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Rich: Focus On McCain, Not Palin

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 08:58:03 PM EST
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Who'da thunk it, Frank Rich gets one right:

How do you run against that flashy flimflam? You don’t. Karl Rove for once gave the Democrats a real tip rather than a bum steer when he wrote last week that if Obama wants to win, “he needs to remember he’s running against John McCain for president,” not Palin for vice president. Obama should keep stepping up the blitz on McCain’s flip-flops, confusion, ignorance and blurriness on major issues (from education to an exit date from Iraq), rather than her gaffes and résumé. If he focuses voters on the 2008 McCain, the Palin question will take care of itself.

He gets it wrong on invoking Bush (he counsels against it), but Rich getting it half right is a miracle these days.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

< McCain = Bush's Third Term, Part XXX | On Palinpalooza >

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    Rich: Focus On McCain, Not Palin | 12 comments (12 topical)

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    Maude, this is so boring (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by echinopsia on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 09:20:19 PM EST
    It's all Palin all the time or all Bush's third term all the time.

    This was supposed to be an electrifying election. Even with the addition of Palin it's boring. It's impossible to feel like there's something important at stake here. Yawn.

    No matter who wins, we're screwed.

    Rich gets Palin's doppelganger right. (5.00 / 2) (#4)
    by clio on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 09:34:40 PM EST
    Palin is not Bush in a skirt.
    She is Cheney in an upswept hairdo:
    "frontier" upbringing, hunting ethos, gun rights advocacy, penchant for secrecy, use of government machinery for personal vendettas and all.

    Even worse, just like Cheney, Palin while frequently completely wrong, is never in doubt especially about the efficacy of unilateral force in foreign policy, the superfluity of civil rights, and contempt for legislative oversight of the executive.  

    We can haz Hillary back now pleez? n/t (5.00 / 2) (#5)
    by echinopsia on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 09:56:02 PM EST


    Rich (1.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 10:03:53 PM EST
    is wrong in the excerpt you posted. He makes it sound like we should talk about how McCain is old etc. Personal attacks do nothing to help Obama. The problem with McCain is that his stances on the issues.

    He may be right about Bush though. To me, the constant invocation of Bush does nothing. I don't care about Bush. He's old news. He's going to be gone. I'm tired of the "I'm not Bush" campaign the Dems have been running for years now. It makes sense the personal campaign McCain is running because no one likes his stances on the issues. It doesn't make sense for Dems to run away from their issues. If you can't be "loud and proud" about what you stand for then why should anyone deem you worthy of their vote?

    Stopped clock, and all that. (none / 0) (#1)
    by LarryInNYC on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 09:04:56 PM EST
    I wouldn't hypothesize one way or the other from a Frank Rich column.

    heh (none / 0) (#2)
    by andgarden on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 09:06:53 PM EST


    Parent
    After all these many months, we should care (none / 0) (#11)
    by PssttCmere08 on Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 09:02:53 AM EST
    what Frank Rich has to say...I think not.  

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    Exception that proves the rule (none / 0) (#7)
    by Swiggs on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 10:09:02 PM EST
    The sad thing about Frank Rich - he used to be a great writer.  Maybe he still is when he's not writing about politics.  His autobiography, Ghostlight, is a great book.

    His political columns are routinely awful and generally clueless.  He mostly isn't helping the causes he believe in.

    His theater criticism (none / 0) (#8)
    by jar137 on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 10:44:31 PM EST
    and taste were also decidely middlebrow.  Rich is a good writer, but a mediocre thinker.

    Parent
    LOL! eom (none / 0) (#13)
    by Swiggs on Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 10:29:35 AM EST


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    How did this ever happen! (none / 0) (#9)
    by mmc9431 on Sat Sep 13, 2008 at 10:49:24 PM EST
    It's a sad state of affairs when Karl Rove is giving Obama better advice than his own advisers

    Really doesn't make any difference if the (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by PssttCmere08 on Sun Sep 14, 2008 at 09:03:44 AM EST
    intended target is not listening.

    Parent
    Rich: Focus On McCain, Not Palin | 12 comments (12 topical)

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