Update [2008-9-10 18:56:7 by space]: NO, THIS QUOTE IS NOT REAL. NO, I WILL NOT DELETE THE DIARY.
Wow. Something sure got into Joe Biden's wheaties today:
"A few days ago I said that John McCain was a good man, a friend, a guy that I, heck, had worked alongside for many years. Well, I'm here to tell you that I was wrong (and it won't be the last time in my life). A good man doesn't run a sleazy, deceptive ad accusing his opponent of forcing sex ed on kindergarteners and suggesting -- hell, that was the single sleaziest ad that I have ever seen in a Presidential campaign. Ever.
I was shocked and disappointed when I heard at the end that John Sidney McCain had approved that ad. A good man doesn't run that ad. A bad man does. And that is what John McCain has become. A man who has hired the same dirty trick artists who slandered his own daughter 8 years ago when he was running against George Bush. Can you believe that?
Barack Obama never called Sarah Palin a pig but I will call John McCain one now. And if he has a problem with it he knows where to find me. I will be on the floor of the United States Senate fighting the most obstructionist minority party in history to pass S-CHIP -- we call it Meds for Kids -- over the opposition of John McCain."
-- Sen. Joe Biden. 9/10/08
UPDATE:
No, this is not a real quote. Sadly. It should be.
I am not in the habit of fabricating facts, but I see this as more in the tradition of Hunter S. Thompson than Jayson Blair. Anyway, I posted this diary for three reasons:
- I wanted to show that it really isn't that hard to go after McCain, keep your own dignity, and look tough all at the same time.
- I wanted to show that ordinary political observers do have good ideas about political strategy and tactics (your opinion may vary). Some recent diaries suggesting that we lay observers don't know as much as the all-wise Democratic strategists running the Obama campaign sort of rubbed me the wrong way.
- I wanted to give those who are demoralized by the Kerry-like campaign of recent days a brief moment of pleasure.
BTW, if you want to read a great essay on the importance of hitting the right emotional tone during election mudslinging, I highly recommend this one that James Kroeger wrote back in 2004:
George Lakoff says that the Republicans are especially talented at choosing words & associations that work for them. True as that may be, it becomes apparent with a little more reflection that it’s not really the words or value-associations that matter so much; it’s the emotions that are expressed when words are used. How is it, after all, that the word liberal acquired the negative connotation that it has today? The Republicans created that negative connotation by repeatedly expressing scorn and derision whenever they used the word to describe their Democratic opponents. They expressed disgust for anyone who would be foolish enough to be such a person. *(Whenever politicians express strongly felt emotions, Swing Voters tend to grant them a greater measure of authenticity. After all, why else would they be so upset?)* Think also of the times when Republicans laugh at Democrats. They don’t just laugh in a way that shows they have a good sense of humor; they laugh in a way that communicates their contempt for Democrats.
Democrats need to understand the importance of showing Swing Voters that they fear Republican rule. The more apparent it is to Swing Voters that a lot of Americans are truly scared of George Bush & The Republicans [in this case, John McCain], the more they’re going to wonder if maybe they should also be afraid of him. (Typically, we first learn to fear things that we didn’t fear previously after seeing fear in the faces of others.)