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McCain Channels Nixon
July 28, 2008 |
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In true Nixonian fashion, McCain ramps up the politics of resentment:
In his weekly radio address, McCain said, "this week the presidential contest was a long-distance affair, with my opponent touring various continents and arriving yesterday in Paris. With all the breathless coverage from abroad, and with Senator Obama now addressing his speeches to 'the people of the world,' I'm starting to feel a little left out. Maybe you are too."This is classic Orthogonian rhetoric (those of you who've read Nixonland will know what that means.) And it works on many levels. First, he's tweaking the "breathless" press, who are responding predictably, judging from the headlines I'm seeing this morning: Obama Disputes He's on a 'Premature Victory Lap'.
Second he's saying that Obama is more interested in "others" than he is Real Americans. Typical elite. Uppity at that. It's hard to know if this approach will work, but it makesa certain amount of sense for Republicans. People are in a sour mood. They want to blame somebody. Why not a young, black guy? Not much a stretch for a lot of these folks.
Digby is the proprietor of Hullabaloo.
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