The Last Ride on the Straight Talk Express

[SHRED]

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And what a shitty ride it was.



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The Last Ride on the Straight Talk Express
By Mike Whitney
November 06, 2008 "Information Clearinghouse" -- -

In the end, all the fear-mongering and mud-slinging amounted to nothing. On Tuesday night, the McCain campaign fizzled out on the front lawn of the Biltmore Hotel in front of 7,000 downcast Republican loyalists. "Big Mac"--as the Arizona senator likes to call himself--made a gracious concession speech and offered congratulations to newly-elected President Barak Obama, but his words were drowned out by the boos and cat-calls rising from the crowd. The same acrimony and viciousness which characterized the entire campaign, dragged on to the very end. McCain ran the dirtiest campaign in recent memory and his attempt cover it over with a few uplifting platitudes won't save his reputation from lasting damage. At no point, did McCain try to stay above the fray or address the central issues of war, economic stagnation or the financial crisis. Instead, he chose the low road at every turn invoking Karl Rove's Swift boat tactics by focusing all his attention on Reverend Jeremiah Wright, ex-Weatherman Bill Ayers and Rashid Khalidi---anything to avoid a real debate on the issues or exposing a party platform which features just two worn planks; tax cuts and war. That's what made McCain the perfect choice for the GOP, because he embodies the ideologically-muddled worldview that pervades the party's core doctrine. Today's Republican party is a rudderless ship drifting in an open sea. Everything it once held dear--fiscal conservatism, small government, non intervention, civil liberties--has been jettisoned for the sake of staying in power and rewarding its constituents. McCain is just the last in a long line of Pharisees and opportunists who hide behind their lapel-pins and faux patriotism so they can smear their enemies with impunity while gorging themselves at the public trough. The 2008 campaign should prove, once and for all, that the only thing that really matters to McCain is winning. His attacks on Obama were sleazy and vindictive. But he lost anyway. He disgraced himself for nothing.

The Sarah Palin choice was a cynical attempt to trivialize the process by turning the election into a public relations scam. No one from either party thought that the shotgun-toting fundamentalist was the most qualified candidate. It was pure theater conjured by poll-driven advisers who were desperate to create some kind of "buzz" around the faltering campaign. Palin not only brought energy and charisma, but also the possibility of attracting angry Hillary Clinton supporters and independents, which the original intention. But the whole matter was badly bungled. Instead of using Palin to reach out to centrist voters, she was dispatched to conservative backwaters where she served up hearty portions of red meat to the base. What a waste. An ABC survey showed that a significant number of independents and conservatives were turned off by Palins antics and shifted their votes from McCain to Obama after she was added to the ticket. Palin became just another albatross on a sinking ship.

CONTINUED:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21163.htm



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[yellowcanine]

1. I knew it was all over when McCain resorted to "My friends, the MAC is back!" in Pennsylvania

after lowering his voice to a stage whisper and saying, "The Pundits have written us off."