August 1, 2008--Just Words?
It’s only August 1st and already John McCain has gone, as they put it, negative.
This in spite of his seemingly deeply-felt pledge when he sewed up the nomination to run on the high road. He made this pledge as the result of having the Republican nomination snatched away from him back in 2000 by the George Bush campaign. Especially during the critical South Carolina primary where Karl Rove and his character assassins launched a successful whisper campaign that McCain had “fathered” a black child. He assured voters that he was not going to do the same thing.
Well, that was then and this is now. Now some of the same key Republican politicos who worked closely with Rove on Bush’s two campaigns (the Swift-Boat boys) are leading McCain’s and, guess what, it’s starting to sound like 2000 and 2008 all over again.
Likely sputtering with frustration and perhaps even some jealous rage (as you can see I’m going negative too) over Barack Obama’s recent triumphant trip overseas, which culminated in a public speech in Berlin that drew an enthusiastic crowd of more than 200,000—many, if you can believe it, waving American flags—McCain yesterday mocked Obama’s success, claiming that all he is is a “celebrity” in an empty Hugo Boss suit. “Fans” turn out to see him only because they idolize him as if he were a rock star.
In an ad that he ran, which graphically stakes out this claim, McCain, in words and images, literally compared Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The voice over says that like those two who are famous-for-being-famous, Obama is equally famous and like them “not fit to lead.”
I guess that eliminates Paris as a possible Obama running mate. Too bad. It would have been a hoot.
When asked yesterday if he really endorsed this ad or was it an example of some of his campaign-minions-run-wild, McCain said that in fact it was an ad that he not only authorized but one about which he is “proud.” (See NY Times story linked below.)
If Obama were as mean-spirited and desperate as John McCain and had not responded more in sadness than in anger, I wonder whom he might have compared McCain to.
Since I’m not nearly as classy, I would have wondered out loud that maybe while McCain was held captive in North Vietnam they had turned him into a version of the Manchurian Candidate. You remember that one—he was the lead character in a film of that title who when a prisoner during the Korean War was brainwashed so that when back in the States, via a secret cue, he would robotically carry out political assignations. Perhaps McCain is the Hanoi Candidate. And if so, who knows what he might do when elected.
We do remember him in his dated rock star mode when he bopped out his own little ditty, to the tune of the Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann—“Bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb Iran.”
And if these words count as a small window into this old flyboy’s psyche, so do Obama’s. In fact ever leader’s and all aspiring leaders’ words count. They are not just words but they also embody ideas. And at their best they can inspire—for good or ill. Great leaders, potential great leaders, all invariably are fine public speakers. And not just because they are better than others at delivering talks. Though that counts too. Especially in a media-saturated age.
Lincoln’s of course were remarkable. He inspired millions to fight and sacrifice their lives to preserve the Union and eliminate the scourge of slavery. FDR went a long way to calm the nation suffering during the Depression when he told us “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Other millions volunteered for the Peace Corps when JFK urged us to ask what we could do for our country. Additional millions marched when Martin Luther King shared his “dream” with us. And Ronald Reagan helped topple communism when he challenged the Soviet leadership, while speaking in Berlin, to “tear down this wall.”
Mind you, I am not comparing Obama to any of these men—he and McCain for that matter are now just about their potential--but before Lincoln and FDR and King and Reagan got any of us to follow them they needed to inspire and convince us that they were worthy of leadership. They did so primarily by sharing ideas with us—as opposed to offering mere words devoid of thought.
Thus, John McCain, a great speech is more than words and theatrics, it’s primarily about ideas to live by. So give it a try. See how you can do. Then, let’s talk.
This in spite of his seemingly deeply-felt pledge when he sewed up the nomination to run on the high road. He made this pledge as the result of having the Republican nomination snatched away from him back in 2000 by the George Bush campaign. Especially during the critical South Carolina primary where Karl Rove and his character assassins launched a successful whisper campaign that McCain had “fathered” a black child. He assured voters that he was not going to do the same thing.
Well, that was then and this is now. Now some of the same key Republican politicos who worked closely with Rove on Bush’s two campaigns (the Swift-Boat boys) are leading McCain’s and, guess what, it’s starting to sound like 2000 and 2008 all over again.
Likely sputtering with frustration and perhaps even some jealous rage (as you can see I’m going negative too) over Barack Obama’s recent triumphant trip overseas, which culminated in a public speech in Berlin that drew an enthusiastic crowd of more than 200,000—many, if you can believe it, waving American flags—McCain yesterday mocked Obama’s success, claiming that all he is is a “celebrity” in an empty Hugo Boss suit. “Fans” turn out to see him only because they idolize him as if he were a rock star.
In an ad that he ran, which graphically stakes out this claim, McCain, in words and images, literally compared Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The voice over says that like those two who are famous-for-being-famous, Obama is equally famous and like them “not fit to lead.”
I guess that eliminates Paris as a possible Obama running mate. Too bad. It would have been a hoot.
When asked yesterday if he really endorsed this ad or was it an example of some of his campaign-minions-run-wild, McCain said that in fact it was an ad that he not only authorized but one about which he is “proud.” (See NY Times story linked below.)
If Obama were as mean-spirited and desperate as John McCain and had not responded more in sadness than in anger, I wonder whom he might have compared McCain to.
Since I’m not nearly as classy, I would have wondered out loud that maybe while McCain was held captive in North Vietnam they had turned him into a version of the Manchurian Candidate. You remember that one—he was the lead character in a film of that title who when a prisoner during the Korean War was brainwashed so that when back in the States, via a secret cue, he would robotically carry out political assignations. Perhaps McCain is the Hanoi Candidate. And if so, who knows what he might do when elected.
We do remember him in his dated rock star mode when he bopped out his own little ditty, to the tune of the Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann—“Bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb Iran.”
And if these words count as a small window into this old flyboy’s psyche, so do Obama’s. In fact ever leader’s and all aspiring leaders’ words count. They are not just words but they also embody ideas. And at their best they can inspire—for good or ill. Great leaders, potential great leaders, all invariably are fine public speakers. And not just because they are better than others at delivering talks. Though that counts too. Especially in a media-saturated age.
Lincoln’s of course were remarkable. He inspired millions to fight and sacrifice their lives to preserve the Union and eliminate the scourge of slavery. FDR went a long way to calm the nation suffering during the Depression when he told us “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Other millions volunteered for the Peace Corps when JFK urged us to ask what we could do for our country. Additional millions marched when Martin Luther King shared his “dream” with us. And Ronald Reagan helped topple communism when he challenged the Soviet leadership, while speaking in Berlin, to “tear down this wall.”
Mind you, I am not comparing Obama to any of these men—he and McCain for that matter are now just about their potential--but before Lincoln and FDR and King and Reagan got any of us to follow them they needed to inspire and convince us that they were worthy of leadership. They did so primarily by sharing ideas with us—as opposed to offering mere words devoid of thought.
Thus, John McCain, a great speech is more than words and theatrics, it’s primarily about ideas to live by. So give it a try. See how you can do. Then, let’s talk.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
8:03 AM
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