Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Internal Battles Divided McCain and Palin Camps

Rate this topic


Recommended Posts

Honestly, Government and Politics majors will be studying this election for years to come. McCain ran one of the worst campaigns in recent memory; picking Palin was just one of many, many errors. On the other hand, Obama ran the best campaign possibly in history. The level of organization (across the entire country) and attention to detail was stunning. The gulf between the two campaigns was just dramatic, speaking strictly in terms of how they were run.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, Government and Politics majors will be studying this election for years to come. McCain ran one of the worst campaigns in recent memory; picking Palin was just one of many, many errors.

I disagree. Choosing Palin was (politically) a great decision; if not for the financial crisis, I think McCain would have won the election quite easily, in large part due to Palin who took a lot of the media coverage away from Obama and galvanized the Republican base and even quite a number of embittered Hillary supporters.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I disagree. Choosing Palin was (politically) a great decision; if not for the financial crisis, I think McCain would have won the election quite easily, in large part due to Palin who took a lot of the media coverage away from Obama and galvanized the Republican base and even quite a number of embittered Hillary supporters.

That's true to an extent. But her lasting legacy is her overwhelming stupidity, which contributed largely to the dislike to her by many independents. The CBS interview is what did it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, Government and Politics majors will be studying this election for years to come.

They should study the primaries. Giuliani ran a text-book perfect example on how to do everything wrong. Sen. Thompson squandered free popularity and managed to be the least telegenic candidate since Richard Nixon in 1960. Hillary believed in her own inevitability too early on and lost. and Romney prooved that a Mormon president is decades away still.

McCain ran one of the worst campaigns in recent memory;

He could have used someone like Rove or Lee Atwater in his staff. They would have trumpeted Obama's alliances (not associations) with Wright, Ayers et al. They might also have questioned his record more strenously.

picking Palin was just one of many, many errors.

On the contrary. Prior to Palin a lot of conservatives planned to abstain or even vote for Obama. After Palin this changed in large measure. Granted the "base" is not the be-all and end-all, but if even your party's base won't vote for you, you know you're in deep trouble.

In fact McCain led in the polls until the current financial crisis really hit the fan. If not for that he might have won. He might ahve won if he'd handled it better. Ideally he should have come out against the bailout bill, explained the problem, reasured peopel that industry and trade were still in good shape, etc etc. But that's hard to do when you don't know basic economics and have no interest in the subject.

Charitably I'd say McCain was satisfied with winning the GOP nomination and kind of ran out of steam later on. Uncharitably I'd say he was promoted past his level of incompetence. They're both the same thing, but I like the Dominique Francon style better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's true to an extent. But her lasting legacy is her overwhelming stupidity, which contributed largely to the dislike to her by many independents. The CBS interview is what did it...

Palin was far from stupid. She was both the best campaigner and the best debater of any of the four. She had the most incisive and hard hitting lines. Her problem was that she was under educated, for which I think there is little excuse.

Anyway, at the end of the day I think the religious right are less of a concern at this time. The big concern is the socialist left.

Concerning Obama, the guy has the msm on his side to an extent we’ve never before seen. That is a massive advantage. D’kian’s sig says it well: “Mainstream Media: Name given to the Barack Obama for President campaign.

Btw, remember that Obama said Iran is a “tiny country”. He skates on these sort of things, while Palin gets hammered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Biden apparently comes up with a ton of gaffes too. And skates. I've never checked into it personally.

He claimed FDR went immediately on TV the day the stock market crashed in 1929.

In that year FDR wasn't the president and there existed only a few TVs (if any).

There were others. Michelle Malkin has probably collected a lot of them in her blog.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't you think these to go hand-in-hand.

No. To be stupid is to not have the capacity to think well and to learn. Clearly Palin is very good at these things. Palin is ignorant and I think it's fair to criticize her on those grounds, because the position of the vice presidency requires a learned person in office.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is obvious that someone who had risen to the position of Governor would not be a stupid person. That she was unprepared is regrettable on the part of the former McCain campaign. She was chosen solely for her appeal to the religious right wing of the Republican party.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
It is obvious that someone who had risen to the position of Governor would not be a stupid person.

Not so. Palin had enough of a personality and was literate enough to promote herself as a viable candidate for governor of the least populous state in the union.

Based on what she said, how she conducted herself, her total lack of grasp on many issues, and what I perceived was her total lack of insight, I'd say she was stupid.

That she was unprepared is regrettable on the part of the former McCain campaign. She was chosen solely for her appeal to the religious right wing of the Republican party.

Agreed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not so. Palin had enough of a personality and was literate enough to promote herself as a viable candidate for governor of the least populous state in the union.
If that is all it takes to become governor of Alaska, perhaps you should move there and run against her in the next election. As charming and insightful as you are, you should win in a landslide. The state could then boast of having elected stupid governors in successive elections.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If that is all it takes to become governor of Alaska, perhaps you should move there and run against her in the next election. As charming and insightful as you are, you should win in a landslide. The state could then boast of having elected stupid governors in successive elections.

:confused:

The woman has brains, she just got a sh*tty treatment by the press and the McCain campaign. She's not dumb, it's an image issue coupled with the fact that she has never been on the national stage.

Someone should slip her a copy of TF or AS though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I never thought I would see the day where Objectivists would defend a fundamentalist christian who managed to push through a major increase in the oil-profits tax to fund new, worthless government projects and to redistribute the remainder to the people of Alaska. And one who not only talks like a scratched sean hannity cd, but who has about the same level of education and executive experience.

I wonder how low expectations will go next time around? Who cares about raw, studied talent when all that matters is popularity?

I don't like Mitt Romney, but had McCain picked him, it would have sealed the deal. McCain had every chance to win, but he lost it all on betting on a long-shot.

It's a nice argument to say she 'energized' the conservative base (which a VP shouldn't have to do), but that means nothing when he lost by such large margins. Including Indiana, my home state. McCain needed a vice president, and he chose a cheerleader.

How anyone can defend Palin, I don't know. I guess we could play the blame game and point our fingers at the usual suspects. But that doesn't vitiate how poor of a pick she was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never thought I would see the day where Objectivists would defend a fundamentalist christian who managed to push through a major increase in the oil-profits tax to fund new, worthless government projects and to redistribute the remainder to the people of Alaska. And one who not only talks like a scratched sean hannity cd, but who has about the same level of education and executive experience.

I wonder how low expectations will go next time around? Who cares about raw, studied talent when all that matters is popularity?

I don't like Mitt Romney, but had McCain picked him, it would have sealed the deal. McCain had every chance to win, but he lost it all on betting on a long-shot.

It's a nice argument to say she 'energized' the conservative base (which a VP shouldn't have to do), but that means nothing when he lost by such large margins. Including Indiana, my home state. McCain needed a vice president, and he chose a cheerleader.

How anyone can defend Palin, I don't know. I guess we could play the blame game and point our fingers at the usual suspects. But that doesn't vitiate how poor of a pick she was.

I think Hitler was a great public speaker, that doesn't mean I'm defending him. No one defended Palin, as far as I can see, in fact everyone seems to oppose her policies (and those of the Republicans) to a larger extent than you do.

As far as her being a fundamentalist Christian, so are Obama and McCain, if by fundamental you mean the basis of their world-view, altruism and mysticism.

I also don't think McCain had any shot to win, not in a million years. No presidency even half as disastrous as Bush's ever kept the same party in the White House. I don't think Palin was a good choice, but that's because I believe the Republicans need to return to a capitalist, secular platform, the opposite of what Palin or your guy Romney stand for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...