‘In Obama’s absence, the McCain-Palin campaign continued to self-implode.’
By Larry Ray / The Rag Blog / October 26, 2008
Less than a dozen days till the presidential election. A fiction writer couldn’t have come up with the political plot changes of the past two months. I will be glad when something else dominates the news but for now the down-to-the-wire dynamics of this presidential race still offer a smorgasbord of story possibilities. For instance, imagine a U.S. presidential candidate calling a break from campaigning a dozen days before election day. Barack Obama left the campaign trail for two days and flew to visit his critically ill grandmother in Hawaii. It was a last visit with the beloved woman who guided his early life. He then jetted back to the mainland to resume campaigning.
In Obama’s absence, the McCain-Palin campaign continued to self-implode. Headlines focus not upon their constantly changing message, but upon details of fleshed-out GOP campaign financial filings with the Federal Election Commission. The Republican National Committee has already lavished $150,000 for luxury shopping sprees to clothe America’s Hockey Mom and her tag-along family. RNC campaign cash for Mrs. Palin still gushes forth. The New York Times reports a dazzling new GOP tab and it’s a beauty. The top salary paid in the first half of October was not to a McCain campaign strategy Guru, but to a makeup artist.
The two week stipend for the haute blush-dauber was $22,800 just to dandy up the Hockey Mom’s face for the bright lights of arena halls and news photogs. Queen Nefertiti should have looked so good. Her hairdo was a bargain basement deal with the Cindy-McCain-recommended California salon stylist being paid only ten grand, reported by the RNC as “Communication Consulting” for those two weeks. The GOP is making up Sarah Palin but The NY Times is not making up anything. And America is getting the message.
The faithful right wing voter base still overlooks McCain’s increasingly frequent senior moment gaffes, but his VP choice has gone beyond the Pale in the minds of huge numbers of the faithful. Coughing up that much donated cash to doll up a dud with more than lipstick has struck a nerve with decided as well as undecided voters.
[Retired journalist Larry Ray is a Texas native and former Austin news anchor. He also posts at The iHandbill.]
Larry, this is great stuff, thanks much for it — but I don’t get all the surprise over Obama going to see his Grandma, even if it was the day before election day. It would be much more surprising if he did NOT go, given who this woman has been in his life, and her reportedly grave condition (she is quite old). And I don’t think it’s just Obama; if any candidate had a critically-ill relative, particularly one who had devoted her/himself to the candidate’s upbringing, and the candidate did NOT take time out for a visit, wouldn’t the media jump all over that? And wouldn’t it be stupid? Seems to me it would make any candidate look very callous, if it were known that they had an opportunity to say good-bye — and in Obama’s case, perhaps to ask for some final advice — and had passed it up in favor of courting some still-“undecided” nit-shaver?
Look at it this way: if the lady died and had to be buried or whatever before Election Day, of course he would go and everyone would, I guess, understand that. So why the surprise over choosing to see her still living?
A very worthwhile watch/listen:
For all you folkies;
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/6/224619/989/159/622263
Alan Locklear
Oh, and Mariann’s right, from a strictly realpolitik viewpoint, Obama stood to gain a lot more than he lost by giving up a couple of days of jetting around to speeches and handshaking. Plus, he got to take a breather, confer with whomever a bit, and watch McCain twist in the wind.
Alan Locklear
Thanks Mariann and Alan. I was using Obama’s visit from the heart as an example of one of the dramatic real life political campaign “Plot Changes” a fiction writer could not have come up with. I was using it as a comparison vehicle in my piece. The real-life, not fictional visit itself, which I described as “a last visit with the beloved woman who guided his early life” was just another powerful indication of Obama’s honest and genuine strong character. That Obama unhesitatingly made the trip in the critical last days of his campaign I thought was self explanatory. I appreciate your comments which help me sharpen my writing!
Regards, Larry