Speaking Of Everything…

Bad Moon Rising

In the aftermath of Tuesday night’s Presidential Debate, I thought the campaign was going to get really nasty as it appeared Senator McCain hadn’t scored a tremendous victory.

I don’t want to be snide, but wasn’t the Town Hall style forum supposed to be his sweet spot? To be fair, it wasn’t much a forum for there was no free flowing discussion to be heard. Senator Obama displayed grace and balance as he deftly navigated a “Fence Walk” – determined to give no ammunition to his opponent. Anyone tuning in for scintillating debate surely tuned out in disappointment. 

Senator McCain was supposed to nail this one and halt his slide in the polls as it becomes more evident the financial crisis is full on and the fundamentals of the economy are not strong. In times like these, times of crisis, the incumbent party usually gets the heave ho. Not good for the GOP.

Over the last 30 years the GOP has developed a scorched-earth style of campaigning that has devastated the political process. When they couldn’t defeat Bill Clinton at the polls or outmaneuver him on legislation, they impeached on grounds of lying about his marital infidelity; effectively neutering his influence on the 2000 election.

You know the history of the last two presidential elections and if you don’t, go look it up… and make sure to get info and opinions from all sides. You will find the GOP gets down and dirty when the time comes to win… just ask Senator McCain. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have voted for him against Al Gore in 2000, but I was a fan. When Kerry allowed the notion of McCain as a running mate to be floated in 2004, I would have been cool with that. But this isn’t the same John McCain that I respected and admired in the old days.

Today, the same guys who smeared McCain in South Carolina back in 2000 are running his campaign and they have no important issue with which to win. So where do we go from here?

A writer with The Guardian sees a stark tone setting in on the McCain campaign that appears to have Senator McCain’s tacit approval. The title of his post? “Now it Gets Nasty” 

The crowds attending these events seem to be catching onto the vibe.

Something is in the air, and it doesn’t bode well.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/oliverburkemanblog/2008/oct/07/uselections2008.johnmccain