Friday, September 05, 2008

That's Just the Way It Is

I didn’t catch my of John McCain’s speech at the GOP convention last night, but I did hear some highlights this morning. The whole “change” meme, coming from someone whose party has been in charge for most of the last eight year (c’mon, name one thing the Dems did in the last two years that the GOP didn’t sign off on) and who’s been in Washington for 25 years just seems . . .. Well, I like Tom Shales’s formulation:

He used the word 'change' at least 10 times in his bombastic speech -- the convention's emotional climax -- but since the Republicans have controlled the White House for the past eight years, what does McCain want to change from? And to? It really is an audacious ploy, to tell people that the country's got to correct the mistakes made by a political party when that's the very party you represent.

It's like staging a revolution against yourself -- saying that the Republicans have got to go so the Republicans can move in and clean up the mess.
“We’ve so screwed things up, let us have one more chance to fix it.” If I didn’t know better, I’d think the GOP was the abusive husband trying to convince his battered wife that, honestly honey, this time I’ll change!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Haa haa haa~!!

Like Biden is a newcomer! He's only 6 years younger than McCain, and has been in DC for 32+ years.

Puuulleezzzz, the change Barack/Biden brings is a black guy and the change McCain/Palin brings is a woman.

Course, I'm still rooting for Palin!

Paul said...

I suppose if Biden were running for President I'd care that he isn't a newcomer. But he's not.

It's Obama v McCain. Which offers more hope of change?

JD Byrne said...

"Change" can mean two things - either paradigm shifting foundational change or a more limited argument to try different solutions to problems.

Obama's narrative for a long time was that he was pushing the first kind of change. I agree, Muze, that his picking Biden as VP torpedoed that idea (in the same way that McCain choosing Palin torpedoed his "experience is the most important thing" argument).

The second kind of change is more realistic and comes out of the differences in approaches between the GOP and Dems. We've had 8 years of GOP control, so it would be a change to have the Dems run things.

We need the second kind of change ASAP and I damn well don't trust McCain to deliver it.

Anonymous said...

Well, if you're talking approach then McCain still wins. Why? Because he's been able to pull the support of people from both sides.

But, it still doesn't matter. Things in DC don't work the way common sense people think they should. It is a perverted place where nothing is done except to create still more "laws" for the people in this "land of the free."

I don't think Obama has the skill and experience needed to be an effective President. And if you challenge with "that's why Biden is on the ticket" I'll remind you of all the hell and damnation brought by people claiming Bush was too ignorant and inexperienced so Cheney was really running things.

Palin is in the catbird seat. She has the experience of working within government. McCain won't croak in office and everyone knows that, and by the time the next election rolls around she'll have the experience as VP to walk into the next slot.

McCain won't run for a second term.