Look, John McCain is going to have to do much better than pretend this campaign is all about image and militarism. We have Americans with record debt, losing their homes, stagnant wages, anxious about having to pay for two mismanaged wars, and an economy that's surviving only because the feds have bailed out large banking institutions (most, no doubt, run by Republicans).
As well, real Americans are tired of living on their knees, and being told to be afraid because the al-Qaeda boogeyman is around the corner. It's time for Republicans to grow up (and grow a spine).
With his convention over, John McCain isn't going to have the platform to fill America with images of 9/11 in the future (which was a pretty transparent and pathetic use of fear). And the P.O.W. meme is officialy old hat. Someone needs to tell McCain's campaign that, outside of the fear-drenched halls of Republicanlandia, that Propaganda Time is over.
Then we have the lies ...
To say that Obama wants to close markets is a lie.
To say that Obama wants to bring back "old jobs" ignores everything Obama said in his speech, and what he has laid out in his economic proposals ... which counts for another lie.
To say that Obama "wants" to raise government spending, while McCain ignored the Republican-led spending binge under President Bush counts as a "two-fer" lie
To say that Obama wants to raise taxes, while Republicans want to lower them, is another two-fer lie.
There's more, but we have to grant McCain the benefit of the doubt. It's his perogative to turn "his" convention into a Propaganda Circus. And besides, it appears Republicans enjoy the emotional kick they get from dreaming about Neverland ... a place where Republicans never have to think about paying the national debt ... where Republicans never have to think about telling the truth ... where Republicans never have to think about accountability ... where Republicans never have to think about the hypocrisy of invoking the good name of Jesus while passing judgment, embracing war, and foaming at the mouth like a feudal mob for the death penalty ...
One of my favorite moments, though, was when John McCain wanted to play off the Republican-hatred of public school teachers (Republicans hate/fear many groups; that's their big tent). In his speech, he commented that he wanted to help the bad teachers "find another line of work." As if on cue, the drones lept to their feet to cheer, pretending they care about accountability ... in the process ignoring the fact that they condoned more than 7 years of incompetence and lies from President Bush's administration. But this is the beauty of living in Neverland ...
At the end of the day, McCain's convention was a metaphor for the Republican Party over the past 7+ years - living a lie in Neverland, where you never have to face the facts, and propaganda never fails to make everything better ...
- Mark
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