The McCain camp had marching orders Friday, and the news media obliged yesterday: The word of the day was maverick.
Interesting. I wonder what the McCain campaign thought was the most solid attack on him during the Democratic Convention? Could it have been that he's only 5-10% different than George W. Bush on policy at most based on his votes over the past several years? Could it be that he's been lumped together with all the other national Republican regurgitants? That he's been exposed for no longer being a maverick, but being a guy that's been bullied by his party to do what they say rather than what he believes?
Yeah, I kinda think they see that as McCain's softest spot - that McCain is a Republican that has loaned his reputation to support Bush - and was desperate to find something to disprove the narrative. Rather than going with someone properly vetted, he grabbed a nationally unknown politician who apparently has some "mavericky" reputation herself, someone outside of DC, as evidence that he's still a maverick.
It's going to prove to be evidence of being more of a kneejerk politician, I believe. Republicans can declare that it's bold, that it's outside the box, whatever. They can't declare that it was done with any sense of planning for governance. They can't say that this selection makes sense beyond the gender vote. They can't say that it changes the fact that McCain has supported Bush's Presidency for the past 8 years more than any Democrat - or even Joe Lieberman.
Choosing one's own path away from the crowd may indicate independence - but it doesn't automatically confer either leadership or wisdom that that choice. We've had a President for 8 years now that didn't listen to people other than those in his ever-shrinking circle. McCain may not appreciate the irony, but his pursuit of "maverickness" he continues to resemble Bush.
"Heh heh heh, this choice was so mavericky."
Ironic.
And Hillary's sitting at home right now playing Nintendo after her supporters were called dumb racist bitches for x number of months by their own party.
Maverick. Change. All a bunch of letters strung together to promote a biased POV.
Republican is the new disenfranchised white working class woman. Maybe the Democrats should have pandered to them a bit more. Or sent chocolates or something.
Excellent point.
It's one thing to be principled, which is what I think that label maverick used to mean, but by his actions, McCain has abdicated any claim to principled maverickiness.
The point isn't about the candidate, it's about the message the voters want. Do they want Maverick? Or do they want change? I've said all along that change is what I want, and I want it in the voters so that it can be represented by the government. Obama may not be the perfect agent of change, but he let the genie out of the bottle and I don't think it's going back in anytime soon. Hillary did NOT embrace the idea of change for at least half of her campaign, and that's why she's going to get so good at Nintendo.
I'll be bitter four years from now if I don't see the tide of change continuing, but that's because I expect it from the voters, not from the politicians. If voters can't take the responsibility to try to change what is clearly a gamed governing system, then there's really no hope.
It's evidently not the time for Obama's message. He hasn't earned it, nor have his constituents. The only change I've seen was coming at the end of the biggest stick. I think we need a 4 year time out to think about what we've done to each other in the primaries.
You people with kids are especially nuts if you don't do everything you can to keep McCain/Palin out of the White House.