Sunny With a Chance of Doom

There was a fascinating moment of slippage this evening on Hard Ball. A gentleman named Mike Paul was stumping for McCain, talking about Obama and William Ayers, backing up Palin's remarks about Obama's relationship with the former radical.

During the exchange, Matthews threw Paul a question, but in typical "Gawd I love to hear my own voice go on and on and on forever" Matthews fashion, he had to bookmark the question by saying "of course Ayers was a Weatherman in the late 60s."*

To which, a stunned or just befuddled looking Paul said something to the effect of "Oh, sure. Yeah. Of course," before launching into his own remarks.

You had to see it to get it, especially that look on Paul's face, but the thing here is that Paul - while speaking out against Obama on Ayers for McCain - didn't know what Matthews was talking about. He thought Matthews meant that Ayers was a meteorologist in the 1960s; he was clueless as to the historical significance of Matthews' comments.

This is the intellectual rigor of the McCain campaign on display. Send out a half-prepared surrogate to spout the talking points, irregardless of whether or not they understand them.

This is the poor planning, bad campaigning and sheer desperation of the McCain campaign on display. And it speaks volumes about the type of governing style McCain would bring to the White House.

This is just one example of many I could have chosen to represent the McCain campaign but they all have a common thread: John McCain has chosen self over country and will do anything to obtain his goal.

One of the primary reasons I am voting for Barack Obama is that I'm tired of being treated like a short bus child by my President. I am tired of my President and his advisers thinking that they can throw crap at me and the American people in hopes that if they throw enough of it, some will stick. I am tired of being lied to and tired of being manipulated, tired of being used by men and women I wouldn't invite into my house for fear of never getting out the moral stank of them.

I want a President who doesn't speak down to me or my wife or my son, who will treat us as intellectual, ethical, moral and political equals. I think this is Barack Obama.

I want a President who will face up to the problems of the nation, like our avalanching economy, and not run away and say that he'd rather not deal with it because it will make him unpopular. I think this is Barack Obama.

Finally, I want a President that I can be proud of when he is representing us to the world, to foreign leaders and foreign peoples, a President that will show the world the almost lost face of American diplomacy and the inherent power of that diplomacy when practiced by intelligent men and women who have a firm grip on the ideals and history of this nation. Contrary to what our current President has told us for years, much of the world loves and idealizes this country and what it stands for. We have to show them that we also love and idealize this country and that, as Americans, we understand the special role and the unique responsibilities we've carved out for ourselves in the affairs of the world, that we take that role and those responsibilities seriously.

I think this is Barack Obama.

Vote Obama!

* I'm paraphrasing - I cannot find a clip of this exchange and left my steno pad in my asbestos long johns. Don't ask.

----------------
Now playing: Wipers - Good Thing
via FoxyTunes