Good Old Boys

It looks like the Neo-con campaign strategy is starting to take shape. We knew it was coming. We knew it would be ugly. We knew the mainstream media would do the republicans dirty work in lock-step. The only thing we don't know yet is whether or not the people will fall for it again. Let's have a look at the latest tactics.

First, the "surge" worked. Did it really? Maybe, maybe not. Who knows what will happen once the warlords stop receiving their monthly bribery checks to keep them from fighting each other. And if it did work? Congratulations! You got one thing right in the history of this five year (and counting) invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation. It still doesn't change or excuse the fact that this "war" was started based on lies that the Duh Administration floated and the media fueled, and never once stopped to question.

But here's where they are going with this. They get the media to go on and on about the "surge". Then they can paint Obama as "wrong on Iraq", even though he was the one who rightly said they never should have invaded in the first place. So even though this whole "war" has been one giant clusterfuck, as long as they can say that this one tiny piece "worked", they can paint the war as a success, with the mainstream media's help. Next, Duh starts hinting that maybe, just maybe he can start sending some troops home. Happy days are here again! Do you see where this is heading? Pay no attention to the largest fiscal deficit in the history of the world behind that curtain.

Next, they use offshore drilling as a wedge issue to try to paint Obama on the wrong side of high gas prices. This one is just beautiful. You see, they are framing the debate in such a way as to try to make people believe that the oil companies are trying to do something to lower the cost of gas. So if you are against allowing the oil companies to drill offshore then you must be in favor of high gas prices. It's so pathetic that it will probably work.

Never mind that it would take at least a decade to see any impact from offshore drilling, that is if it does actually lower oil prices at all. And pay no attention to the millions of acres of land that the oil companies are already leasing and not drilling on. Maybe if the oil companies really cared about trying to lower the cost of gas they would be drilling in these areas already. Except that the oil companies have no interest in changing the way things are going. They are making $1500 per second. They quite like the way things are. But hey, it makes a nice wedge issue and there are a lot more stupid people than there are smart people in this world, so you do the math.

Finally, we have the race card. The neo-cons have to use race in this election. It's what they do. So the first thing they did was try to paint Obama as an "elitist". When that didn't stick, they changed it to "arrogant". I'm sure one of the right wing talk show hosts will just come right out with it soon and say, "that uppity nigger just doesn't know his place".

But first, before they can really play the race card to it's full potential and advantage, they have to claim that Obama started it. And that's what they did yesterday. It's so junior high. It's so despicable. It's so typical.

So yes, it's going to get ugly. McSame has hired the Bush/Rove team to run his campaign. We can expect more of the (Mc)same over the next 100 days. On the bright side, I'm confident that Obama's team will do a much better job stopping the smears than Kerry did, and Gore before him. Let's just hope the people have wised up just a little bit this time around.