Republicans have been test-driving various narratives, trying to see which one works best against Obama.
There's the "he's a secret Muslim Manchurian candidate", which boils down to "he's not American". That narrative has been reinforced by the flag lapel pin nonsense, the "he didn't put his hand over his heart during the American Anthem" nonsense, the Jeremia Wright nonsense, the "he wasn't born in Hawaii and he faked his birth certificate" nonsense, and the "his wife doesn't respect America" nonsense.
There's the "young and inexperienced" narrative which failed for Hillary Clinton, but hasn't stopped Republicans from giving it a shot as well. It's a change election, and few want more of the same crowd who created our current problems, but Republicans still hope to gain some traction with the charges.
There's the "country club elitist" narrative, which is reinforced with his arugula story, the "bitter" comments, and by Karl Rove senselessly repeating the mantra over and over again. Is this narrative even consistent with the "America hatin'" one? Irrelevant. He's an elitist America hater! Or something...
Well, Karl Rove has rolled out a new one, and the McCain campaign is eagerly joining the test run:
KARL ROVE, previewing a GOP theme that will be pushed hard with reporters in the days ahead, writes in “It's All About Obama”: “Many candidates have measured the Oval Office drapes prematurely. But Barack Obama is the first to redesign the presidential seal before the election. ... Such arrogance – even self-centeredness – have featured often in the Obama campaign. ... Mr. McCain will be helped if he uses Mr. Obama's actions to paint his opponent as someone driven by an all-powerful instinct to look out only for himself. In a contest over who is willing to put principle above personal ambition and self-interest,”
McCAIN CAMPAIGN MEMO OUT THIS MORNING -- Steve Schmidt, McCain 2008 Senior Advisor, writes on “Country First Vs. Self-Serving Partisanship”: “There has never been a time when Barack Obama has bucked the party line to lead on an issue of national importance. ... We don't need to trade Republican partisanship for Democratic partisanship. We need to put our country first and put our politics second. That is what John McCain has done his whole life, and that is what he will do as President.”
So now he's a selfish, power-hungry, inexperienced American-hating country club elitist. And they'll keep throwing this mud against the wall hoping desperately that something sticks.
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