McCain dials down his crowd

[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.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

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.

OK, then we agree that they were booing McCain for saying 'you should not be afraid of an Obama presidency' instead of 'Obama is not an Arab'.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by richlevy

OK, then we agree that they were booing McCain for saying 'you should not be afraid of an Obama presidency' instead of 'Obama is not an Arab'.

You can make that statement, and actually, we expect it of you. But if you were trying to describe the event in an unbiased, journalistic sort of way, would you?

(If so, a job waits for you at most major metropolitan newspapers.)

The unbiased statement is: A smattering booed his initial comment. The crowd cheered his followup.