Dude, it’s already over.
That’s my answer to Mat’s previous post, “Will it end tomorrow?” (the VP debate) - I say, dude, it’s over right now. Seriously, unless some insane “October surprise” materializes, I don’t see how McCain’s stagnant campaign can regain enough ground to surpass O’Biden.
McCain has been doing everything wrong these past couple of weeks. My wild guess is that, even at this late hour, McCain just doesn’t “get it.” He still thinks he’s a media darling, a loveable maverick who gets buckets of kudos for thumbing his nose at his own party. It hasn’t sunk in with him that, while the media may like him most of the time, when set against a true-blue hard-left socialist liberal like Obama, there’s no way in hell that they’re not going to drop McCain like a sack of hot rocks.
I love Neal Boortz, used to listen to his show all the time (I can’t pick it up here in Lincoln anymore, 95.1 went “adult contemporary” lulz). He’s got a very sobering commentary in his show notes today. In short, he’s certain that McCain will lose. For what it’s worth, Boortz was also sure that Kerry would win, too… so maybe there’s a glimmer of hope.
Filed under: Dead Politics
bettina said:
It’s like Mat said in one of the podcasts. McCain is surrounded by people who always agree with him. He needs someone in his posse to tell him the truth .. tell him to quit acting like a douche.
Oh yeah … I bought one and I’m gonna wear it till the election is over!
bettina said:
http://www.metroparkusa.com/fashion/women/item/4315/Barack-Shades-Dog-Tag
Fake Larry said:
I hope you’ve learned from this experience, Jeff. Repeatedly claiming that you weren’t even backing the candidate of your party in the first place doesn’t absolve you from accepting hundreds of “in your face” comments. It seems the only choices are to be a bad loser or a bad winner.
You totally lose, or whatever. Sort of. I guess.
Jeff said:
I’m not following you, Larry. I’m not trying to deflect anything…
I absolutely, 100% want McCain/Palin to win. I absolutely want Obama/Biden to lose. How is that wishy-washy? I’m just realistic about where things are right now, and I think it’s always a good policy to laugh at things, especially ourselves. Do you expect me to lie and say that McCain’s campaign is kicking ass right now? They’re doing a horrible, horrible job!
I don’t really like McCain that much, which I’ve expressed all along. He doesn’t excite me, I don’t like a lot of the things he’s done. He most definitely was not my first (or 2nd, or 3rd…) choice. He won the Republican nomination not on his own merits as a candidate, but rather because of a crowded field and some hanky-panky with Mike Huckabee. Remember, even Bush Jr. beat McCain in the 2000 Republican primary… and that was back when McCain was 8 years younger! (no “he’s too old” baggage)
The end result is that the party has a weaker ticket now than it could have had… and it will probably lose because of that. If we’re talking about Palin specifically (the context being the VP debate tonight) then I think she has great potential, but she’s been handled all wrong by the McCain campaign. Instead of using her as a tool to shore up conservatives, they’ve sent her out into hostile territory to court people who would never vote for McCain in a million years. Dumbass move.
As much as I dislike McCain, I’m even further away from O’Biden. They’re literally the most left-wing ticket in American history. So I just fall in with the Republicans by default.
For what it’s worth, I’m registered “independent.” If I didn’t want the smug satisfaction of being able to say “I cancelled out Mat’s vote,” I’d be voting for Bob Barr from the Libertarian Party.
I guess everything is more clearly visible when you’re perched comfortably atop the fence
Fake Larry said:
I was joking.
But you did say several times that you weren’t in favor of McCain, and during the back and forth between you and MaT, you often deflected his “in your face, Republican!” comments by saying you didn’t care much for McCain anyway, so it didn’t mean much when MaT referred to him as “your guy”.
It seemed like you were pointing out that MaT was kind of wasting his time teasing you about someone you weren’t really defending to begin with. That’s why I said it’s funny that it doesn’t matter how realistic you were, you’re going to get the brickbats just for being on the other side.
And I think that’s funny, and it’s a little sad too. One thing about being on the fence is that you get a clear view of the playing field, and realize most of the players aren’t throwing rocks at the other people for specific reasons, just throwing them at the other side simply because it happens to be the other side. If you look at it too long, you realize the whole thing is insane to the point of pointlessness.
I gotta say I like Barr better than the two party guys, but Libertarianism bugs me as much as the other Two. Some really great ideas, some not-so-great ideas, and a lot of great ideas that “work on paper” but won’t really work the way they say in practical application.
MaT said:
Jeff’s a libertarian. Although I don’t know if he’s actually ever VOTED for a libertarian candidate?
Jeff said:
I’ve been all over the place. I even voted for Nader in 2000! (wasn’t a follower of politics back then, obviously).
The plight of the 3rd party, Libertarians, Greens, etc, is that they never have a legitimate chance in major elections, especially the presidency. There have been a handful of 3rd party folks in the House/Senate.
So the best way to promote 3rd parties is to vote for them in state/local elections, where they’re more likely to succeed. Vote for the Libertarian candidate for city council, or for your state senate, etc. Then, hopefully, it will snowball and those individuals will move up in the ranks.
Changwa Steve said:
You…know that Obama isn’t a socialist, right? Please tell me that you know this.
Fake Larry said:
“Jeff’s a libertarian.”
I’m contiually amazed at the fact that I’m always paying close attention to what’s happening around me, yet I understand less and less of it anyway.
When will I learn to stop thinking?
MaT said:
It just seems sort of odd to protest Obama by voting McCain, someone you have said doesn’t share any of your values when there is a perfectly legitimate Libertarian candidate that probably agrees with you on most issues.
I guess I’d argue that one way to grow the Libertarian/3rd party movement would be to make a splash on the national level. That would show that the grassroots support is more than just a couple random dudes here and their bouncing between Bob Barr and Ron Paul
Jeff said:
It’s the only pragmatic thing to do. Voting for Bob Barr has about as much real-world impact as posting on a blog… oh, wait
Foo of HorrorMovieFans.com said:
I considered myself a Libertarian, until the party became a haven for crazies. Now I just consider myself to be a fiscal conservative, who can go either way on most social issues.
bettina said:
I registered as independent too.
We need to get someone who isn’t a complete dumbazz out there on our ticket!