John
McCain: In the battle over who's 'in touch,' he may be
at a distinct disadvantage.
Nachrichten, Switzerland
Dangerously, McCain 'Casts the First Stone'
"If you harbored any hope that this contest would be
less spiteful and repellant than the last one, you can let go of it now. And
ironically, it's McCain's staff which has launched a rather venomous campaign
against Barack Obama … McCain may be triggering an avalanche that in the end,
will bury him."
Amidst the midsummer heat as befits the season, the
campaign for the U.S. Presidency is heating up as well. And if you harbored any
hope that this contest would be less spiteful and repellant than the last one, you
can let go of it now.
And ironically, it's McCain's staff which has launched
a rather venomous campaign against Barack Obama. In an online video, they have
put the Democratic candidate on a par with Britney Spears and Paris Hilton,
depicting him as a hollow celebrity that delights German fans - a kind of
political equivalent of David Hasselhoff.
JOHN MCCAIN'S
LATEST AD WITH OBAMA, SPEARS AND HILTON ...
This kind of negative campaigning was successfully
used four years ago - with the same people in the background at the controls -
by George W. Bush, in his campaign against John Kerry. But the situation is now
fundamentally different.
On the one hand, there is no incumbent President
opposing a fairly unknown Democrat, but rather two new contenders who are
battling for the office. On the other, the Democratic corner is no longer
manned by the stiff and always-awkward John Kerry, who visually always reminded
people of Herman Munster. Instead, Democrats have a well-spoken, dynamic and
charismatic candidate - a man who knows how to use the new media to best
advantage. The powerful grassroots-Internet movement that he financed his
pre-election campaign with is still there, and Obama is well aware that this is
one of his greatest strengths.
German Marshall Fund's Karen Donfried on European anti-Bush Sentiment
And then there is the fact that John McCain is one who
proudly boasts (like many other politicians) of his ignorance about the
Internet and e-mail. Its likely that McCain has never
seen the videos produced by his staff on a computer monitor - but rather on a
video tape sent to his home which he popped into his vintage Magnavox-VHS
recorder to watch on his trusty Zenith TV. (As a U.S. hotel guest during the
1980s, the author knows from whence he speaks).
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
It wouldn't be surprising if because of this, a
video-clip were to appear on YouTube that pokes fun of McCain. Because another
allegation the McCain video makes against Obama is that he's "out of
touch" with reality. But it's McCain who floats in a fantasy world
somewhere alongside reality.
SENATOR OBAMA
REACTS TO MCCAIN'S 'BRITNEY/PARIS' AD
McCain shows by far the greatest weakness in terms of his
connection to the real world. At a time when cyber-terrorism, espionage and
crime are an even greater threat; when countries like China recruit whole
armies of hackers to work against the West and plot the collapse of the
IT-infrastructure - which could cost billions of dollars and millions of lives
- it wouldn't be bad if the President of the United States had at least a
rudimentary knowledge of what's at stake.
By launching a negative campaign, the McCain team is
risking a lot. He's the one casting the first stone. But he's not so
unassailable. He may be triggering an avalanche that in the end, will bury him.
