Kill him!" These were the words yelled at a recent McCain/Palin campaign rally in Florida. It is unclear whether the audience member was directing this comment towards Sen. Barack Obama or Bill Ayers. What is clear is the trend in the McCain/Palin campaign that this comment illustrates: a growing sense of anger and hostility expressed by Republican supporters over the direction of the campaign.
The words "treason" and "terrorist" have also been shouted during recent campaign events. At recent town hall meetings in Wisconsin, McCain supporters passionately urged the Arizona Senator to increase his attacks on Sen. Obama, and as one woman stated, "take the gloves off." Is this the type of campaigning that the all-important swing voters would like to see? Obama is not the only one being targeted by McCain supporter's. Palin's increasing attacks of the media have lead to harsh receptions at campaign events. At a recent event in Florida McCain/Palin supporters greeted the media with shouts and taunts. This unwelcoming treatment is due to the McCain campaign's continual criticism of the media.
The conservative base is angry at what they perceive as continued attacks on Palin, angry at polls showing an increasing gap between McCain and Obama and angry that the majority of Americans are blaming the woes of the economy on President Bush and the Republican Party. Conservatives in America are fearful of not only an Obama win in November, but also increasing gains in both the Senate and House of Representatives for Democrats. The McCain/ Palin campaign is using incendiary language and harsh attacks on Senator Obama to call their supporters to action.
This type of campaigning is having the intended effect on the party base, but the more significant question is what type of effect is it having on independents? It is vital that McCain win over independents in order to triumph in November. Since the 2006 midterm elections, Democrats have seen a significant increase in voter registration, while Republicans have seen a slight drop. With the Obama campaign spending a substantial amount of money on new voter registration, McCain will have to ensure that not only his supporters show up on Nov. 4, but that he gains the support of independent voters as well. Another staggering statistic that is troubling McCain and the Republican Party is the fact that nationwide there are 42 million registered Democrats to only 31 million for the Republican Party.
The American economy is facing unprecedented troubles with consequences on a global scale. The United States military is fighting wars in two countries, with Afghanistan seeing increasing violence and increasing troubles. Jobs are being lost and rising prices are continuing to place a burden on American families. With the election so close, this is not the time to shift the focus away from the issues. In a matter of weeks, America will elect a president who will have the daunting task of determining a new direction for our country that will address these monumental problems.
Bill Ayers is not important. Jeremiah Wright and Charles Keating are not important. What is important is determining the right direction for our country at this crucial time. Recently McCain has made attempts at calming the crowd, and even took the microphone away from a woman that said she knew Obama was an Arab. While McCain attempts to tone down the message emanating from his rallies, the internal message of his campaign and that of the Republican Party continues to be negative. Just recently Virginia made national news with the GOP state chair linking Senator Obama to Osama Bin Laden. This rhetoric is dangerous and irresponsible.
An early criticism of Obama by the McCain campaign was that he lacked substance. Obama had fancy rhetoric, but no solutions. Considering all the problems our country is facing, for McCain to be spending so much time and resources attacking Obama's character, it seems McCain is the one lacking substance. The McCain campaign has acknowledged the fact that it is their goal to turn the page on the discussion about the economy, and spend the final weeks focusing on negative attacks aimed at the Obama campaign. This strategy might have worked in the past, but there are too many problems, and a new direction in 2008 is too important for petty name-calling to have any effect.
No comments:
Post a Comment