September 13, 2008
"How disrespectful."
Okay, here's new McCain ad, and this is a nice contrast to the Obama ad in the last post. It eschews grabbaggery and sticks to one clear point: Obama got jealous when Palin upstaged him so he desperately disrespected her.
So I like the clarity and thematic unity. It worked well to begin with a reminder of the "biggest celebrity" ad. That set Obama up as a big narcissist who can't stand to see a prettier star steal his spotlight. Of course, that's not the real reason why Obama attacking Palin, but it's an effective, funny way to portray the attacks, which really do sound too desperate.
But I want to talk about sexism. Is this ad playing on the notion that women should be treated with special respect? Yes. I understand why the McCain campaign wants to do that, just as I understand why they decided -- correctly -- that a lot of people would get very excited about a woman VP candidate. But that notion offends me. If a woman is going to seek great political power, she must be scrutinized and attacked just as harshly as a power-seeking man.
You shouldn't be able to get away with the contradictory arguments that a woman is capable of handling the presidency and a woman must be accorded special respect. You shouldn't, but you probably will, and I can certainly see why you're trying. I just hope it doesn't work on me.
And it goes without saying that Obama's attacks tap into sexism too.
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309 comments:
1 – 200 of 309 Newer› Newest»Effective ad. At the same time, the McCain campaign is coming close to over-playing their hand.
I personally didn't like this ad at all. Republicans tend to like strong leaders, not victims. I like Palin when she brushes off attacks, not whines about them and this ad to me stepped over the line. I understand why they did it but I would have preferred they go another route. Focus more on him being upstaged than 'disrespecting' Palin. It seems kind of hypocritical when they are disrespecting Obama with the celebrity stuff.
Hmm. Big narcissist who can't stand to see another star steal his spotlight. Sounds like McCain.
ANN;
I never would have looked at that McCain Campaign ad as being at all sexist.
I've heard Blacks complain that THEY have been "disrespected" - and being "dissed" has been used as an excuse for all sorts of supposedly retaliatory actions.
But I don't think there is any hint of race in the ad.
The commercial merely states the obvious - a gentleman does not wrongfully accuse a lady of lying.
Don't know much about history
Don't know much about policy
Don't know much about security
Don't know much about the law I took
But I do know that I am cool
And I know that if you’re not a fool
What a wonderful world this would be
Don't know much about geography
Don't know much about economy
Don't know much about energy
Don't know what a slide rule is for
But I do know that one and one is two
And if this sounds maybe right to you
What a wonderful world this would be
Now I don't claim to be the Messiah
But I'm trying to be
So maybe by being a Mes---siah baby
I can win your vote for me
Don't know much about politics
Don't know much about theology
Don't know much about decency
Don't know much about the cash I took
But I do know that I’m the one
And I know that if you vote for me
What a wonderful world this would be
La ta ta ta ta ta ta
(History)
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Foreign Policy
La ta ta ta ta ta ta
Theology
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh
Law I took
But I do know that I’m the one
And I know that if vote for me
What a wonderful world this would be
I agree with Randy. McCain should change lanes and get back on the high road - he is more comfortable there and he will look presidential too.
I saw an ad last night called "Two Mavericks" and I thought it was great. They need to keep pounding the "reform" theme home and keep running that Maverick ad is my advice.
on sexism..
Palin should be evaluated to the same degree the other candidates were. However, it appears she is being examined in a much harsher light than Obama.
She is in her second year as Govenor while Obama was in his second year as Senator when he decided to run. Yet, she is the one unfit to be VICE President.
She is being accused of being a bad parent for campaigning for two months when her children need her yet Obama's been campaigning for almost two years now. I've never heard any one call him a bad parent for that.
The Gibson interview was harsh and asked fair questions. THe problem is when Gibson interviewed Obama he asked softballs.
There is SO much out there about Obama that has been brushed off and ignored or excused by the media. Did they ever send packets of reporters to Obama's hometown to dig up every piece of dirt they could find?
The double standard is disturbing.
BTW how ironic that the MSM gave McCain the Maverick nickname and now he will ride it all the way to the White House.
I don't pick up special treatment at all.
The point of the ad is to make Obama appear mean spirited. Women had been giving him a pass on all kinds of things just because he seemed to mean well, which feature counts enormously for women (and not for men).
So the theme is aimed at women in particular, but not as a defense of Palin at all.
It's an anti-Obama ad, to make him unworthy of women's patience, and their belief in his essential innocence.
The pig lipstick ad was doing the same thing.
This man does not mean well, women!
Very odd ad.
It may have some sense in it, but it seems they're letting Obama set the terms by going after cheap race, gender cards thrown.
I think you're right that it's bad to look down on women because they're women, but it's also wrong to look up to women because they're women.
Both Obama and McCain (actually, their campaign staff) are paying big bucks for people to make these ads. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that neither of them even sees these videos.
It's not that women should be treated with special respect. It's that we should be treated with the same respect as men. There is a double standard and you can't help but notice it in the two interviews Charlie Gibson did. You Obama puff piece versus the Palin gotch piece.
I agree she should be scrutinized just as harshly as the guys, but that's not the case here. And it's obvious. If the MSM had bothered to do half the 'investigating' of Obama that they've done of Palin, I doubt if he would be the candidate.
And there is nothing in this ad that says she should be treated with special respect. This ad just highlights Obama's sexism and the dismissive attitude of the Democrats.
I posted these in the last post, I hope you don't mind if I do it here too (if so I apologize). Since you're setting side by side the Obama & Mcain ads and your analyses of each, I find it interesting to compare the rhetoric, rhetorical structure, of the respective NY Times analyses. (On the one hand, analysis = sympathetically explaining the author's intention and what we as readers are to "learn" from the text; on the other hand, analysis = deconstructing and unmasking the evil agenda of an inherently (always assumed to be) deceptive text, explaining all the ways in which it (might be taken to be) morally reprehensible.)
Obama vs. McCain: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/us/politics/13oadbox.html
McCain vs. Obama: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/us/politics/13madbox.html
I'll just quote the last paragraph of each.
Analysis of Obama's ad against McCain:
SCORECARD The overriding message of this advertisement is that Mr. McCain — who is 72, though the commercial never mentions that — is out of touch and out of date. The Obama campaign says the intention is to show how long Mr. McCain has served in Washington, but it also suggests that he may not be equipped to handle today’s fast-moving problems. By linking him to two Bush presidents, the advertisement tries to deflate the message that McCain would be a candidate of change. But will Mr. Obama attract older voters with this message?
Analysis of McCain's ad against Obama:
SCORECARD The advertisement is the latest in a number that resort to a dubious disregard for the facts. The nonpartisan political analysis group Factcheck.org has already criticized “Disrespectful” as “particularly egregious,” saying that it “goes down new paths of deception,” and is “peddling false quotes.” Even the title is troublesome. “Disrespectful” is one of those words that is loaded with racial and class connotations that many people consider offensive.
There is a double standard and you can't help but notice it in the two interviews Charlie Gibson did.
Forgive me if someone pointed this out before, but it appears that the Gibson interview of Palin was selectively edited. Whether the intent of that editing was sexist, elitist, or partisan in nature is open to question.
I think "how disrespectful" is weak and makes McCain and Palin sound weak.
McCain can legitimately remind people how Obama keeps talking about moving beyond the ugly "Rove-style" politics and yet keeps on flinging out smears, patronizing comments, distortions and BS. "Disrespect" isn't the problem; that is.
Lisa:
Thanks for that link. I went to the Anchoress blog and read the Obama questions from Gibson. What a difference.
Here is the 2 Mavericks ad link. Pretty good IMO.
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/09/08/mccain-palin-camp-puts-out-new-ad-original-mavericks/
You think that's disrespectful, here's a real picture of Palin's pussy!
The ad was unnecessary. People get it already. Obama is disrespecting of women in general and his campaign is unfairly targeting Palin for things and in ways that they would never address if the VP position on the Repubs was a man.
Just as Lisa stated. Parenting? When is this ever an issue for a male candidate? Never. Diminishing her because she is good looking and won scholarship money in a beauty pagent. Attempting to make the beauty /= brains sterotype. It goes on and on.
We (women voters)get it already and we don't like it. So, get back to the issues the change that two outsiders in Washington can make. They aren't part of the good old boy network. McCain has often gone against his party and so has Palin. Stress that they work for the people and not for themselves as is painfully obvious with Obama and Biden. That is what will resonate with the voters.
"If a woman is going to seek great political power, she must be scrutinized and attacked just as harshly as a power-seeking man."
I agree, but what's the strategy if your female candidate is being scrutinized far more than her male counterpart? If they point out the soft approach on Biden and Edwards, it still comes off as whining. Maybe they should sign off with "What are they afraid of" instead of "Disrespectful"?
Obama is a narcissist. No question about that.
On an apple-ripe September morning
Through the mist-chill fields I went
With a pitch-fork on my shoulder
Less for use than for devilment.
The threshing mill was set-up, I knew,
In Cassidy's haggard last night,
And we owed them a day at the threshing
Since last year. O it was delight
To be paying bills of laughter
And chaffy gossip in kind
With work thrown in to ballast
The fantasy-soaring mind.
As I crossed the wooden bridge I wondered
As I looked into the drain
If ever a summer morning should find me
Shovelling up eels again.
And I thought of the wasps' nest in the bank
And how I got chased one day
Leaving the drag and the scraw-knife behind,
How I covered my face with hay.
The wet leaves of the cocksfoot
Polished my boots as I
Went round by the glistening bog-holes
Lost in unthinking joy.
I'll be carrying bags to-day, I mused,
The best job at the mill
With plenty of time to talk of our loves
As we wait for the bags to fill.
Maybe Mary might call round...
And then I came to the haggard gate,
And I knew as I entered that I had come
Through fields that were part of no earthly estate
Sorry palate cleanser. Carry on.
You shouldn't be able to get away with the contradictory arguments that a woman is capable of handling the presidency and a woman must be accorded special respect.
She shivers to chivalry no longer.
I suppose "all is fair in love and war" no longer holds either. (Guantanamo, waterboard)
So we are essentially to straightjacket ourselves to argumentative virginity as it were, an unsoiled purity never sought with as much ecumenity and vigor in the other side.
“If all the Christians who have called other Christians “not really a Christian” were to vanish, there’d be no Christians left.”
There reason given why "the chosen" languished in the desert was also do to their imperfections.
"And it goes without saying that Obama's attacks tap into sexism too."
Oh, bullshit. What a lazy attack.
If you're talking about lipstick on a pig remark, that was not sexist, unless you take the remark completely out of context.
The lipstick was the charade that McCain and Palin are reformers.
The pig is their continuation of Bus policies.
But Althouse didn't even bother going to the full footage of the remarks and foolishly based her comments on the Bush, er, McCain ad.
Didnt like the ad for the reasons other commenters have mentioned. McCain has the high road now, and shouldnt blow it on tangential stuff. And the word disrespectful turns me off cold. Of course, I am not the target demo here, so I would really like to see how this plays with undecided women. Somehow I am thinking not so good.
And, BTW, it's a well-established fact that Sarah Palin is a liar.
At least Ann acknowledges that women shouldn't have lower standards in the political arena.
The same law for the lion and the lamb is oppression according to Blake. Women and men are different. To treat them equally is a form of disrespect. At public events, for example, more sanitation facilities should be devoted towards women....A nurse I knew had a child who would begin to bawl as soon as she put on her uniform. After she left, the child would settle down. At work, the nurse would spend the whole shift second guessing herself...There's a saying that the most beautiful thing a man ever sees is a naked woman and that the most beautiful thing a woman ever sees is a baby. A woman who pursues a career pays a different price than a man. Men and women derive different nutrients from the same drink, but women must wait in longer lines to get rid of the waste product.
Ann said: But I want to talk about sexism. Is this ad playing on the notion that women should be treated with special respect? Yes.
----
Whoa, now. How are you defining "sexism"? The notion that women should be shown special respect isn't obviously wrong in any way at all--sexist or otherwise. One of the larger flaws in feminist thinking is the assumption that everyone recognizes sexism they see it.
Ann said: You shouldn't be able to get away with the contradictory arguments that a woman is capable of handling the presidency and a woman must be accorded special respect.
------------
There is no obvious contradiction between saying that a woman is capable of handling the presidency and a woman should be shown special respect. You need to argue for this.
------------
"The commercial merely states the obvious - a gentleman does not wrongfully accuse a lady of lying."
I swear to god some people watch gone with the wind one too many times.
Ah doo de-clair!
harwood that is ridiculous on it's face. It's like saying a dictatorship is ok as long as the strongman is a woman.
Either we're electing someone for office, or Sara Palin is auditioning for the role of Princess Diana. Pick one.
I think Obama needs to just start making shit up like McCain and Palin, it seems to work and there isn't any penalty for it. Obama should say HE said thanks but no thanks to the bridge to nowhere, and maybe promise the whole country a vacation to Hawaii. McCain sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads a long time ago - time to start fighting fire with fire.
Speaking of disrespect, the pig analogy is still alive. In last night's CNN critique of the Gibson interview, Jeffrey Toobin remarked that Palin had been "pigging out at the trough of earmarks for her entire career."
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0809/12/ec.01.html
All true, Althouse, but the fact is that Palin is getting over-scrutinized not only because she is a woman but also because she doesn't act like an orthodox, narrow, establishment feminist.
THOUGH nurtured like the sailing moon
In beauty's murderous brood,
She walked awhile and blushed awhile
And on my pathway stood
Until I thought her body bore
A heart of flesh and blood.
But since I laid a hand thereon
And found a heart of stone
I have attempted many things
And not a thing is done,
For every hand is lunatic
That travels on the moon.
She smiled and that transfigured me
And left me but a lout,
Maundering here, and maundering there,
Emptier of thought
Than the heavenly circuit of its stars
When the moon sails out.
No such thing as "over scrutinized".
no
such
thing.
P.S. Luther, the point here is equality between the sexes. You could say that people don't accuse people of lying. However, of course they do.
Your quaint ideas about femininity are not helping Palin.
Let's hope you are using sarcasm I didn't get.
No such thing as "over scrutinized"
Right. No such thing. That's why Obama's still winning.
It is a well-established fact that Alpha has a very small scrotum.
One of the stupidest hits against Palin by Lynn Sweet:
Palin confused on Social Security, other issues
September 13, 2008
BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Columnist
WASHINGTON--Sarah Palin, talking about domestic policy with ABC's Charles Gibson in his second day of exclusive access on Friday, seemed confused about entitlement programs -- and unaware that Congress has little say in significantly reducing the costs of Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.
When she seemed to equate these entitlement programs to agencies "where we can find efficiencies in every department" Gibson lectured her that agencies are not involved in entitlements. Palin -- who as governor of Alaska should be well versed in Medicaid since it is a joint state and federal program -- did not skip a beat, just plowing on about the growth of government.
HOW ABOUT THIS FROM MSNBC NO LESS IN 2007.
Blatant Medicare fraud costs taxpayers billions
Officials say outrageous fraud schemes are ‘off the charts’
Video
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22184921/
Dec. 10: ‘Off the charts’ Medicare fraud is fraying the country’s social safety net for seniors and the disabled. NBC’s Mark Potter reports in the first of a two-part series.
Nightly News
Dec. 10: The Feds speak out on how they tackled a $60 billion scam. Hear more of NBC correspondent Mark Potter’s report.
Nightly News
FIRST OF TWO PARTS
By Mark Potter
Correspondent
NBC News
updated 7:22 p.m. ET, Tues., Dec. 11, 2007
This ad just highlights Obama's sexism and the dismissive attitude of the Democrats
I agree with this and I think it also shows Obama as being Petty and upset that she upstaged him. I think the thing they could have done is, instead of saying disrespectful, tied it back to Obama thinking he's promoting a different kind of politics. Maybe mock the "more of the same" bit. That would have been less stop knocking sarah and more "obama is full of sh**".
One of the larger flaws in feminist thinking is the assumption that everyone recognizes sexism [when] they see it.
The subtleties of the scurge is lost on a lot of people.
Sexism needs to be continuing conversation.
Gibson lectured her that agencies are not involved in entitlements.
Wait, WHAT? Has Charlie never heard of the Social Security Adminstration? Does that not count as an 'agency'. WTF. Maybe I need to watch that clip.
Who thinks that congress doesn't have anything to do with the costs of SS? They invented ss, they make changes to the laws on what people pay in taxes and how much that get and at what age. That all has to do with costs. What profoundly stupid points this person is making.
NOTE: I have donned asbestos.
I believe women and men should be treated respectfully, but that the actual social conventions of what constitutes respectful treatment of men and women differ.
You all know exactly what I mean. Your grandmothers taught you how to be polite and respectful.
And another thing...
Just because the McCain campaign puts out an add, it is 'totally' unfair to pin that tail on Palin.
Yes - we are back in the farm ;)
I love and respect my grandmother very much. However, many of her views on the world would not be helpful in a modern political campaign. For example, she called African-Americans "the coloreds."
Should McCain and Obama do that?
The McCain campaign absolutely had to create an ad like this. The sexism that has been on display is unacceptable, uncivil, and must be attacked and beat down. The Republican Party is a chivalrous party, and the sexism displayed by the democrats and the media has got me peoed out the roof.
Also, regarding Gibson's interview of Sarah Palin, Gibson asked her if Track had joined the military to do God’s work. This question was cruel, heartless, boorish, and irrelevant. Just what does Track's reasons for joining the military have to do with Sarah Palin's ability to be a VP? And to ask that question on the day she saw Track off. Disgusting.
Yes, calling someone who has repeatedly lied a liar...that is so disrespectful!
I was six when I first saw kittens drown.
Dan Taggart pitched them, 'the scraggy wee shits',
Into a bucket; a frail metal sound,
Soft paws scraping like mad. But their tiny din
Was soon soused. They were slung on the snout
Of the pump and the water pumped in.
'Sure, isn't it better for them now?' Dan said.
Like wet gloves they bobbed and shone till he sluiced
Them out on the dunghill, glossy and dead.
Suddenly frightened, for days I sadly hung
Round the yard, watching the three sogged remains
Turn mealy and crisp as old summer dung
Until I forgot them. But the fear came back
When Dan trapped big rats, snared rabbits, shot crows
Or, with a sickening tug, pulled old hens' necks.
Still, living displaces false sentiments
And now, when shrill pups are prodded to drown
I just shrug, 'Bloody pups'. It makes sense:
'Prevention of cruelty' talk cuts ice in town
Where they consider death unnatural
But on well-run farms pests have to be kept down.
I disagree with your assertion that setting up "Obama up as a big narcissist who can't stand to see a prettier star steal his spotlight" is "not the real reason why Obama attacking Palin . . ." If not "the" real reason, it's right up there.
Anaxagoral = Godzilla
Also, since Oblah blah said he was going to get personal, the timing of this ad is perfect.
Wow, it's truly attack of the trolls today! I like the ad, and I say ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK Obama mercilessly.
Each of the ad's charges are nothing but more lies and distortions from McCain's (Rove's?)campaign.
Why is Ann running this as if she and others are not aware of the facts?
VIA FACTCHECK.ORG:
# The ad says "they said she was doing 'what she was told.' " But the Obama adviser who's being quoted didn't accuse Palin of meekly following orders. What he actually said is that she made a false claim about Obama's legislative record and added, "maybe that's what she was told."
# It says "they lashed out at Sarah Palin; dismissed her as 'good looking,' " But "they" didn't lash out at all. Obama – who is the one pictured – didn't say anything like that. The only one the McCain campaign quotes is Obama's running mate, Biden, and he actually offered the remark as a compliment. Biden said the "obvious" difference between Palin and himself is "she's good looking."
# The ad says Obama was "disrespectful" when he accused Palin of "lying" about her record. But the truth is Palin's claim to have "said no" to the "bridge to nowhere" is indeed a dubious one, as we and many have pointed out.
Lisa wrote:
The Gibson interview was harsh and asked fair questions. THe problem is when Gibson interviewed Obama he asked softballs.
Yes, but Daily Kos and other pro-Obama supporters thought both Gibson and Stephanopoulos were REALLY hard on Obama in the ABC debate. They threatened to boycott ABC/ESPN/Disney, remember that?
Look, I am a huge Palin supporter, and though the original 6:30 PM interview left me nonplussed due to bad editing, I have since watched the two Nightline followups, and the hourlong 20/20 followup. The only one I missed was the GMA segment.
I thought, on balance, it was a good interview and Gibson was hardly brutal.
He clearly doesn't like her, her background, nor what she brings to the table as a running mate, but so what. His questions were on point. She parried most of them well.
She certainly lived to fight another day given what I heard in the street.
Cheers,
Victoria
VIA FACTCHECK.ORG:
Analysis -
The new McCain-Palin ad "Disrespectful" begins like an earlier ad we criticized, with its reference to Barack Obama's celebrity, but then goes down new paths of deception.
It takes quotes from news organizations and uses them out of context in an effort to portray Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, as unfairly attacking Sarah Palin and making sexist remarks.
We've long been a critic of candidates (Obama included) usurping the credibility of independent news organizations and peddling false quotes, and this ad is particularly egregious.
We found it airing in Denver on Sept. 10, as recorded by the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a unit of TNS Media Intelligence.
Here's a repost of an excellent comparison of the Gibson interviews with Obama and Palin.
And Gibson misquoted Palin… The following is a breakdown of the questions asked of the nominees:
Obama interview:
How does it feel to break a glass ceiling?
How does it feel to “win”?
How does your family feel about your “winning” breaking a glass ceiling?
Who will be your VP?
Should you choose Hillary Clinton as VP?
Will you accept public finance?
What issues is your campaign about?
Will you visit Iraq?
Will you debate McCain at a town hall?
What did you think of your competitor’s [Clinton] speech?
Palin interview:
Do you have enough qualifications for the job you’re seeking? Specifically have you visited foreign countries and met foreign leaders?
Aren’t you conceited to be seeking this high level job?
Questions about foreign policy
-territorial integrity of Georgia
-allowing Georgia and Ukraine to be members of NATO
-NATO treaty
-Iranian nuclear threat
-what to do if Israel attacks Iran
-Al Qaeda motivations
-the Bush Doctrine
-attacking terrorists harbored by Pakistan
Is America fighting a holy war? [misquoted Palin]
There’s no doubt the Charles Gibson interviews showed extreme prejudice against Palin and extreme favoritism towards Obama…He constantly questioned her ability to lead but never questioned Obama’s ability to lead, all the more amazing considering that Palin was the only one with executive experience and the presidency is the highest level executive job in politics.
The ad says Obama and Biden "lashed out at Sarah Palin. Dismissed her as ‘good looking.’ "
That’s misleading. The reference is to a report of Biden joking that one of the differences between Palin and him is that “she’s good looking.”
But the report cited in the ad doesn't characterize Biden’s remarks as dismissive. Instead, ABC News’ Jake Tapper and Matt Jaffe describe a moment when Biden “ham[s] it up” for the crowd, with one woman telling Biden that he’s “gorgeous.” The Democratic candidate then says he’d like to end “on a serious note.”
Here’s the quote in context:
ABC News, Aug. 31, 2008: "From our perspective the whole deal is how does the government help you get back up without getting in the way?" Biden asked. "There's a gigantic - gigantic - difference between John McCain and Barack Obama, and between me and I suspect my vice presidential opponent. And that is that - "
The crowd laughed.
"Well there's obvious differences," Biden said, beginning to ham it up. "She's good looking," he said, laughing."
" If not "the" real reason, it's right up there.
Obama sees Palin and mutters.. 'I went to Harvard for Alah's sake' ;)
The ad continues to imply sexism by claiming that "they said she was doing 'what she was told.' " Presumably "they" are the Democrats.
But no one said anything close to that. Rather, the McCain ad took a fragment of an actual statement by an Obama adviser and carefully added language to alter the meaning.
The ad cites a Sept. 4 report from Ben Smith's blog at Politico.com in which he interviewed Obama adviser David Axelrod about Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention.
The full quote reads:
Axelrod, quoted by Politico, Sept. 4: "She tried to attack Obama by saying he had no significant legislative accomplishments — maybe that’s what she was told — but she should talk to Sen. Lugar, talk to Sen. Coburn, talk to people across the aisle in Illinois where he passed dozens of major laws to expand health care reform welfare, reduce taxes on working families."
What is important is that SHE not demand special treatment! And she hasn't so far, which is a good thing, since she criticized Hillary for whining. And Palin was was right. Hillary had the high road, until SHE whined.
Let the campaign and others cry foul for her, but she can't be the one to do it. It would take the toughness away from her. Besides, she can take it.
The ad wraps up by saying Obama and Biden "desperately called Sarah Palin a liar." And it adds, "How disrespectful."
The reference is to an ad the Obama-Biden campaign released in which it criticizes Palin for saying she was against the infamous Bridge to Nowhere when she had previously been for it. (We called into question Palin's comments on the bridge last week.)
The Obama ad says, “Politicians lying about their records. You don’t call that maverick, you call it more of the same.” It then quotes an item from the liberal magazine The New Republic, which called the claim that Palin stopped the pork-barrel bridge project "a naked lie."
As we're fond of saying, we can't read minds. So we can't determine whether the McCain campaign means to say that calling a woman a liar is disrespectful – or whether it's just disrespectful to say that of Palin. But in either case, "disrespectful"? Wait a minute. Isn't this politics?
The majority of these McCain ads (including this one) have been completely dismembered by every non partisan group and objective journalist for lying and distorting facts. But by all means, keep posting them without mentioning this, it's more fun.
Effective ad. At the same time, the McCain campaign is coming close to over-playing their hand.
Agreed.
But are you guys getting all these ads locally? I haven't gotten this one, nor the Obama camp's email ad, at all.
I believe campaign ads are intended for certain States or areas within States. I don't think the email ad will EVER be broadcast in Florida. That would be suicide with our elderly or Hispanic population (the latter which is sentimental over older people and quick to anger if they perceive bias).
Clearly, this "Disrespectful" ad is targeted straight to the Hillary voters, who feel that Obama was disrespectful to Hillary:
- Personally
- Allowed Media to dump on her in a sexist way
- Made misogynistic ads directed towards her (the "1984" ad, e.g.)
- Dissed her over the vetting/choosing her as VP
IOW, Team McCain is suggesting Obama is doing this to Palin AGAIN, having done it to Hillary, their gal, before.
It's a powerful message, because it's true. Some pro-Hillary women are still on the fence. They don't need a nudge, they need a reason.
This is all this ad reinforces.
Cheers,
Victoria
I don't understand why Ann is running this, with a commentary like this: "So I like the clarity and thematic unity. It worked well to begin with a reminder of the "biggest celebrity" ad."
She likes the "clarity and thematic unity"??
But the ads is nothing but a string of lies and distortions.
And this from from a law professor?
It's embarrassing.
Oblah blah's goons Busted
But the ads is nothing but a string of lies and distortions.
And this from from a law professor?
Lies and distortions is the whole practice of law.
The trick is getting them past juries.
Victoria, it is true that many of these "ads" by the campaigns appear nowhere but on the internet or a couple of times in a small market. They are designed to generate the kind of buzz that has been created here. In a few cases, they are designed to garner professional awards after the election for those who created them.
I don't understand why Ann is running this, with a commentary like this:
Its called cruel neutrality.
rhhardin said..."Lies and distortions is the whole practice of law. The trick is getting them past juries."
That's cute, especially considering the subject matter.
And of course you and I both know how easy it is to get this kind of bullshit by the local "jury" Ann has at hand.
Ann is holding fast to her plea of temporary insanity ;)
kidding...
OT: For a little morning humor, have a peek into the DNC War Room - Language Warning.
In a few cases, they are designed to garner professional awards after the election for those who created them.
Oh, Randy, that I didn't know. Very interesting.
I could Google, but what kinds of awards? Ogilvy-Mather advertising types?
I wonder if LBJ's daisy ad against Goldwater got one...
Lem: You don't really believe this has anything to do with Ann's "neutrality"...do you?
This is about as close to being an extension of a McCain For President blog site as it can get.
Comment after comment lavishing praise on an ad that is nothing but a pack of lies.
And example: Lutherm says: "The commercial merely states the obvious - a gentleman does not wrongfully accuse a lady of lying.
What is this statement based on?
Obama said nothing of the kind, in fact, no one did.
And Ann knows it, too.
I don't think the issue is that the ad is focusing in Sarah Palin as a woman who is being disrespected, as much as a candidate who is being disrespected.
Me? I am still waiting for Obama to be vetted.
On the other hand, I believe there is an extreme amount of "vetting" going on with her (and her family). May sound contradictory to the above statement but I think if Palin were a man we would NOT be seeing this, even with an inexperienced man.
How about fine tooth combing all the financial records of Biden and Obama? (How about some records from Obama to comb?)
I saw a national news person this morning (don't know who -- NBC or CBS female person) talking about Palin and the Bridge to Nowhere. "Goverenor Palin claims she said 'no' to the Bridge to Nowhere ...." (or words to that effect -- but the "CLAIMS" was quite clear and quite empahsized).
I am waiting for the MSM to do a report that includes "Senator Obama claimed to George Stephanopolous that the unapologetic, unrepentant domestic terrorist William Ayers was 'a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who’s a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He’s not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.'"
"In fact Ayers and Obama served together on at least two boards, and, more importantly, spent years working closely together on a multi-million dollar education reform intiative for Chicago schools (which interestingly was not found to be successful)."
"Obama's political career was launched from William Ayers' and Bernadine Dohrn's living room. Bernadine Dorhn is also an unrepentent domestic terrorist, who incidentally thinks that living in the United States of America in 2007 is akin to living 'in the belly of the beast.'"
It seems clear that Senator Barack Obama has seriously misrepresnted -- perhaps lies about would be more accurate -- would be more correct, his relationship with people who historically and presently demean and seekto damage the United States."
That would be an intertesting start to the vetting.
Also, Barack Obama is consistent sometimes. He did not change his mind on the Bridge. He voted for it, and later even declined to vote for the funds to be transfered to Katrina relief.
As I said -- I am waiting for Obama to be vetted. When the MSM treats him like they treat Sarah Palin I would say that they would be being disrespectful to both. But at least it will be equal disrespect.
Oblah blah's goons Busted
NICE JOB, CHARLES! That man is worth 2 Dan Rathers.
(And a few days after his Throbbing Memo anniversary, too)
OT: For a little morning humor, have a peek into the DNC War Room - Language Warning.
If it's the same one I blogged about last night, the bad language is written in German. ;)
(It's hilarious. Really, check it out)
Cheers,
Victoria
/err spoken in German, written in English!
JAL said..."I don't think the issue is that the ad is focusing in Sarah Palin as a woman who is being disrespected..."
Really?
But does the fact that the entire add is based on lies mean anything to you?
And you're waiting for Obama to be "vetted??"
Good Lord, he's been running for over two years and has had every news organization on the fucking planet look into every nook and cranny of his public and personal life.
Do YOU actually believe there's some deep, dark secret out there they haven't uncovered?
FOX NEWS, LIKBAIGH, HANNITY, O'REILLY...none of them?
What is this statement based on?
Obama said nothing of the kind, in fact, no one did.
The aim of the add is to illicit people's curiosity to find out what Obama and his people have been up to with Palin. Not everybody is up on this like us.
Brilliant... if you ask me.
UWS guy said: harwood that is ridiculous on it's face. It's like saying a dictatorship is ok as long as the strongman is a woman.
----
No, it isn't.
1. A woman is capable of handling the presidency.
2. A woman should be shown special respect.
If you can derive contradictory statements from 1 and 2, show us how you do it. But 1 and 2 as they stand are not contradictory. Just saying so won't do. Assertion is not argument.
Assertion is not argument.
And here I was 'hoping' for 'change' ;)
Oh, BTW, I like how they have used a woman's voice in several of these McCain ads.
It's particularly savvy (and reinforces my "intended for disaffected Hillary supporters" point) to use it for Palin.
It's dis-respect-FUL, said with that voiceover woman's withering voice -- effective.
Eschew victimology.
Sure, the attacks have been relentless and many way out of bounds but McCain-Palin ought to highlight them in a way that conveys the spirit of transcendence that Sarah's story demonstrates.
Re the great War Room video, I think this is a much funnier version (dont' know which is the "original," anyway the differences are subtle, timing & phrasing etc., but this is the one that really cracks me up):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4mKWceq0vY
(Sorry I don't know how to do html tags; don't worry I won't be running for president.)
can feel the tug
of the halter at the nape
of her neck, the wind
on her naked front.
It blows her nipples
to amber beads,
it shakes the frail rigging
of her ribs.
I can see her drowned
body in the bog,
the weighing stone,
the floating rods and boughs.
Under which at first
she was a barked sapling
that is dug up
oak-bone, brain-firkin:
her shaved head
like a stubble of black corn,
her blindfold a soiled bandage,
her noose a ring
to store
the memories of love.
Little adultress,
before they punished you
you were flaxen-haired,
undernourished, and your
tar-black face was beautiful.
My poor scapegoat,
I almost love you
but would have cast, I know,
the stones of silence.
I am the artful voyeur
of your brain's exposed
and darkened combs,
your muscles' webbing
and all your numbered bones:
I who have stood dumb
when your betraying sisters,
cauled in tar,
wept by the railings,
who would connive
in civilized outrage
yet understand the exact
and tribal, intimate revenge.
I think you are all missing a very important word near the end of the ad. The word is Governor. The announcer puts stress on the word.
I think the point is that her accomplishments are the reason she should be treated with respect.
Ok, here is my take.
When McCain says "they called her a liar" McCain is responding to all the attacks on Palin AND her family. When Palin's family showed up on at the convention it was a surgical strike at Obama and his clumsy family separation at his convention.
Obama has been reacting to that disparity ever since.
So when McCain says they are lying - he is goading Obama to keep it up. Keep attaking Palin and watch me rise in the polls.
OT:
It's too late Obama
Dutyofinquiry wrote (nice ID, BTW!):
I think the point is that her accomplishments are the reason she should be treated with respect.
I think that's right.
However, since each and every word was enunciated clearly by the voiceover woman*, I don't think it's easily picked up as being the special thrust of this video, by most people.
*When women are upset that they've been disrespected, we tend to over enunciate words. Guys, those of you with wives probably know that tone all too well.
This ad may be off-putting to men, because of that. Therefore, as Randy says, it comes close to overplaying Team McCain's hand.
My favorite part:
The announcer says: "Then, desperately called Sarah Palin a liar."
The supporting quote that appears in the background at this point is
"...lying..."
That's classic advertising bullshit. There's no way to know who is being quoted or what was said.
Who is the "they" that the ad claims is lashing out at Sarah Palin? Obama? Biden? Campaign staff? Bloggers?
This is just more crap to add to the pile for an election that the GOP wants to be issue-free. I've seen this before... It's more of the same.
They shouldn't focus on the sexism, they should focus on the unequal treatment. Why the interrogation of Palin when they did not do the same for Biden or, in this video, Edwards?
We know why. They want the Dems to win. They're just making it obvious.
Is it possible that Palin needs to be sabotaged because she is not the ideal by which others will be measured?
I'm not saying Ann, necessarily, but if you look at the history most of our presidents (Sarah in going for VP) have not been to our best schools either.
This is just more crap to add to the pile for an election that the GOP wants to be issue-free. I've seen this before... It's more of the same.
His name is Obama..
I admit I was not a fan of Palin at first. But when she insightfully pointed out that she is qualified in foreign policy because Russia is visible from one of Alaska's islands - I realized that she a fantastic choice as 2nd in command.
Clearly she is not encumbered by too much knowledge about the job, and she possesses all the clarity of belief necessary to believe the world is ultimately to be ruled by a man who came back from the dead 2,000 years ago.
Beautiful.
More thoughts on "Disrespectful":
Since Governor Sarah Palin was thrust unto the national scene, we've heard these things about her, from not only mainstream media, but from average people and celebrities like Matt Damon and P. Diddy:
- Alaska?!
- Mayor of a podunk town?!
- Hockey mom?!
- Moose shooter?!
- Went where for what degree?!
- Beauty pageant queen?!
- Evangelical Christian?!
- Thinks she can be VP with kids?!
- Didn't abort Down Syndrome baby?!
The unspoken negatives are these:
- Woman
- Blue-collar
- Not ready to lead due to obscure background
- Mother of large family with little kids shouldn't work
- Being Governor of Alaska doesn't count. Being Senator of a State like Illinois does
- Men only like her because she's pretty
- Is so backwards, she didn't abort her baby when it was found out to be 'defective'
- 'Kills' animals because she's bloodthirsty
I've actually heard worse stuff on the street, overhearing people talk.
One guy I overheard bitterly said he knew women like her from his backwards little town in Arkansas. To me, he was projecting all his insecurities of his origins, thinking he had left all that behind, only to have this woman thrown in his face daily by media, reminding him of all the reasons why he considered himself inferior to the life he now leads in the Big City.
And she has the audacity to celebrate her origins, not to be embarrassed by them.
Another woman said she hated Palin because she was "cruel to animals". She would never eat "bambi", like Palin does.
(Are you kidding me? Is this how people really think?)
I can take the dislike. I feel Palin can too. But this ad strikes at the heart of the matter -- disrespect for people LIKE PALIN. Americans who come from a similar background, and situation, made fun of constantly by suddenly sophisticated folk.
And that's disgusting.
How can people, especially the champions of the people - Democrats, be so hypocritical?
Cheers,
Victoria
Beautiful.
I'ts in the eye of the beholder?
Here is an "eloquent" deposition to Damon with damaging deameanor...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyvtV5Dj_WU
But when she insightfully pointed out that she is qualified in foreign policy because Russia is visible from one of Alaska's islands - I realized that she a fantastic choice as 2nd in command.
How true how true. This is foreign policy we can believe in my friends. And I can see the stars at night which makes me an astronomer.
I never understand these victim campaign commercials - whosoever it is. It has the same effect on me as kids whining that someone received a bigger slice of pie than they did. I turn off.
I find them annoying and am left thinking that the whiner of the moment chose the wrong line of work.
After watching some of the interview with Sarah Palin I'm left thinking that this woman is no-one's victim. She handled herself well - the whole sexism argument to me is just more freaking sexism. shut up already, and talk about issues.
She is in her second year as Govenor while Obama was in his second year as Senator when he decided to run. Yet, she is the one unfit to be VICE President.
She is being accused of being a bad parent for campaigning for two months when her children need her yet Obama's been campaigning for almost two years now. I've never heard any one call him a bad parent for that.
It is called hypocrisy. Something the left and the media are very, very good at.
Follower
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
AlphaLiberal said...
And, BTW, it's a well-established fact that Sarah Palin is a liar.
Zachary Paul Sire said...
Yes, calling someone who has repeatedly lied a liar...that is so disrespectful!
This is the future of America. Little children yelling liar, liar, pants on fire.
garage mahal said...
I think Obama needs to just start making shit up like McCain and Palin, it seems to work and there isn't any penalty for it
He already did. The smear campaign after her appointment; her son is reall her grandson and all that. He got away with it, in typical progressive, liberal fashion; ooops, hah, hah, well, um, em, eh, families are off limits, now let’s move on.
Zachary Paul Sire said...
The majority of these McCain ads (including this one) have been completely dismembered by every non partisan group and objective journalist for lying and distorting facts. But by all means, keep posting them without mentioning this, it's more fun.
Hillary Clinton’s whole campaign was based on one big lie; Hillary Clinton.
Obama’s campaign is based on one big lie; Barak Obama.
They have nothing in their resumes to make them qualified for higher public office. One was nothing more than a political wife and the other is nothing more than a Chicago political hack. Hillary already lost. Keep on praising your big shining lie.
But when she insightfully pointed out that she is qualified in foreign policy because Russia is visible from one of Alaska's islands
This is factually vacanT, but supposed it was factual.
Did anybody predict Russia invading anybody ever?
More lies from Palin emerge today:
- She didn't fire the state police commissioner for personal reasons. Oh, no, he quit.
- Palin is still trying to build the bridge to nowhere after lying that she killed it.
She's lying, McCain's lying. That's the word for false statements. Quit yer whining, you babies.
Where's ricpic?
I'd like to know: Is it your practice, when you want to know what a student knows, do you "scrutinize
and attack ... harshly"?
Is that the most productive approach?
AlphaLiberal said...
More lies from Palin emerge today:
- She didn't fire the state police commissioner for personal reasons. Oh, no, he quit.
It is not a lie. She offered him another equivalent job in her administration. He declined and resigned.
Now I know why many people home school. You are proof that the educational system is a failure.
Trooper,
I like the poetry. Maybe we could turn this into a poetry slam.
In other news, the Large Hadron Collider has discovered that the "dark matter" of the universe is actually composed of LIES.
Let's say we could transplant Condi Rice's brain into Sarah Palin's body.
Would that be a trade we could live with?
Oh wait - Condi did not see 9/11 coming?
Good point, Lem.
There is certainly no evidence Russia might act in an aggressive or expansionist manner toward its neighbors. Nope. None.
Besides, I bet Russia looks like a peaceful nation when you look at it from one of those Alaskan islands. That's diplomacy!
P.S. Don't tell Palin what Russia is doing in Georgia. And if you do, bring an atlas and a history book.
Or was it because Condi is a republican?
The Skunk
Up, black, striped and damasked like the chasuble
At a funeral mass, the skunk's tail
Paraded the skunk. Night after night
I expected her like a visitor.
The refrigerator whinnied into silence.
My desk light softened beyond the verandah.
Small oranges loomed in the orange tree.
I began to be tense as a voyeur.
After eleven years I was composing
Love-letters again, broaching the word 'wife'
Like a stored cask, as if its slender vowel
Had mutated into the night earth and air
Of California. The beautiful, useless
Tang of eucalyptus spelt your absence.
The aftermath of a mouthful of wine
Was like inhaling you off a cold pillow.
And there she was, the intent and glamorous,
Ordinary, mysterious skunk,
Mythologized, demythologized,
Snuffing the boards five feet beyond me.
It all came back to me last night, stirred
By the sootfall of your things at bedtime,
Your head-down, tail-up hunt in a bottom drawer
For the black plunge-line nightdress.
qwerty is a warmonger.
P.S. Don't tell Palin what Russia is doing in Georgia. And if you do, bring an atlas and a history book.
If Iraq is in good enough shape to be left alone [Obama], Then I'm sure Geogia can manage?
With the exception of a few who apparently are either Democrats or Independents, not one of the regulars dispute the fact that the entire ad is based on out and out lies and distortions.
Not even Ann.
The entire discussion centers around how cool it is that they can run an ad that says something that is not true, but very well done.
What a creepy bunch.
Bella bot sez:
"It is not a lie. She offered him another equivalent job in her administration. He declined and resigned."
From the article:
"Rather, she asked him to drop everything else and single-mindedly take on the state’s drinking problem, as the director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. “It was a job that was open, commensurate in salary pretty much—ten thousand dollars less”—but, she added, Monegan hadn’t wanted the job, so he left state service; he quit. "
That's a demotion. From running the state's police agency to running a wee board and taking a pay cut.
PLUS, she has been changing her story on this continuously as new facts and tapes of phone conversations emerge.
lem, do you ever actually read anything or do you just blather on about absolutely nothing?
Michael, I agree entirely. The right wing has no problem lying about their opponents.
They do this even while insisting we put the Ten Commandments in public buildings.
They should stop and read the Commandment that says "Though shall not bear false witness against they nieghbor."
That means "don't lie." It's immoral. McCain and Palin are immoral liars.
Peter Bella said...
He already did. The smear campaign after her appointment; her son is reall her grandson and all that. He got away with it, in typical progressive, liberal fashion; ooops, hah, hah, well, um, em, eh, families are off limits, now let’s move on.
I think of you as a modern day "Le Pétomane" as you grunt and pass gas cranking out all these posts. Except your not funny or interesting, and all we get is your ill wind.
Joseph Pujol, a man of singular talent, was born in Marseilles, France in 1857. In his early youth it became clear that he was a natural entertainer, singing, dancing, and performing for his parents' house guests. He had a love for music, and over the years he became handy with a trombone, but it was a different wind instrument that led to his eventual fame and fortune.
Harwood: If you give female politicians "special" respect you're asking for abuse of power.
So, if women are capable of being the same politicians as men are, any special respect you afford them will eventually lead to political leaders abusing power.
You're point of women being capable and women also receiving preferential treatment is a non sequitur.
Of course they are not contradictory, the argument is what effect will the kid gloves have on human beings seeking power.
p.s. And, to be clear the text I quoted from the article is one bit of spin Palin used one day. I'm not saying it's the truth. She may have changed her story since.
It is an odd part of our political culture that it's considered more wrong to call someone on being a serial liar than to be one.
"P.S. Don't tell Palin what Russia is doing in Georgia. And if you do, bring an atlas and a history book."
Get somebody to read what she actually said to you. You will not believe it.
Ace has the cutting-room floor transcript.
It is an odd part of our political culture that it's considered more wrong to call someone on being a serial liar than to be one.
Aye, the ground is littered with dead messengers.
Being chivalrous towards women was a byproduct of mans dominion over them. Chivalry was a curb to the abuses of power any man could exert over the weaker sex; it was a meme that sought to put boundaries to what men could do with slaves (women).
What happens when a woman then holds power and some men still feel it is appropriate to pay deference?
AlphaLiberal is a documented LIAR
lem, do you ever actually read anything.
Politics is personal.
That's why Palin hurts ;)
Michael is a truculent LIAR
Zachary Paul Sire is a succulent LIAR
This graph from the AP's Charles Babington (the guy who ridiculed Obama's Denver speech) sums up a lot for me (the the full article is on AP's site now):
"[I]n the last two election cycles, the very notion that the facts matter seems to be under assault," said Michael X. Delli Carpini, an authority on political ads at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. "Candidates and their consultants seem to have learned that as long as you don't back down from your charges or claims, they will stick in the minds of voters regardless of their accuracy or at a minimum, what the truth is will remain murky, a matter of opinion rather than fact."
Palladian is the anti-paladin of pernicious piffle.
Alright, the "McCain can't use a computer because he was a POW" line is now thouroughly debunked with photos of John McCain talking on his blackberry.
This is more of the same tired McCain dodge: "You can't criticize me on [insert anything here] because I was a POW."
What a great quality for a President! "I'm above criticism!"
Here is the photo of McCain talking on a blackberry.
Let's note this argument is another lie.
Made more ironic because in John McCain's acceptance video at the convention didn't they do a long stint on him preparing to requalify to fly fighter aircraft after comming back from POW?
garage mahal said...
I think...
No you don't. You do not have the cranial capacity to do that. Nor do you have the intellectual capability.
You are nothing more than the hurdy gurdy man's Capuchin.
And you are a liar.
Internet is really only for porn and degenerate discussions in comment sections...so mccain should get a pass for realizing computers are overrated...
Is it "disrespectful" to point out that part of Palin's economic conservatism (that left the city of Wasila millions of dollars in debt) was to charge rape victims for their own investigations?
It would seem so.
"Despite denials by the Palin campaign, new evidence proves that as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin had a direct hand in imposing fees to pay for post-sexual assault medical exams conducted by the city to gather evidence."
Uh-oh. Unless she didn't know what was in the budget she signed. Though I'm not sure how that casts her in a better light.
"[I]n the last two election cycles, the very notion that the facts matter seems to be under assault," said Michael X. Delli Carpini, an authority on political ads at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communicatio
This has become business as usual and not just limited to the election process anymore.
This is more of the same tired McCain dodge: "You can't criticize me on [insert anything here] because I was a POW."
We can’t criticize Obama because he has no qualifications.
We can’t criticize Obama because he has no experience.
We can’t criticize Obama because he was a community organizer.
We can’t criticize Obama [insert anything here] because he is Black, he is the first Black candidate for president, he will make history, and the nation needs healing.
To be honest Trevor Jackson, that line is probably as fair as Obama's kindergarten sex-ed attack.
Ahem, Alpha: please let us know how talking on a blackberry or cell phone, or anyother device is like typing on a computer keyboard. Are you genuinely that stupid? Human physiology is clearly not your strong suit. Let me try to splain this to you, cause you need help, son:
Typing on a keyboard involved arms lowered from the shoulders with forearms extended from the elbow. The hand extend over the keyboard and the fingers are depressed to hit the keys--With me so far?
Now--talking on a blackberry (or other phone like device) requires flexing ones elbow, Raising the hand holding the device to one's ear and using your vocal cords, lips and mouth to form sounds.
So, as even you might notice, there are two very separate kinesthesic movements and entire different muscle groups involved.
Now you could replicate this for yourself at home, but you will need to pull your head out of your ass before undertaking this experiment. And please get adult supervision before trying this dangerous procedure.
roger J.
one armed people can use the internet...in fact I'm pretty sure mccain is capable of doing the 1-finger typing routine.
remember, mccain got back into the cockpit of fighter jets after he returned from being a POW.
Do you guys really want to drink the coolaid and say that logging onto google.com is harder than doing barrelrolls in a f-14 tomcat?
John McCain can use a blackberry and hold it to his head. (Funny mocking of Jonah Goldberg here, too.)
Here is a photo of John McCain skillfully handling a hot dog he's stuffing into his maw.
Here's a picture of McCain holding a microphone and pointing with his finger.
Here's another picture of John McCain on another cell phone. His fingers how no sign of impairment.
McCain's wrists and fingers seem fully capable of computer keyboard manipulation in this picture.
100s more of these types of photos out there, telling the lie to the Althouse/Goldberg/Reynolds/McCain lie that he can't use a computer because he was a POW.
Looks like these fingers work here.
Oh no! Here's an inconvenient quote from John McCain that shows this line used by his campaign to be, um, "false."
"“I am learning to get online myself, and I will have that down fairly soon, getting on myself,” McCain told the New York Times in an interview that appeared Sunday. “I don’t expect to be a great communicator, I don’t expect to set up my own blog, but I am becoming computer literate to the point where I can get the information that I need.”
Please, Ann Althouse, elaborate on why John McCain cannot use a computer because he was a POW. You're parroting these McCain campaign talking points, let's see you back them up.
This might be the weakest lie we've heard yet. Althouse repeats it but can't defend it.
"mccain got back into the cockpit of fighter jets after he returned from being a POW."
Good point!
This is nothing compared to some of the ads that have been running.
What is worse, is that when McCain gets called on factual lies he still claims that he is telling the truth.
Last night in an interview on 'The View' (usually a venue for softball questions) Joy Behar called him on an ad in which he claims that Obama supported 'comprehensive sex education for kindergarteners.' The truth is that Obama has supported teaching kindergartners about 'inappropriate touching' by adults.
McCain actually defended the ad saying it was accurate. To me this is disgusting and dangerous. His campaign tried to clarify by suggesting that teaching kids about child molesters should not be done in school but at home. This explanation also falls down on two accounts-- 1. it does not address the ads contention that what Obama supported was 'comprehensive sex education,' and 2. A lot of kids get molested at home, so if they are not taught it at school then why would any parents who are themselves molesters teach their children that there is anything wrong with what they are doing?
To me it seems that that ad in particular is far, far more dangerous in a lot of ways (most obviously that it may end up pushing discussion of child molestation back into the closet and put kids at risk, all to win a campaign) than anything this ad portrays.
Palladian is the anti-paladin of pernicious piffle.
That's not bad.
It is possible to have a political Parlor w/o personal attacks.
Ever since Palin it seems to be impossible.
Bella bot:
"We can’t criticize Obama because....blah blah blah."
Typical strawman argument.
Who said that? We've said you're wrong on all those points.
Roger, I think the photos I posted show the dexterity needed you point out. That, and the quote from McCain saying he is learning computers should be enough warnings to supporters to avoid this argument to preserve their own integrity.
I do like the honor on display with the McCain advert using two quotes taken so out of context as to effectively be lies before suggesting that Obama is disrespectful for accusing them of lying.
"Candidates and their consultants seem to have learned that as long as you don't back down from your charges or claims, they will stick in the minds of voters regardless of their accuracy or at a minimum, what the truth is will remain murky, a matter of opinion rather than fact."
Good news for the Obama campaign then.
"said Michael X. Delli Carpini, an authority on political ads at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication."
Yikes! Don't say Annenberg anywhere near Obama!
We have the perfect storm of idiocy here: UWS, Alpha. Garage, and Michael.
Let me suggest some things for you to consider: The issue is very siimple. The ad says john mccain does not use email. It DOESNT say he doesnt use a computer--now you young bucks ought to know that email is (1) insecure (ask Kwame) and (2) most kids in their 20s are using texts and IMs--hell even i know that and I drive at 55 in the left lane with my turn signal blinking.
Now pay close attention douchebags: John McCain does in fact use a computer--He is limited in his ability to key board.
Now--go take your ritalin, have your mommy give you some cookies and milk, and then go f**k yourselves.
Hey Obama fans, better start inventing some new lies about Sarah Palin, the current ones aren't working:
For the first time, the McCain-Palin ticket takes the lead over Obama-Biden in the RealClearPolitics Electoral College count, 227-217 (with 94 toss-up votes). One month ago, the count was Obama 238, McCain 163. So that's an 85-vote swing.
From a Forbes article in 2000.
In certain ways, McCain was a natural Web candidate. Chairman of the Senate Telecommunications Subcommittee and regarded as the U.S. Senate’s savviest technologist, McCain is an inveterate devotee of email. His nightly ritual is to read his email together with his wife, Cindy. The injuries he incurred as a Vietnam POW make it painful for McCain to type. Instead, he dictates responses that his wife types on a laptop. “She’s a whiz on the keyboard, and I’m so laborious,” McCain admits.
Everyone needs to take a step back and ponder the Obama email commerical again and how stupid it was. Not only was the commercial totally false about claiming McCain is computer illiterate, but the ridicule agains him for being handicapped is the dumbest gaffe of the campaign so far.
Come on, doesn't Obama know how to google.
Obama the idiot.
oops--I failed to see UWS's point about flying tomcats--you might want to ask a neurologist, UWS, what happens when neurological injury persists over time. There is absolutely nothing odd in the fact that mccain could have gone back on flight status 35 years ago. The aging process, however, tends to exacerbate those injuries, and what he could recover from and do 35 years are not what he can do now.
But tell you what: Why dont you look at John McCain's medical records, which have been released, and compare them say to Obamas. OOPS--NO RECORDS THERE--just a short note from his Doc
A lot of kids get molested at home, so if they are not taught it at school then why would any parents who are themselves molesters teach their children that there is anything wrong with what they are doing?
This is where I think McCain to lie about the true purpose of this education to very young children is disgusting. Unfortunately, most kids accept that abuse is okay from their parents because they don't know it's wrong. It's not until they receive education around the issue that they can confirm for themselves that something 'isn't right about Daddy/whoever doing this to me.'
roger, Ann Althouse said in the previous post:
"As Glenn Reynolds and many others have noted, mocking McCain over email draws attention to McCain's war injuries and might upset lots of older voters who don't feel at ease using computers"
Jonah Goldberg:
"The reason he doesn’t send email is that he can’t use a keyboard because of the relentless beatings he received from the Viet Cong in service to our country."
This argument is all over the right wing blogs but you want to call us names because we respond to it?
We've conclusively shown this diversionary argument is a crock, twaddle. Name-calling serves no purpose except to highlight you've lost the argument and can't admit it..
Obama's allies are now smearing Gov. Palin as a child predator. The stupidity never ends.
It's sad to think that Obama is garning barely above 40% in the polls at this point.
I think that the female voiceover said "disrespectful" about two times too many. It shifted the focus.
The rest, well... the dismissive remarks that Obama makes about Palin *are* the sorts of dismissive "little woman" remarks that are bound to piss off women.
It's all, Oh how cute! Isn't she cute?
Is it because she's female, or is it because this is the way Obama dismisses everyone?
Alpha--I have NEVER said that Obama was mocking John McCain--please reread my posts. And I conclusively proved you don't know the difference from keyboarding and talking on a phone.
Eli Blake points up another McCain lie, perhaps the most venal of all:
"Last night in an interview on 'The View' (usually a venue for softball questions) Joy Behar called him on an ad in which he claims that Obama supported 'comprehensive sex education for kindergarteners.' The truth is that Obama has supported teaching kindergartners about 'inappropriate touching' by adults."
John McCain has soiled whatever honor he had left since caving in to the right wing and flip flopping on dozens of issues to win the nomination.
As far as Ann Althouse, she's peddling the weakest right wing lie defending John McCain. Maybe she will retract?
If children are taught about child predators in kindergarten there will be a whole heck of a lot of kids who are pulled out of school... and *not* by abusive parents.
Children *deserve* their innocence.
I remember when a girl in my school, about my youngest sister's age, went missing. It was a huge news story. When it came out after more than a year and they found her bones in a cow pasture that her father had been molesting her and killed her when she decided to tell... I saw what it did to my little sister. It was damaging to her and her security and just *imagining* if *her* father did such a thing. ALL the innocence in her relationship with OUR father was gone and it took quite a while to get it back again.
In junior high.
Not kindergarten.
The idea that there is only good to be gotten from talking to very young children and suggesting to them that some adults might be acting inappropriately is simply wrong. It's a trade off... help some kids who might be abused... destroy the innocence and security of those who are not.
Roger, I posted a picture showing McCain bending his wrists in just such a way as you claimed he could not.
Admit it, this line he can't use email because he was a POW is a crock.
Synova, sorry about your sister and that girl.
McCain said Obama wanted to teach sex ed to young kids and the ad dishonestlky made Obama look like a child predator.
That's all a lie. It's "age appropriate" education about touching. And it preserves innocence.
Like when I was a kid and we were warned about "Stranger Danger."
Joy Behar called him on an ad in which he claims that Obama supported 'comprehensive sex education for kindergarteners.' The truth is that Obama has supported teaching kindergartners about 'inappropriate touching' by adults."
I would not trust some left wing teacher to teach my this subject to my kid in kindergarten. They have a totally different value system than average americans.
Of course liberals would be mad about this McCain ad. But, average Americans understand the issue. Liberals have been pushing sex ed down our throats for years.
Conservatives should be diligent in finding out what these programs are really about. IN Minneapolis they have "anti-bullying" programs which are really programs designed by the gay lobby.
When liberals say Obama's program was to teach kids about "inappropriate touching" in kindergarten, I am very skeptical. I bet they left out stuff.....
The idea that there is only good to be gotten from talking to very young children and suggesting to them that some adults might be acting inappropriately is simply wrong. It's a trade off... help some kids who might be abused... destroy the innocence and security of those who are not.
Inappropriate behavior by an adult is taught in a way that preserves innocence. You do not talk to a pre-schooler as you would a teenager. They wouldn't get what you meant as children this young don't have a fully developed sense of themselves. Give sex educators some credit for knowing their subject.
Obama's defenders keep leaving out the "age appropriate" aspect of the bill Obama signed.
WTF does "age appropriate" mean? Anthing the schools and libs want it to mean IMO.
Democrats must learn to be intellectually honest. Until they do that, the majority of voters will keep rejecting your ideas and your candidates.
Alpha: please identify where I mentioned he could not move his wrists. Let me try this one last time, knowing that you really don't care and are just here to argue (as of course I am). Carpal tunnel and keyboarding. The issue is REPETITIVE motion of the fingers from the wrists down--But by all means, please try again. Or, you could just check McCain's medical records which he has released.
Look, this has descended into silly and I am violating George B Shaws maxim. Lets call it quits, OK? Go on and make your last comment, I wont respond, and both of us can move on.
Roger, I tried to make sense of you incoherent argument as best I could.
Several people here have posted quotes of McCain talking about using computers. We have pictures showing he has the mechanical ability.
Get over it.
…that Obama supported 'comprehensive sex education for kindergarteners.' The truth is that Obama has supported teaching kindergartners about 'inappropriate touching' by adults.
Whose truth? Joy Behar is not a respected source of information. She is a comedian. A piss poor one, but a comedian none the less.
Whoopi Goldberg is also a comedian. She is worried about becoming a slave again. Barbara wah wah is a piss poor parody of her former self.
Worse, people actually watch them and take them seriously. People like you.
Anatomy lesson 101:
The nerves that control the movement of your fingers, and for that matter your hands and wrists, originate in the cervical area (the human neck, for the O-bots)and travel through your shoulders, the entire length of your arms and forearms. If you have a complicated, untreated, serious injury anywhere along, it will reflect in your ability to move your fingers, and therefore in your manual dexterity.
That's all...now run along...I have an opening night performance for which I must get ready.
AlphaLiberal said...
Michael, I agree entirely. The right wing has no problem lying about their opponents.
Name one true thing Obama has said about any of his opponents? Name one true thing Obama has said, period.
Yikes! Don't say Annenberg anywhere near Obama!
Especially since the Annenberg fortune was made from criminal activities in Chicago; the town Obama was a political hack in.
If you liked Harriet Meyers or Monica Goodling, you'll love Sarah Palin.
Part of me loves the challenge to ivy-league elitism, but my god, these people made or will make (or in some cases would have made had not saner heads prevailed) decisions that actually matter.
When did demonstrable lack of experience, smug disregard for expertise, and dogmatic certainty in matters of faith (read: public policy) become the most rewarded attributes in American politics?
And I conclusively proved you don't know the difference from keyboarding and talking on a phone.
He doesn’t know the difference between shit and Shinola either, but he keeps wiping the Shinola and polishing with the other.
BTW, if some one behind you beeps their horn do you slow down to say 25mph?
Democrats must learn to be intellectually honest. Until they do that, the majority of voters will keep rejecting your ideas and your candidates.
That is an impossibility. There is no honesty, intellectual or other type in the Democratic Party.
Peter V:
Moe Annenberg, the smart Dad, made most of the seed money for his kid Walter who was of only barely average intelligence.
Moe owned the Philly Inquirer in the 1950 and 196-'s. An uncle of mine was a printer at that paper and the employees liked Moe but most thought his kid was a harmless dope. The Annenbergs invested money in or started TV Guide and that is one area where they made most of their money IMO.
Walter Annenberg became a bigtime philanthropist and had at least one home in Philly area until he died about ten years ago.
Moe did serve some time in jail way way back but I don't recall his involvement in illegal stuff in Chicago.
It is always tricky to know whether posters like Peter Bella are sincere or whether they are trying to make conservatives look idiotic and crazy.
But assuming Bella means what he posts, it must be comforting to live in such a simple world - one where anyone who disagrees with you politically is an immoral person worthy only of derision.
I remember when I lived in a world of black and white, without nuance or subtle distinctions. Only absolute certainty. Ah, those were the days.
"A lot of kids get molested at home, so if they are not taught it at school then why would any parents who are themselves molesters teach their children that there is anything wrong with what they are doing?"
That's exactly what I fear--the government taking over responsibility for the family to "protect" children from their horrible parents. Of course, Obama's kids are at private schools, so they are exempt.
Alphaliberal, I think it's time to find an old air raid shelter to hide in if Obamessiah loses. Otherwise, the Palin dominatrix bridge will be coming to get you!
McCain flew attack (bombing) aircraft, not fighters, a big difference at the time (now the Navy does both with a single airframe). No TopGun he.
Some people are conflating "can't" and "doesn't" use email.
It's relatively rare for biological parents to molest their own children. It's usually step-dad or mama's boyfriend.
I think instead of speed dating, we should have speed lying. And I think McCain and Palin should go on together. I'm sorry, I think I just described their whole campaign!
Moe did serve some time in jail way way back but I don't recall his involvement in illegal stuff in Chicago.
Moe and his brother tied in with the mob to take over all the publication of all racing forms. They owned several and it took a shooting war and a few murders to get the rest.
BTW, the money made from the mob was used to buy the Inquirer.
qwerty,
You lefties really get your shorts in a bunch when your own tactics are used against you.
And yet another lie:
WASHINGTON - Sarah Palin's visit to Iraq in 2007 consisted of a brief stop at a border crossing between Iraq and Kuwait, the vice presidential candidate's campaign said yesterday, in the second official revision of her only trip outside North America.
Following her selection last month as John McCain's running mate, aides said Palin had traveled to Ireland, Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq to meet with members of the Alaska National Guard.
During that trip she was said to have visited a "military outpost" inside Iraq. The campaign has since repeated that Palin's foreign travel included an excursion into the Iraq battle zone.
But in response to queries about the details of her trip, campaign aides and National Guard officials in Alaska said by telephone yesterday that she did not venture beyond the Kuwait-Iraq border when she visited Khabari Alawazem Crossing, also known as "K-Crossing," on July 25, 2007.
NOTE: "Palin's foreign travel included an excursion into the Iraq battle zone."
Peter V:
Thanks I was unfamiliar with his pre-Philly escapades.
Sloan says...witha straight face?
"I would not trust some left wing teacher to teach my this subject to my kid in kindergarten."
So, I guess we have to assume that ALL teachers are "left wing" now.
And why, pray tell, would anyone not want a teacher, left, right or center...teaching their children about how to avoid sexual predators??
AJ Lynch said...
Peter V:
Thanks I was unfamiliar with his pre-Philly escapades.
Both brothers were also involved, on opposing sides, of the Hearst paper wars too.
erniecu73, Are you actually implying McCain can't physically work a computer keyboard?
Good Lord...what's next on the insanity agenda?
Is it because she's female, or is it because this is the way Obama dismisses everyone?
She's got the kitchen sink flying, and the china flying, and the, you know, the buffet is coming at me.
That's Obama complaining about Hillary Clinton earlier this year. Try finding Obama saying anything remotely similar about any of his male opponents. During the Democratic candidate debates when there other candidates present, it seemed to me that Obama was far more likely to refer to Clinton as Hillary, not Senator Clinton, than any of the others on the stage. At the same time, he appeared to be no more likely than any other candidate to refer to another candidates by his first name, referring to them by their title.
Now that he's complaining about mistreatment by McCain, might as well remember this gem:
"And, you know, look, I come from Chicago, I know politics is hard, you know, it's not for the faint of heart, I understand that," Obama continued. "But when we end up involved in these constant distractions, these petty, trivial slash-and-burn, back-and-forth, tit-for-tat politics, so that we no longer talk about the things that the American people care about, that may be good for the television ratings, but it's not good for you."
As Tapper asked then, "how on Earth can Obama with a straight face decry these "distractions" when his campaign that very same day organized a conference call to harp on Clinton's Bosnia-sniper-fire gaffe?"
While Obama works the press into a fever pitch over McCain's alleged smears, he and his campaign engage in the same tactics every day and draw little criticism for it. Imagine, for example if McCain had posed this question about Obama's patriotism: "it’s fair to ask –- which country?"
"A lot of kids get molested at home, so if they are not taught it at school then why would any parents who are themselves molesters teach their children that there is anything wrong with what they are doing?"
That's exactly what I fear--the government taking over responsibility for the family to "protect" children from their horrible parents.
So horrible parents can continue to abuse? I doubt that's what you mean to imply.
Sex education in the circumstances of a young child is designed to inform the child about inappropriate conduct from others. Usually the child has a sense that something is 'wrong' or 'off', they just don't know what to do beyond this. Teaching children to be safe is to give them the means to identify that something is wrong and a solution - tell someone you trust. This would typically be another family member, friend, neighbor, pastor, Sunday school teacher.
Are you okay with schools teaching your children about road safety? I can understand parents not wanting schools to teach their children about sex, but to not teach children how to stay safe from predators or ppl that would hurt them is peculiar to me.
When did demonstrable lack of experience, smug disregard for expertise, and dogmatic certainty in matters of faith (read: public policy) become the most rewarded attributes in American politics?
Apparently, August 28, 2008.
I remember when I lived in a world of black and white, without nuance or subtle distinctions. Only absolute certainty. Ah, those were the days.
Yeah, I remember when I voted for Democrats too.
As for McCain being too "disabled" to use a computer:
I asked a good friend of my wife, who works at a developmental health and rehabilitation center for the disabled about this and she said she has children without arms who use computers.
It's patently ridiculous.
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