So this is the caliber of discourse that we’ve come to expect from our Vice Presidential candidate, huh? Yikes.
Watch that and tell me that you don’t experience all of the following:
a) Shock and awe that that woman might soon represent you to the world.
b) A curiosity as to when Couric hosted SNL, and how they made Fey look so convincing.
c) A strange new appreciation of George W’s eloquence.
But hey, hats off to McCain for managing to make her seem a viable candidate. Of course, he’s had to shield her from the media almost entirely (3 interviews — if you include the new CBS interview — to Biden’s ~80 since being named VP candidate)…and they certainly fought hard and won to change the format of the VP debates so she can stick to the script.
But whatever, McCain’s been able to play the media effectively for years. More recently, think back to how effortlessly he pandered and parlayed the impending disaster of Gustav into a non-photo op with George W at the opening of the Republican National Convention. Think I’m being too harsh? Consider his relative non-response to the far more devastating Ike (sure, we got a couple press releases, but I didn’t see/hear of any preparation-assessment roadtrips before ol’ Ike came to Texas…).
Or how he half-succeeded this week in attempting to cancel the first presidential debate to “Put Country First” and fix the economy (nevermind that it wasn’t close to broken as far as McCain was concerned as recently as last week).
Oh, right — but he did it so he could rush back to help “break the deadlock” in Congress. Except there wasn’t any deadlock…and no one asked for/wanted/needed his help. I mean, what could they need from the guy who’s missed so many damn senate votes anyway?
Or wait…maybe he’s just not ready for the debate itself?
What’s important here is that McCain has taken a time out. Kinda. Sure, his surrogates are still out there bashing Obama (…time out?). But this move attempts three things:
1) McCain “looks” like a leader. Sort of. Actually, as far as I’m concerned, he looks like a confused old man taking orders from his handlers. But, hey, that’s just me.
2) McCain further shields Palin. As David Letterman ranted about last night (brilliant video below), the campaign shouldn’t just stop…administrations can’t just call time out. What should be happening here is that Palin should be out pounding the trail while McCain attends to business. But nope — this distraction even lessens the amount of time they’ll have to keep her away from the press between now and the election.
3) McCain saves the “Foreign Policy” debate for later. It’s clear at this point that McCain is perceived (however incorrectly) as the foreign policy guy, and Obama is the economy guy — at least according to the polls. So, what’s bad for the foreign policy guy? Having the foreign policy debate during an economic crisis so massive that no one cares about much else at the moment. So, this move saves that point for later.
But, whatever — it’s all nonsense. What Americans need right now are two things: the democratic process and leaders.
The debates are part of the democratic process. That’s something we don’t suspend, and we don’t cancel. Democracy first. If not, what’s next? Suspend the election? Just push it back a bit? Nope. Remember when “not shopping” was “letting the terrorists win”…? Right…so who wins if we “suspend our democratic process”…?
And leaders. Not figureheads — leaders. We need people we can believe in and trust to go out and offset a national crisis like this. Not with band aids or promises to be broken at a later date, but with real solutions that come from honest — even sometimes unattractive — answers. That’s why Obama’s push to debate is not only the right move, it’s the patriotic one too. In times of trouble, we need our government to stand before us and take the heat — to present solutions and to take action, but all within the context of openness and transparency. Even if it means taking a couple hours away from the closed-door sessions. Now more than ever, accountability matters — McCain wants none of it…and Obama, on the other hand, is ready to deliver.
Consider this: McCain’s attitude towards the debates is clear…he finds them superfluous. He cast aside national discourse — the two candidates first chance to spar on the most important issues of our day — as though it were the finale of American Idol. Fitting, given his American Idol running mate, but nonetheless insulting, and cynical.
In fact, McCain’s posturing proves him to be exactly what he so desperately tries to convince everyone he hasn’t become — a power-hungry figurehead who considers an active, participatory democracy just a cheap popularity contest.
That’s un-American, my friends.
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