Saturday, September 13, 2008

Pants on Fire II


John Grider
Here.

It looks like media is starting to build a narrative around the McCain campaign's lies and deceptions. From a piece in today's New York Times by Michael Cooper and Jim Rutenberg:

Senator John McCain has drawn an avalanche of criticism this week from Democrats, independent groups and even some Republicans for regularly stretching the truth in attacking Senator Barack Obama’s record and positions. ...

Indeed, in recent days, Mr. McCain has been increasingly called out by news organizations, editorial boards and independent analysts like FactCheck.org. The group, which does not judge whether one candidate is more misleading than another, has cried foul on Mr. McCain more than twice as often since the start of the political conventions as it has on Mr. Obama. ...

Mr. McCain came into the race promoting himself as a truth teller and has long publicly deplored the kinds of negative tactics that helped sink his candidacy in the Republican primaries in 2000. But his strategy now reflects a calculation advisers made this summer — over the strenuous objections of some longtime hands who helped him build his “Straight Talk” image — to shift the campaign more toward disqualifying Mr. Obama in the eyes of voters.


Granted, this stuff comes from The Times, so it's a part of that darn Liberal Media, but, nevertheless, it's a start. It hit many of the crucial points: Palin's "reformer" image, McCain's Straight to Bullshit Express (you know, the "Straight Talk Express" line is just too easily parodied. I wince every time I do it, but, c'mon, it's so easy).


Let's see if this narrative continues to build. That's the key. It's been said elsewhere (I'm too lazy to go find out exactly by whom, but the lefty blogosphere's been abuzz with the stuff), but I'll say it again. It isn't enough that the media might make some noise here and there about McCain's lies. The media needs to do more than that; they need to build a narrative: McCain turned his back on his "maverick" ways, and is now just another craven, lying politician. Why? For starters, it's the truth.