McCain's New Attack Speech

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:39:46 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)

Share This: Digg!

I am watching John McCain delivering his new attack speech. And he is proving himself perhaps one of the most inept politicians we have ever seen. John McCain can not even deliver a good attack speech - a Republican specialty. He is really terrible at it. Palin really is ten times the political talent he is. The GOP needs to hide McCain, not Palin.

McCain just said the country is in its "worst financial crisis since the Great Depression." Two weeks ago "the fundamentals of the economy were strong." Now he is bragging about his "suspension" of his campaign. The man defines erratic. Not only is he a reckless, feckless, blithering idiot, he is perhaps the worst politician to run for President since Michael Dukakis. He is that bad at it.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

< Bailout Part 2: How About Main Street This Time? | McCain Shifts Attack to Supreme Court >

Legal

Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice. TalkLeft does not give legal advice.

TalkLeft is not responsible for and often disagrees with material posted in the comments section. Read at your own risk.

McCain's New Attack Speech | 28 comments (28 topical)

Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

I'm listening to the same speech. (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by LarryInNYC on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:44:40 PM EST

Actually, I think he's pretty good. He's hitting every negative message on Obama, true or false (mostly false) without shame. He is a man without shame. But that's a powerful advantage in politics.

The Keating five is not enough to fight back against this.

I had a similar reaction. It's old-style (none / 0) (#5)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:49:18 PM EST

barnburning, which doesn't move me -- nor does he. But considering it's the untelegenic McCain, it's making for not bad tv. (Btw, did you hear what sounded like hecklers? I hope that crap is not going to continue; it does Dems no good. It only energizes the base, as did the guys who kept interrupting Kerry when I saw him in my town. The hecklers may have gotten Kerry the 11,400 votes in that crowd alone that put him barely over the top in my state.)

[ Parent ]

Amazing (none / 0) (#8)
by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:54:37 PM EST

That was easily the worst attack speech I have ever seen delivered. Bar none.

It was AWFUL. Unbelievably awful.

[ Parent ]

Well. . . (5.00 / 0) (#10)
by LarryInNYC on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:59:44 PM EST

I sure as heck hope you're right and I'm wrong.

[ Parent ]

Unlike normal. n/t (none / 0) (#11)
by LarryInNYC on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:00:11 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Yep (none / 0) (#12)
by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:02:47 PM EST

I missed it on that whole Obama is the Media Darling thing.

Oh and the 2006 election? Yep, all wrong.

[ Parent ]

: Well. . . (none / 0) (#15)
by LarryInNYC on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:15:27 PM EST

I think everyone spotted that media thing going on with Obama. And I don't recall having a disagreement with you over the 2006 election.
Anyway, I sure hope you're right that that was a terrible speech. It's pretty clear they're willing to do literally anything (rather than the figurative "do anything" we usually talk about).

[ Parent ]

Was it really worse (5.00 / 1) (#25)
by Steve M on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 04:18:58 PM EST

than the infamous "green screen" speech?

"My friends, that's not change we can believe in! [sickly smile]"

[ Parent ]

I'd like to think (none / 0) (#17)
by jondee on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:22:17 PM EST

the reason its bad is because his heart really isnt in it, due to a small spark of benignity left that still hasnt scotched by prolonged exposure to the GOP slime-beast.

Also, his hemmorhoids could be flaring up again.

[ Parent ]

: If there was ever anything benign (5.00 / 1) (#18)
by litigatormom on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:29:26 PM EST

about McCain, it's long gone.
I haven't seen the speech, but I assume it will show up at TPM or Youtube.

[ Parent ]

Here is the text (none / 0) (#21)
by litigatormom on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:38:09 PM EST

In print, it just sounds rambling and hypocritical, inasmuch as he accuses Obama of being touchy about his character!!!

[ Parent ]

He's about to be put out of his misery. . . (none / 0) (#1)
by andgarden on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:40:29 PM EST

Agreed. (none / 0) (#3)
by Dalton Hoffine on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:47:08 PM EST

I watched the speech, too, on CNN. I came away remembering no clear line of attack. There were some things here and there--tax policy, questionable associations, "who is Obama"?, etc., but there was nothing there that was very memorable or linear.

I think the McCain campaign is pretty poor at building the meta-narrative. I'm not too pleased with Obama bringing up Keating V--I'd rather see him deliver a strong rebuttal to the questionable ties claims, and then launch a massive offensive of economic populism that demands the conversation stay centered on the economy. That's his winning issue. I think he may be up far enough that he'll win despite the tightening, but... I think strategically, it'd be a better move to perhaps... create a website, and a massive surrogate campaign to "Focus on Our Economic Problems."

Constantly give out solutions, demand that John McCain look at our economy and provide solutions himself. It'll make him look more focused, and like a leader, and it'll make McCain's camp look more like a sinking ship than they already do.

Did you see McCain's promise (none / 0) (#7)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:53:53 PM EST

to balance the budget in four years? That's not a solution, of course, but I suppose we can go to his website for those, too. (I.e., I'm not hearing either candidate elucidate specifics in their speeches.)

Has Obama made that (perilous) promise? If he did, I bet it wouldn't be buried -- I agree re the rambling nature of McCain's speech, more of a laundry list than a focused message for impact.

[ Parent ]

How is he going to balance (5.00 / 0) (#19)
by litigatormom on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:30:47 PM EST

the budget with a $700 billion bailout package AND tax cuts?

The same way Ronald Reagan did (that is, not)?

[ Parent ]

I heard that. (none / 0) (#9)
by Dalton Hoffine on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:58:22 PM EST

He did talk about the $10T debt for just a moment, and balancing the budget by the end of this first term.

I don't think Obama has promised to balance the budget, no. I don't think either of them can erase a $10T debt in four years, either. We'll see. Aside from the Keating V documentary released at noon today, all the Obama statements I've seen today have been directly related to solutions for the economy. McCain hasn't been focusing in on that at all.

[ Parent ]

: Yeh, it took even Bill Clinton (none / 0) (#14)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:05:55 PM EST

more than four years, as I recall -- and he had a much better grasp of the economy. And he inherited a budget deficit, not an economic disaster.
I'll look for more of those Obama statements. The only one I saw was one of those "look, over there!" Plouffian deflections re Ayers.
But now I'm watching the British parliament, dealing with the banking problems in Europe, too.

[ Parent ]

Exactly (none / 0) (#13)
by Big Tent Democrat on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:04:25 PM EST

It was scattershot and formless - and nasty and well, utterly ineffective if you ask me.

More of this from McCain please.

Compare to Palin's attack speech this morning. Night and day.

[ Parent ]

: right (none / 0) (#16)
by sarany on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:22:12 PM EST

as I said in the Supreme Court thread:

is he shooting at everything, or what?
I think that this rapid fire, scattergun, let's-try-this-one behavior is only going to cement the growing perception that this guy is the original loose cannon. And a desperate one, at that.

And the thing is, that people who don't hear Palin or McCain speak, but only hear the ever growing laundry list of attacks via media reports are going to conclude this behavior means the campaign is just trying anything now. And McCain, as campaign leader, is unPresidential.

[ Parent ]

Geez!! (none / 0) (#4)
by AscotMan on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:47:56 PM EST

He has just accused him of taking money from Palestinians. (Foreign Palestinians - to be exact).

The Obama campaign has to fight this back directly and quickly!!

Sen. Obama is on C-Span now. (none / 0) (#6)
by oculus on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 02:50:07 PM EST

Quite professorial; speaking at a rapid clip.

Professorial isn't the right response (none / 0) (#20)
by litigatormom on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:31:59 PM EST

to this kind of crap.

He should call McCain what he is: a desperate man trying to save his political skin now that his economic policies have proven to be totally bankrupt (pun intended).

[ Parent ]

: Plouffe is saying that for him (none / 0) (#22)
by Cream City on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:47:56 PM EST

as usual. Obama studied up on Reagan, after all -- the first teflon president.

[ Parent ]

McCain is a badly behaved teen (none / 0) (#23)
by koshembos on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:52:21 PM EST

Bush has the mentality of a toddler and now the Republican have move on to teenagers. Actually, McCain is not a smart and balanced teenager; he is somewhat of a delinquent. He troughs tantrums, he uses only his instincts, he is a light weight in the grown up world. He'll go to war at the trough of a hat, he'll stay there for a hundred years.

Without the massive infrastructure of the right wing, he would have imploded months ago. Well, Obama has to make that case; I am not sure he will.

A strong economy (none / 0) (#24)
by nycstray on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 04:09:39 PM EST

just heard a financial guy say that on the news, followed with Schumer repeating it. Things are going to be bumpy, but basically we have a strong economy . . .

Dare I say "bring it on"? (none / 0) (#26)
by Pegasus on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 04:26:51 PM EST

I do so dare, in fact.

Honestly, this late in the game, the only people this will affect have already made their minds up against Obama. I can't imagine this having anything but a negative impact with remaining undecideds.

If anything, it'll just harden Obama's numbers. Just fine with me, since he's sitting >50%.

This was a genuinely ugly, fear mongering speech (none / 0) (#27)
by esmense on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 05:47:39 PM EST

that deserves and needs to be condemned.

Obama supporters would serve our side better if they spent more time condemning this kind of politicking and less time indulging in it -- like Josh Marshall does by promoting the idea of a scarey and secretly "out of control" John McCain referenced in a later post on this site.

palin is a better (none / 0) (#28)
by cpinva on Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 04:05:00 AM EST

politician than mccain? why, because she looks prettier in a dress? she's as much of a rambling idiot as mccain, just younger; she doesn't have the excuse of early-onset alzheimers.

if you actually listen to gov. palin, or read the transcripts, she spouts either republican talking points (which usually make no sense), or disconnected words that, once in a great while, form a complete, if incoherent, sentence. this puts her on par, linguistically, with pres. bush.

how, exactly, does that qualify her as a better politician than mccain?