They Did What !

Let’s see…

When Obama picked Biden for VP, Republicans rushed to claim this choice only highlighted Obama’s less than extensive foreign policy experience. When McCain picked Palin for VP, Republicans rushed to claim her total lack of foreign policy experience doesn’t matter because the McCain/Palin strengths and weaknesses compliment each other. See how that works?

This is the kind of disconnect that permeates Republican thinking – or at least what they say they think which seems to be different from what they actually think because it usually turns out to be different from what they do. If you look objectively at the VP choices the real difference is one of judgment. Obama’s choice shows consciousness of governing abilities while McCain’s choice shows consciousness of political tactics and governing abilities be damned.

Then there was the statement by Glen Beck, on the phone to CNN, that he would never have “pulled the lever” for McCain, but if Palin turns out to be who he thinks she is, then he will vote for McCain. That is some very interesting reasoning (I use the term loosely). Does Mr. Beck not realize that McCain will still be president, no matter who Mrs. Palin turns out to be? It’s almost as if he assumes the VP will wind up as president.

And if that happens, what would we have - a president with no federal experience, no foreign relations experience, and an ethics investigation hanging over her head in her home state. Washington would eat her alive and the Middle East, North Korea and Russia would finish the job. Good thinking, Beck! You exemplify what happens when entertainment people start believing they are news people.

There has also been some talk that the Republican thinking is that Palin will pull disgruntled Clinton supporters to McCain’s side. Surely that couldn’t be true – it would be so insulting to women. Can you imagine they would actually believe an unknown, untried, newbie can be substituted for Hillary Clinton and women would vote for her just because of gender? They couldn’t be that out of touch… could they?

There is another habit the Republicans have - trying to turn positives into negatives. It’s that old equalizing technique of bringing the other guy down to your level when you can’t raise yourself up to his. Drawing large crowds is a prime example. Never mind what the people themselves say about why they flock to hear Obama. It must just be celebrity mania. But wait, if that is true, why isn’t McCain a celebrity? After all, he is a maverick, he has a quirky sense of humor, and don’t forget, he was a POW! Could it possibly be that McCain’s same ole, same ole, just doesn’t inspire and energize people?

That brings us to the Democratic National Convention which ended with a crowd of 84,000 cheering people listening to Obama’s acceptance speech. Knowing full well they will not be able to come even close to such a gathering, out come the Republican name callers to pour scorn on what the Democrats did so their own convention won’t look foolish by comparison.

Republican ads and articles come out featuring things said about Obama by Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden during the primary race. Funny how they seem to have forgotten the things Republicans said about McCain during the 2000 primary race. As I recall they claimed he was gay, cheated on his wife, and that his wife Cindy was a drug addict. They also claimed John McCain was unstable, returning from his years as a POW with a loose screw and that he shouldn’t be trusted with nuclear weapons. The terms coward and traitor were also thrown about.

But, hey, that’s all water under the bridge. When the Republicans say things in the heat of a campaign, I guess they don’t really mean it, so we should all forget what was said. But when the Democrats say things, much less damaging things, in the heat of a campaign, we should not forget it, but rather it should be repeated over and over lest anyone write it off as campaign rhetoric.

There’s that disconnect again… or maybe it should be called by its proper name – hypocrisy.