McCain dials down his crowd

[Undertoad]

Good for him. I've watched the second half of this clip, where he actually takes the mic from the old lady, a few times.

The media's take on these events is pathetic, such as MSNBC's caption ("...forced to defend Obama..."), because they have to go a long way to write a negative narrative on this. You'll be immune if you watch the clip. Politico, which is usually pretty good, uses the headline "Crowd boos after McCain says Obama not 'an Arab'". Listen for the boos at the end of this clip after he says it. You won't hear a single one.

[Ibby]

what scares me is the thought that their rhetoric may have gone too far already
(like the 'kill him!' Palin supporter)
and this might be out of their control.
i just hope they dont end up creating a mob

[xoxoxoBruce]

It will be interesting to see if Palin remains the junk yard dog, while McCain becomes the voice of reason, placating the people that are turned off by her rhetoric.

[Ibby]

by the way
when the caption isn't in the way
the guy who's head is under the 'rea' of breaking news
shakes his head no when McCain says that Obama's a decent person...

[sweetwater]

It is worrisome that not only did McCain / Palin not stop the hate before it became public and a liability to their campaign, but the rest of the crowd didn't stop them, either. Would you have sat by and said nothing to someone who yelled,"kill him"?

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by Ibram

this might be out of their control.
i just hope they dont end up creating a mob

A few weeks ago Sarah Palin showed up in the middle of Philly to greet her supports at the Irish Pub. A spontaneous anti-Palin rally formed outside the place.

Until a few days ago, I worked with a guy who lives right above the Irish Pub. And he was there at this rally. You afraid of McCain supporters? Republicans don't mob. This group was a mob. They talked as violent as they wanted. It was not reported in any media.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Ibram

what scares me is the thought that their rhetoric may have gone too far already
(like the 'kill him!' Palin supporter)

The McCain campaign has a problem. Extremists embedded in his campaign want to go nasty. McCain does not. You see this contradiction in his latest speeches where he is trying to dial back the hate and nasty attacks that his campaign staff has been pushing for.

McCain is not an extremist which puts him at conflict with many in his campaign. That makes it more difficult to rally the troops.

[Shawnee123]

I may be naive, but I think what McCain said was classy. I'm not looking at it as some kind of intricate political move: I think he was just saying, simply no, Obama is not a bad man, Obama is not an Arab...I'd be a better president, but Obama is not a force of evil.

I have a lot of respect for McCain. I think Obama would be a better president for me, but I do respect McCain. I don't really respect Palin; she reaps what she sows.

[BrianR]

Sheesh! I've had a drink or two there.

I have a lawyer friend who meets me there for a kip after work, when I'm in town.

Phila is heavily Democrat so this doesn't surprise me too much.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

[youtube] Listen for the boos at the end of this clip after he says it. You won't hear a single one.

You're technically right. I heard them booing as he said it. Check out 1:04-1:09 minutes into the clip.

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

I may be naive, but I think what McCain said was classy. I'm not looking at it as some kind of intricate political move: I think he was just saying, simply no, Obama is not a bad man, Obama is not an Arab...I'd be a better president, but Obama is not a force of evil.

I have a lot of respect for McCain. I think Obama would be a better president for me, but I do respect McCain. I don't really respect Palin; she reaps what she sows.

I thought it was a decent thing to do. I'd give him even more credit if he hadn't wound them up in the first place.

As for Palin, it's hard to tell how much is her own views and how much is her being the designated attack dog (pig?) for the campaign, which is the traditional job of the running mate. Still, compare Biden's attacks with hers and decide which are more on point.

Still, Palin is one tough lady. She is going to rule her cell block.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by richlevy

Still, Palin is one tough lady. She is going to rule her cell block.

You think she is going to jail?!?!

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

You think she is going to jail?!?!

Probably not, hence the smiley. Possibly a censure.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by richlevy

You're technically right. I heard them booing as he said it. Check out 1:04-1:09 minutes into the clip.

A) That is not as he corrected the woman about Arab. That's the following clip.

B) If one is the sense the entire crowd reaction to THIS statement, it's about three times as positive as the first reaction is negative. Of course you can just take the five seconds you like out of time, and advance that as the critical narrative. But that's very obviously bullshit.

[tw]

The schizophrenic nature of McCain's campaign continues. Whereas McCain apparently wants to run as a moderate, many in his campaign want to promote and incite the rhetoric of extremists. This is not the same well run Republican campaign that elected George Jr . A problem apparently created because John McCain was never a supporter and often a critic of those extremist elements that are now working to get him elected.

From ABC New of 11 Oct 2008:

More Mixed Messages from McCain?
Last night, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tried to correct some of his more, er, angry and scared supporters, ones who seem to buy into the ludicrous myth that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is some sort of Muslim Manchurian candidate.

This morning in Philly, Obama thanked McCain. ...

This was followed by an odd response from the McCain campaign, as if the GOP senator had not last night admirably tried to calm down a bizarrely agitated crowd.

“The tone of this election is not fueling voter outrage," said McCain spox Tucker Bounds, "it’s that Americans are frustrated knowing that Barack Obama’s plans to raise taxes during a down economy and his proposal for a trillion dollars in new government spending are the absolute wrong answers to our economic crisis."

What's the reason for the mixed messages? Well, the McCain campaign has no intention of letting up on the same character attacks on Obama that have been met on the stump with angry supporters yelling "treason!" "terrorist!" and "kill him!" when McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin invoke Obama's name.

Palin yesterday in Cleveland said, "we've got to start connecting the dots between Barack Obama and some of his associations, some of the things he has done in the past, and more importantly, some of the things that he intends to do in the future, so that Americans will know clearly their choices. We'll lay this out to American voters in the next couple of days.”

They're kind of in a weird place, let's say. They want to keep attacking Obama on these "associations," but they don't want to be held responsible for the kinds of ugly reactions these attacks find on the trail from McCain-Palin supporters.

ABC News' Imtiyaz Delawala, traveling with Palin, reports that a Palin supporter in Johnstown, Pa., today was holding a Curious George monkey doll on which he'd put an Obama sticker.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Republicans don't mob. This group was a mob.

UT I respect you enormously. And I know we don't share political ideals, but you are so rational it's never been something that has made me question your posts. But the above? A little broadly painted perhaps.