Fancy Farm is a traditional political gathering in Western Kentucky. Anybody who is running or is in elective office shows up, and it is a bipartisan affair. At yesterday's gathering, we got to see Alison Lundergan Grimes and Mitch McConnell on the same stage giving speeches bashing the other. And to put it bluntly, McConnell was not a happy camper or warrior.
If you look closely at the video during Grimes's speech, McConnell is wearing that stupid, uncomfortable look of "How long do I have to put up with this shit?" It is that same rictus "smile" that shows up in that long You Tube video of McConnell in various settings with some awful music in the background. You would think that a man who has been in political office as long as he has would have developed a passable, insincere smile by now, especially a man who lies so frequently as McConnell does.
And McConnell delivered a lame speech in response to Grimes. It lacked Grimes's fire, and I'm not saying that because I'm a partisan, which I am. You can tell that McConnell delivered unoriginality extraordinaire from the lack of response from the state and local media. Normally, the media would highlight cutting remarks from both candidates, but Grimes's "retirement party" for McConnell remark is memorable, while McConnell delivered standard Republican talking points. Basically, "Grimes and Obama sitting in a tree..."
I'm not sure how the Fancy Farm tradition of sitting still while your opponent gets to bash you came about, but I know it is expected of political candidates to face their adversary on the same stage and try to impress the crowd of partisans that show up. What I saw yesterday demonstrated that McConnell has his hands full with Grimes, and he is unhappy with the prospect of fighting so hard to keep his Senate seat.