The Heels Come on, and the Gloves Come off… in the media.
McCain, who didn’t have the ability or desire to even look at his opponent in the first Presidential debate, has become a pro at mudslinging alongside his running mate. While it may not be appropriate in Tuesday’s town hall style debate, the Republicans are turning up the dial on the nasty factor right before it. First came Palin’s weekend remarks at the rally, and now an ad has been released by McCain’s campaign calling Obama dishonorable and dangerous.
With less than 30 days left, the media is running with the new turn of events by churning out stories about McCain’s temper and Palin’s pit bull nature. The debates are covered in three phases: the pre debate (what the viewer can expect), the debate itself, and the post debate (what the viewer saw), which includes the Saturday Night Live parodies. In the end, unless one of the candidates makes a major mistake or acts in such a way that the media can’t let it go (say it ain’t so, Joe- wink, wink), the debate is fairly self-contained. Rallies, interviews gone wrong, gaffes in the public arena, and ads are bounced around by the media weeks and weeks after the interest in the debate has waned. Palin says that now is the time for the gloves to come off (and the heels go on). That pit bull, fighting mentality was virtually invisible during her one debate, but she’s completely comfortable to come out swinging in the media-saturated public arena. At her rally, she said very little of substance, misquoted Albright, and alluded to her footwear and fighting ability. Washington Post Columnist, Dana Milbank writes the following:
Palin also told those gathered that Obama doesn’t like American soldiers. “He said that our troops in Afghanistan are just, quote, ‘air-raiding villages and killing civilians,’ ” she said, drawing boos from a crowd that had not been told Obama was actually appealing for more troops in Afghanistan.
“See, John McCain is a different kind of man: He believes in our troops,” she said.
At times, Palin hinted at the GOP campaign’s troubles. “It’s going to be a hard-fought contest, especially in these swing states, some maybe we would not have expected,” she admitted to donors. She allowed that “John McCain and I need to do a better job” of talking about the economy.
At other times, she had troubles of her own, as when she spoke over the weekend of “our neighboring country of Afghanistan” or when she got choked up at the Clearwater rally, saying, “Some of your signs just make me wanna cry,” without explaining which ones or why.
But then the gloves came off, the heels came out, and Palin was once again talking about her opponent hanging out in a terrorist’s living room.
The stakes are high for Tuesday’s debate. McCain is not doing well, and many in the media are calling him desperate. Obama has taken the higher, cleaner, and less publicized road.
