Yesterday I wrote that the Obama campaign had to start taking on the meme that McCain & Palin were mavericks. So I'm really excited this morning about their new "Mavericks? Whoa." ad.
I think it's also a positive sign that Obama and others are starting to call out McCain's lies and his convenient repackaging as a reformer as well. In fact, I think there's a great line waiting to be used, maybe not by Obama himself, but certainly by Joe Biden, Hillary, and other surrogates. It makes for a catchy sound bite and would even look good (in a shorter form) on a T-shirt or bumper sticker.
"The McCain-Palin campaign has a bridge it wants to sell you, but it's not in Brooklyn, it's in Alaska!"
an alternate form, which can be used whenever attacking McCain's claims to be a "reformer", a "maverick" or a proponent of "change."
"If you believe that, the McCain-Palin campaign has got a bridge in Alaska it'd like to sell you!"
Imagine Joe Biden on the stump--"My friend John McCain says he's a maverick. But he voted with Bush 90% of the time and wants to continue his policies. My friends, if you believe John McCain is a maverick, then the MaCain-Palin campaign has a bridge in Alaska it'd like to sell you!"
The media seems to finally be picking up on the rank mendacity of Palin's claims to have "stopped" the Bridge to Nowhere. Obama needs to exploit this.
People hate being lied to and hate being taken for idiots. That's why I agree with Atrios that Obama's "People aren't stupid" line is a good one. And two more points are worth remembering here:
1.) McCain's campaign manager said this election would be about personalities, not issues. Reveal the false "personalities" McCain & Palin have constructed and there's nothing left for them to run on except POW! and "Obama is a scary black man."
2.) W "won" in 2000 because his campaign, with a big assist from the media, convinced Americans that Gore was a serial exaggerator who couldn't tell the truth. Eight years later, we all know who the liar was in that campaign (hint, it's not the guy with the Nobel Peace Prize). We need to make sure they don't get away with it again.
Bumper sticker T-Shirt form: "McCain/Palin '08: We've got a bridge to sell you"
UPDATE: It's not exactly what I proposed, but I'm glad to see the Obama campaign headed in the right direction. I love the eBay snark--reminds voters that she misled them about that, too!