John McCain was recently stated: “To encourage a country with only rhetoric rather than sound and proven ideas that trust in the strength and courage of free people is not a promise of hope,” he said. “It is a platitude.” Great quote. While I really would not like to see McCain win, since I am a “populist liberal” by definition, I respect the fact that he is forcing Obama’s hand. Hopefully, he will succeed.
McCain response is due in part, I believe by his increasingly legitimate frustration in Obama’s ability to address the fundamental ideological divide that separates the two candidates. Obama can get away with that tactic with Hillary in so far as he has basically “cut and paste” her platform and made it his own. Obama threatens McCain’s campaign insofar as white, male conservatives consider Obama as a legitimate choice. It is quite incredible that white, male conservatives would even consider voting for Obama given the differences in their positions on various political issues. The McCain campaigners must certainly be shaking their heads in disbelief at this point. How could a white, conservative men even consider voting for Obama over McCain? It defies the laws of logic and ideological theory. Geroge Bush’s attempt to paint McCain as a “true conservative” may fall on deaf ears as it appears even conservative, white men can fall “gaga” over Obama.
I would really like to know what is going on inside these men’s brains. I have had male friends of mine tell confirm that they were quite comfortable voting for either McCain or Obama. Clearly, the huge ideological divide that seperate the two contenders makes little to no difference to them – the war (McCain’s claim tha we could be in it for the next 100 years vs. the troops need to be out now – Obama), immigration, taxation, education, healthcare, the list goes on…. Predicting who will win in various elections becomes more difficult when the decision about who these men will vote for is often irrational and emotional. (Yep, although men won’t always admit it…they can get quite emotional too).
The white male voter seems to be a problem for Hillary’s campaign as well. If men are voting “emotionally”, Hillary is also at a great disadvantage. Some men simply hate Hillary. White men are generally not comfortable with the idea of a woman in power. (This mentality even plays itself out on the elementary school playground – a boy on the playground wondered in disbelief how my son could support Hillary for president. The boy said to my son, “How could you support Hillary…she’s a girl! So there you have it out of the mouths of babes.) The fact is that a black male has a better chance at being elected president than a white woman. While racism still plays a role in who is elected, sexism is even more prevalent in politics and the business world. It’s too bad Edwards dropped out of the race. It’s too bad we don’t have a third party candidate. Maybe if there was more choice on the democratic side, it would never had come to so much mudslinging, emotional hype which Obama’s campaign is feeding on. Obama’s success is certainly not based on the strength of his arguments, vision or plan for the future. As long as Obama keeps those “change” signs posted behind himself at press conferences and drop the word, “change” in every speech at every moment, and people don’t challenge and question his rhetoric, I fear he will not rise to the challenge. Obama has a chance to be elected as president. Hopefully, it will not be without specific responses to serious issues facing this country. Hopefully, it will not be simply an “empty messages” of empty promises of change without some serious commitment and plan to do something if he is elected.
For a link to McCain’s comments on Obama lacking specifics, see video at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/obamavotersimpactmccaintoo
Filed under: politics
