red states rule
09-21-2008, 06:13 AM
It seems Obama is not the outsider, is not offering change, and is really a typical politican
HANSON: Obama proves all too human
Victor Davis Hanson
Sunday, September 21, 2008
snip
Mr. Obama's change was aimed against long tenure in Washington - or so he hammered away at Hillary Clinton for nearly a year.
But then suddenly he picked as his vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, the consummate Washington insider. That attempt at balance was understandable, but it only seemed to legitimize opposition charges that Mr. Obama himself valued long D.C. experience - and was no less calculating than any other politician.
Next Mr. Obama attacked outsider Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin for her own unfamiliarity with national government. Fair enough. But again, that tactic still bothered voters: Wasn't the Alaskan governor a fresh - and welcome - face just like first-term Sen. Obama? And wasn't Mr. Biden a stale old-timer in Washington - and if so, as suspect as veteran John McCain? And, come to think of it, wouldn't it have been better to have the experienced candidate at the top of the ticket, balanced by the outsider at the bottom, rather than vice versa?
Suddenly we are hearing constantly about sex and age in this campaign - and that also deflates St. Obama, who promised not just to be the better choice, but the better person. He once ran as a post-racial candidate, until Mr. Obama's past associates like the racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright cast doubt on that.
And why was Gov. Sarah Palin characterized by Mr. Obama as a mere small-town mayor - and by Biden as a "lieutenant governor," as well as "good-looking" and, given her positions, "a step backward" for women?
The pro-Obama media don't help, sneering about what Mrs. Palin wears, whether she spends enough time with her kids, and the minutiae of her husband's past conduct. The public certainly never hears about Mr. Biden's grooming, how much time he spent with his children when they were young, or his spouse's private life.
Now a trailing Mr. Obama wants to get tougher and go more negative - in part by raising doubts about Mr. McCain's age. Mr. Obama's clumsy reference to putting "lipstick on a pig" raised, rightly or wrongly, charges of sexism, and in the same manner his reference to a stinky "old fish" was connected with John McCain - who, Mr. Obama earlier scoffed, was "losing his bearings."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/21/obama-proves-all-too-human/
HANSON: Obama proves all too human
Victor Davis Hanson
Sunday, September 21, 2008
snip
Mr. Obama's change was aimed against long tenure in Washington - or so he hammered away at Hillary Clinton for nearly a year.
But then suddenly he picked as his vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, the consummate Washington insider. That attempt at balance was understandable, but it only seemed to legitimize opposition charges that Mr. Obama himself valued long D.C. experience - and was no less calculating than any other politician.
Next Mr. Obama attacked outsider Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin for her own unfamiliarity with national government. Fair enough. But again, that tactic still bothered voters: Wasn't the Alaskan governor a fresh - and welcome - face just like first-term Sen. Obama? And wasn't Mr. Biden a stale old-timer in Washington - and if so, as suspect as veteran John McCain? And, come to think of it, wouldn't it have been better to have the experienced candidate at the top of the ticket, balanced by the outsider at the bottom, rather than vice versa?
Suddenly we are hearing constantly about sex and age in this campaign - and that also deflates St. Obama, who promised not just to be the better choice, but the better person. He once ran as a post-racial candidate, until Mr. Obama's past associates like the racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright cast doubt on that.
And why was Gov. Sarah Palin characterized by Mr. Obama as a mere small-town mayor - and by Biden as a "lieutenant governor," as well as "good-looking" and, given her positions, "a step backward" for women?
The pro-Obama media don't help, sneering about what Mrs. Palin wears, whether she spends enough time with her kids, and the minutiae of her husband's past conduct. The public certainly never hears about Mr. Biden's grooming, how much time he spent with his children when they were young, or his spouse's private life.
Now a trailing Mr. Obama wants to get tougher and go more negative - in part by raising doubts about Mr. McCain's age. Mr. Obama's clumsy reference to putting "lipstick on a pig" raised, rightly or wrongly, charges of sexism, and in the same manner his reference to a stinky "old fish" was connected with John McCain - who, Mr. Obama earlier scoffed, was "losing his bearings."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/21/obama-proves-all-too-human/