You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry! by Jason Zengerle

[babylonsister]

You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry! by Jason Zengerle
Here's how Obama can get under McCain's (paper thin) skin at the debate.
Post Date Friday, September 26, 2008


Save for the odd trip to the White House and the hastily arranged press conference to respond to John McCain's suspension of the campaign, Barack Obama has spent the last three days in intense preparations for tonight's debate. Due to its chosen topic--foreign policy--those preparations have likely consisted of poring over maps of the Caucasus and pronunciation guides to Pakistani names. But, according to The Wall Street Journal, Obama and his advisers have also been spending time "considering how to provoke Senator McCain into anger."

Given McCain's history, that might not prove too difficult. Over the course of his political career--and, perhaps even more so, before it--McCain has often demonstrated a propensity for flying into red-faced rages. As McCain himself conceded in his book Worth the Fighting For, "My temper has often been both a matter of public speculation and personal concern. I have a temper, to state the obvious, which I have tried to control with varying degrees of success because it does not always serve my interest or the public's."

So, what might a debate-prep guide to pissing off McCain look like? Here's a version of one that could serve Obama well, with suggestions ranging from the obvious to the, uh, out of the box.

Question His Honor: In the past, there's been no better way to tick off McCain than by suggesting he's behaved dishonorably. The examples of McCain flying off the handle after having his honor questioned are too numerous to mention, but, to choose one random example, as reported by the Arizona Republic: In 1993, a Phoenix City Councilwoman named Kathy Dubs, who was opposed to the construction of a new airport that McCain supported, asked McCain how much property his relatives owned near the proposed site. "He slammed his fist to the table and stood up and said this meeting is over," Dubs recalled. "Then he pointed his finger at me and started calling me names. His staff was pulling him back, trying to get him to sit down."

There are any number of ways Obama could question McCain's honor. He might ask McCain whether he changed his positions on the Bush tax cuts and immigration and the Christian right out of principle, or simply because he needed to win the Republican nomination. Or Obama could accuse McCain of running a dishonorable campaign, as Obama's ads and spokesmen have already done. Chances are McCain will be on the lookout for this tactic of questioning his honor--and will have been sufficiently coached so he doesn't lose his cool--but it's a low-risk, high-yield proposition for Obama. He should at least try it.

Accuse Him of Grandstanding: It's somewhat related to questioning his honor--since it goes to motive--but McCain gets peeved when people accuse him of grandstanding. (Probably because the accusations are often true.) Just consider what happened last year, when, as The Washington Post reported, Texas Senator John Cornyn accused McCain of "parachut" into the final stages of negotiations over an immigration bill. "Fuck you!" McCain allegedly shouted at Cornyn. "I know more about this than anyone else in the room."

Obama might suggest McCain was grandstanding when he suspended his campaign and tried to postpone the debate. Or, if McCain brings up the celebrity stuff, Obama can easily pounce by pointing out that McCain's written five memoirs to Obama's two and been on Leno eleven times to Obama's one.

more...

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=a2281bdd-491c-4fff-98eb-44e55eb9e47d

[Waiting For Everyman]

1. Bring up the POW families in some way - any way at all. Guaranteed.