So the Republicans have decided to change the subject and talk about patriotism, authenticity and attachment to “traditional values”. Faced with Barack Obama’s life story and the prospect of a historic breakthrough, they came up with their own stories: Sarah Palin, mother of five, governor of Alaska, wife of a champion snow-machine racer; and John McCain, American hero, who bombed Vietnam and spent five years in captivity there. And a new slogan, “Country first”. (Does that mean the Democrats put country last?)
Four years ago, despite a poor economic and diplomatic performance (a recession and the disastrous war in Iraq), President Bush won a second term stressing his religious faith and playing on fears of terrorism, abortion and homosexual marriage. And he could always rely on the abiding – and frequently justified – public resentment of the intellectual, artistic and technocratic elite who generally support the Democrats.
This year, McCain may be acting the gentleman but his supporters on the National Review added an old spice to the Republican recipe which, they hope, has lost none of its sting: “After college, Obama has an affluent white girlfriend who loves and wants to marry him. She brings him to visit her family, who warmly accepts him. Obama is attached to the girl and respects the family’s deep cultural heritage, but he eventually dumps her because she is not black. He feels that if he marries her he will ultimately be assimilated into a foreign white culture, a fate that is unacceptable to him” (1). Such a ploy may work, even at a time of economic meltdown. Speaking about Obama at the Democratic convention in Denver in August, the AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer confessed to delegates from Michigan: “A lot of white voters… and quite frankly a lot of union voters believe he’s the wrong race”.
The senator for Illinois is said to be too cold, too intellectual, too foreign (and too popular with foreigners), too leftwing, too inexperienced, too black. Asked by a journalist why he isn’t further ahead in the polls given the unpopularity of Bush and his party, Obama responded: “The Republicans don’t govern very well but sure know how to campaign”. ( He seems to have decided not to complain but fight back. The financial crisis offers a good line of attack: McCain openly supports deregulation and just a short while ago the Republicans advocated that federal pension schemes should be privatised and quoted on the stock exchange.
The Democratic response is more tactical, more carefully targeted. The presidential election is being won state by state. Many, including some key states – California, New York, Illinois, Texas, etc – are already in one camp or the other. But the Republican West seems to be wavering. That is where Obama has chosen to fight.
It will not be an easy ride. Driving from Kansas to Colorado, you see an array of hoardings such as “Abortion stops a beating heart” or “Accept Jesus Christ as your saviour and you shall be saved, or regret it forever”. Kansas is of course famous for religious fundamentalists campaigning against Darwin being taught in schools – but you can argue that Kansas isn’t yet the true West. When you reach Bozeman, Montana, however, a baby on a blue background is still exhorting drivers to “Take my hand, not my life”.
http://mondediplo.com/2008/10/01howthewest