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and Axelrod and Plouffe for running an energized and organized campaign. Oh heck no.
So much of the credit has to go to John McCain, who started sinking his brand a few *years* before he announced he'd run for '08, but latching onto Bush like he found a fresh pair of coatails. And to survive the primary, had to gut it out like he wanted it that way. He turned straight talk into the most awkward-looking bs ever. It has to go to his ego that he thought his story was enough to carry his lack of principles, as revealed through constant lies and trash talk and whining, through a tough campaign. Mark Salter probably did a lot of the early ego-stroking. And the story. Authors love their creations. I'm not saying McCain himself is fake--no. He's real deep down, and there is a real, brave McCain story--very honest and very real. I didn't always dislike him, myself. He just became a fake. And let himself believe it was for the better good. It didn't have to go that way. It just did. And so he approved "this message" which was lies and smears, even wasting his reputation in the "hated" robocalls on the last few days of this campaign-not classy.
Sarah Palin is almost a victim, here. I'll explain. She was not thoroughly checked out. She wasn't really interviewed. They were taken by her photogenetic appearance, her feminity, her family, her values, nd what they bellieved to be her appeal, and completely missed that she wasn't ready. And she wasn't ready enough to know she wasn't ready. Not having a solid background in the issues to work with, she had to use talking points to their maximum, they restricted media access, and virtually had to let her know that she was both there to make McCain more popular, but was still not good enough to handle press. If she's personally steamed by these conflicting messages, and let herself "go rogue" a little to manuever for her future, I can sympathize, because there *has* to be a place to land.
I don't know that she will ever actually be ready in the sense of having the "cosmopolitian" outlook needed to handle a diverse nation of 300 million plus people of evey conceivable background and belief, and deal flexibly and intelligently on a world scene that requires a fine handle on when to use force, and when to be diplomatic. Her ability to absorb information was touted, but this skill only comes from constant searching and thinking, not from authority. I know this was something she tossed out there, but she said earlier her future role will be less partisan--Mrs. Palin, Governor? That will start with not seeing liberals as un-American, and learning to be compassionate before being demogogic.
The small picture is, she was the wrong person from the start. The big picture is, why would McCain have chosen her, and why wouldn't anyone in his campaign know how wrong a fit she was? Sloppy.
And now to Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt. Guys. I know you did a horrible job, but in my perfect world you run campaigns for national GOP candidates for a long time to come. Have them erratically visit their base in townhalls over and over. Limit their press when the going gets tough. Have'em look out of touch in odd situations, like in grocery stores. Go negative early while there's still plenty of time for your lies to be debunked and make your candidate look like an ass.
Oh, what else? Alienate whole geographic areas by calling them less patriotic. Adopt a mascot who insults the intelligence of working people! Get appealing to religious people and women all wrong by thinking of them as stereotypes. Ignore hispanic voters just about altogether even though they're a rising demographic. Um, be totally stupid about how to use technology, and send pleas for donations by mail like, once every two months, up to a few days before the election. (I don't know how my husband's name got on their mailing list, but damn. Mail. Slow. I considered sending a penny back in the postage paid return envelope, but decided that would be wrong. As would be the Obama literature. Or the advert for monster.com.)
And spend the end sinking money into hopeless causes like PA (my home state!) We've been blue for awhile. A good while. And pin your hopes on a smear that involved the coal miners! Who are unionized....the McCain camp was so stupid. You don't suppose the locals might've fought the smear already, did you? Addressed the claims in literature? And then addressed the membership directly once it was made an issue? 'Cause that's what I bet they did! My union president would've been robocalling all my people's butts if a matter concerned us.
And then do rallies more than GOTV at the very end, because you have no V to GO.
Geniuses. All.
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