McCain and Letterman 'pick on' Obama

I think McCain’s campaign has finally found its legs. The New York Times reports McCain Tries to Define Obama as Out of Touch

WASHINGTON — After spending much of the summer searching for an effective line of attack against Senator Barack Obama, Senator John McCain is beginning a newly aggressive campaign to define Mr. Obama as arrogant, out of touch and unprepared for the presidency.

On Wednesday alone, the McCain campaign released a new advertisement suggesting — and not in a good way — that Mr. Obama was a celebrity along the lines of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Republicans tried to portray Mr. Obama as a candidate who believed the race was all about him, relying on what Democrats said was a completely inaccurate quotation.

The Washington Post reports McCain Campaign Manager Steve Schmidt said of Obama, "There's no dispute that he's become the biggest celebrity in the world. The question that we are posing to the American people is this: Is he ready to lead yet?"

Ace has the McCain ad and demonstrates his usual way with words, headlining his post: New McCain Ad: Obama Is A Skanky Blonde Bimbo

The NYT also reports the Republican National Committee began an anti-Obama Web site called “Audacity Watch,” a play on the title of Mr. Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope.” And, in a concerted volley of television interviews, news releases and e-mail, campaign representatives attacked him on a wide range of issues, including tax policies and energy proposals.

The Democrats’ response? The Democratic National Committee called Mr. McCain “McNasty.” What’s next? Calling McCain “McRude”? McMean? Why the nerve of that nasty old man, picking on a mere child like Obama. Maybe they should report him to Social Services for child abuse?

Obama's response? He calls McCain a racist. Again. As my daddy used to say, the hit dog hollers.

Comic David Letterman has also joined the gang picking on Obama, with Obama’s overconfidence the topic of Letterman's Top 10 list. Ouch.

The Politico reports: “The examples included Obama proposing to change the name of Oklahoma to ‘Oklobama,’ and measuring his head for Mount Rushmore.”

My personal favorite is: “1. Been cruising for chicks with John Edwards.” Oops. I forgot. We’re not supposed to talk about the Edwards affair. Oh. Anne Coulter wrote about it, so I guess now it's OK. And my local paper, The Charlotte Observer, is also writing about it, so the embargo is officially off.

Meanwhile, The WaPo reports on Obama’s “audacity tour” in the “Show me” state Missouri to try to show concern for small-town issues.

It was no accident that Obama's first campaign stop designed for the general election was in Cape Girardeau, a conservative Mississippi River community that is Rush Limbaugh's home town.

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) hinted at the problems Obama still might face here when she suggested that he "has some making up to do" with small-town America after his comments about "bitter" Americans clinging to guns and religion. "What rural Missourians don't like is a candidate who dismisses whole communities out of hand," she said.

I gotta give the man credit, it takes audacity or hubris or big brass gonads or all three to kick off what they called “first campaign stop designed for the general election” in Rush’s hometown. That’s smack dab in the middle of bitter, backwoods, guns-and-God-clinging rednecks. I spent a couple of years in Missouri during college and outside of St. Louis and Kansas City, that’s redneck country and they do not suffer fools gladly.

So what does Obama do in Missouri to show he’s not foolish to the small-town voters? He makes a statement that’s beyond foolish to idiocy.

Obama saith: “There are things you can do individually, though, to save energy. Making sure your tires are properly inflated — simple thing. But we could save all the oil that they’re talking about getting off drilling — if everybody was just inflating their tires? And getting regular tune-ups? You’d actually save just as much!”

Wow! Why didn’t I think of that? Just pump up my tires and get a tune-up and presto! America no longer needs any Arab oil. Man’s a genius!

Meanwhile, “President” Obama continues his “transition” planning, floating a list of leading cabinet appointments for his coming administration.

U.S. News reports: “There's lots of buzz about whom Sen. Barack Obama might pick for his top cabinet jobs. Among them: Sen. Hillary Clinton as head of Health and Human Services. Her allies suggest she might be interested if the job were elevated to the top tier of agencies and if she were allowed to push healthcare reform. Other names: Sen. John Kerry as secretary of state, former Sen. Tom Daschle as White House chief of staff... and exiting Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel at Defense.”

What a list of losers. That’s their chief qualification, losing elections.

As usual, Ace says it so much better than I can:

“Barack Obama's Cabinet? Like the Legion of Doom, Minus the Blazing Intellects. A Murderer's Row of Stupid. A Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame All-Star Jam of Liberal Pissants.”