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Every day is John McCain day on the Straight Talk Express
By Ned | January 27, 2008
To people who aren’t a member of the Straight Talk cult, it’s not really news that John McCain is an infallible font of wisdom and hard truths. But did you also know that he’s ill-prepared to answer any question that doesn’t involve war, Dirty Harry-style hardboiled dialogue, or worshipful exposition about how much of a total rebel this guy is? Todd Beeton has the scoop:
McCain was asked a question about education and it was just painful to watch. After stumbling through typical talking points (accountability, competition, blah blah) he actually said the words “look, other people will be more knowledgeable about the education system in Florda…” Mel Martinez stepped in to save him (followed by Lieberman who touted McCain’s experience and his ability to cut through that evil partisanship!) but as McCain turned over the microphone to Martinez, he looked over to the right of the camera and sort of shrugged his shoulders as if to say to an off-camera (and none-too-pleased) advisor, “what, it’s the best I could do.”
It’s oh so much more special than that, though. As Matthew Yglesias points out, his economy shtick is remarkably weak (and bonus points for yet another X-Men reference from the blog that coined the phrase “the Green Lantern Theory of Geopolitics”).
So what’s it gonna be, Florida? Is it going to be Romney, the guy who panders so aggressively it makes him sound half-crazed, or is it going to be McCain, the guy who’s aggressive pandering is cleverly masked by his rebellious play-acting, his incomprehension of domestic affairs and the possibility that he might actually be legitimately half-crazed?
(Obligatory Mitt Romney talking point parrotry: Also remember that choice #2 was endorsed by the New York Times. Not that this makes him a covert Marxist or anything, Republican voters of Florida. Nope, not one bit.)
Topics: The Media |