then all of a sudden lousy, burry pic of "him" with baby? yeah... sure.
August 6, 2008 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
To be fair, if my squint-reading of that article was correct, I believe they said the clear picture came from the hotel website, rather than another "spycam" shot. Now, do I think the Enquirer is above photoshopping Edwards, a baby and a hotel room? No, but I don't try to pass judgement on either side as it is, since whomever people feel like sleeping with (regardless of their public stature) is really not that interesting to me.
August 6, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
I read this story on HuffPo days ago.
If it's true - that is a huuuuge pile of shit for John- it really looks worse, always, if the wife has a serious, potentially fatal, illness.
August 6, 2008 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Any dude looks like a lowdown cad if he's dropped his sick or physically disabled (from a car wreck, say) wife for some hottie.
August 6, 2008 4:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
So a woman comes in the store on Saturday and says "Did you hear about Edwards having a baby with his mistress. Isn't his wife supposed to be sick or something? I can't believe him. That is why we don't need these people in the white house."
Little ole me, schooled by Obama, took the high road and said "Yes I read about it but I don't know if it is true or just an ugly rumor." I did not, did not want to either, ask her to clarify these people - did she mean men in general, sexually active men, men younger than McCain, male democrats?
Life can be sad sometimes but we just don't know what people do at home do we?
August 6, 2008 9:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dude, you need to get your facts STRAIGHT.
READ THE CAPTION. That clear pic, of him pulling down the shades, in the "same shirt" was taken A YEAR AGO.
yet somehow he's wearing the same shirt, w/ the same sweat stain, a year later when he was "confronted" in the hotel?
I'm not saying he didn't have a kid w/ that woman. Just that this pic proves nothing. Except that people like you will believe anything they see.
August 6, 2008 5:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey if its true at least he is seeing and taking care of the kid financially.
August 6, 2008 2:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, well, that is what he is supposed to do.
I find it amusing when someone says that like "Give him a cookie!"
For doing what he was supposed to do?
This comment is meant in general terms and not as a criticism of John Edwards, who may not be having an affair and may well not have produced a baby as a result of said affair.
August 6, 2008 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
If that picture is John Edwards I would be surprised. The guy's hairline is all wrong. A general resemblance but little more. That is why the story is still confined to the Examiner and other disreputable outlets.
August 6, 2008 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Examiner?" Hey that is my hometown rag. I meant Inquirer.
August 6, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
nah they need a mccain vs bob dole or nancy reagan!!!
August 6, 2008 2:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
That should be the job of the surrogates and they had better get to it! No playing by Marquis of Queensbury rules with these rethugs.
Hammer the stodgy, old, flip-flopping, out of touch owner of 8 lavish homes and 500$ walkarounds who was perfectly happy to vote with bush more than 90% of the time and stay in a quagmire for 100 years to prove a point or steal oil or screw up the middle-east and America's reputation and create more terrorists while violating the US Constitution and juggling multiple lying narratives all for his own aggrandizment!
August 6, 2008 2:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that McCain ever said that it wouldn't work. I think that he said that that was all there was to Obama's energy policy (a overt lie if there ever was one).
The McCain team should still be mocked for being so juvenile, however.
August 6, 2008 2:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Lets not forget that tire guages make great crack pipes!
August 6, 2008 2:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
there's a rock on the street outside, why not go crawl back under it??
August 6, 2008 2:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Are you mocking me for being juvenile? I was simply trying to inject racial overtones and dirision into the discussion in an (admittedly unpolished) attempt to mock the McCain camp's tendency to spin everything that way... I actually don't have the domain expertise to know if tire guages even make good crack pipes. It seems you have a better understanding of the subject matter ;-)
August 6, 2008 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
so you're saying my snark-detection meter is malfunctioning today???
August 6, 2008 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
so you're saying my snark-detection meter is malfunctioning today???
August 6, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
It could be that your Bush'ings are worn on that old Snark-O-Meter. That or it's Cheney needs oil...
August 6, 2008 4:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
great, now if only he'd nip mccain's new anti-washington posturing in the bud while he's at it. waiting for him or his surrogates to point out that while he complains about congress taking a recess, mccain's been on vacation from his job for 4 months, which is not much different from the standard nothing he did when he still bothered to show up at all.
August 6, 2008 2:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great article Greg. Video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vueHtYNh4w
August 6, 2008 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
O you're just trying drive me crazy, Greg, and I know it.
LOL
You cannot sneer your way through an entire campaign. After awhile, you just sound like Dana Carvey's Grumpy Old Man.
Obama keeps a lighter tone that seems to shed light on what McLame is saying from the shadows in the alley - that's the graphic image I get from all this.
August 6, 2008 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Barry is just an ass. Check your tires people, you'll save 3% of the nation's gas... sure. When was the last time Barry Hussein checked his tires?
August 6, 2008 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hmmm. The hammer-sickle-and-star adornment of your logo looks very much like what's on the flag of communist China. . . . Ya know, the place where Dubya is currently kissing their Olympic ass.
August 6, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Try harder, friend.
August 6, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fail
August 6, 2008 4:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain v. McCain
Pretty Smart if Obama camp will work on developing the narrative.
Old Mac v. New Mac.
Maverick Mac v. Old & Grumpy Mac.
Indy Mac v. Lying Repug Mac.
John McCain v. John McCain.
August 6, 2008 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
True Conservative McCain Vs.
Original Maverick McCain
Who will win? Stay tuned...
August 6, 2008 2:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Would love to see this done as a Celebrity Death Match! Any claymation modellers out there? I'd love to shoot/edit it...
August 6, 2008 2:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Celebrity Deathmatch, I love it.
August 6, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
2004 McCain is better than the 2008 McCain which is better than the 2000 McCain
August 6, 2008 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Frankly, I'd like to see them do something in the guise of Spy Vs. Spy from Mad Magazine. Especially since you can then plant a bomb directly in McCain's hand and still only be subliminally dirty.
August 6, 2008 3:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Neophyte Obama does not realize he's been suckered.
Doesn't matter if the accusations have merit. What matters is that McCain forced Obama to respond.
There are no new politics just like there are no new economics (call back to the internet bubble of 2000).
Old school politics rule. Same as it's ever been.
August 6, 2008 2:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
wow, that's a valid point even if the delivery is a little rough. and coming from you it's just downright disturbing.
Obama does need to put pressure on McCain and force McCain to start having to answer substantive charges on the issues rather than letting him be able to just spout off any retarded talking point he (or his rovian advisors) can think of.
August 6, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
By that logic Paris Hilton is winning this election. After all she forced the McCain camp to respond.
August 6, 2008 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not whether you respond that matters, it's HOW you respond. By going on the offensive, Obama threatens to turn all the GOP mockery against McCain. He's in real danger of being defined as unprincipled, be it in how he campaigns or the fact he's turned himself into Bush III. If he loses his Maverick image, McCain is toast.
August 6, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
unless you're talking about whitebread, you just played the race card! :]
August 6, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
unless you're talking about whitebread, you just played the race card! :]
August 6, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
These celebrity ads remind me of the Culture Wars of years past. Remember when there was general disdain for Gen Xers. We were lazy, no-gooders and the baby-boomers had no problems belittling us at every chance. This didn't change when the Gen Yers came along. Gen Anything was considered a pejorative label.
I'm not sure if the best way to 'win' the Culture Wars is by attacking old people in the form of: old man this, senile guy than, tired guy this, naptime, depends, viagra etc.
The last thing Obama can afford to do is piss off Baby Boomers, who next to Seniors are the most reliable voting block in the country.
August 6, 2008 2:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's right. It's a fine line he have to walk.
Like that dude that walked between the WTC towers in the 70's and appears on the documentary "Man on Wire".
August 6, 2008 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
He has to walk. Sorry, my bad.
August 6, 2008 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Time Magazine Poll:
Obama leading McCain 46% to 41%
Article here:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1829948,00.html
August 6, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
But "Trouble Signs in Obama's Lead"