Aug 02 2008

Yuck it up, McCain.

Posted by Neocon in 2008 Race, Domestic, McCain, Media Bias, Republicans

A lot is being made of the McCain camp’s recent forays into humor as a means of political attack. I’ve heard many of the mainstream media correspondents decry it, I’ve heard Rush Limbaugh praise it, and I’ve read Dick Morris dismiss it. If you’ve spent ten minutes looking around Neocon News, you know that I believe that humor (however poorly executed) is massively effective as a tool of persuasion. In the same way that a picture is worth a thousand words, a well resonating jab tinged with a bit of a chuckle behind it can cut to the core of our public.

The most often quoted example from the political front is Reagan’s reversal of the accusations that he was unfit to be President based on his advanced age. While this is an excellent example, I don’t believe that it is worth dredging up again and again as it was a singular event not to be repeated until we find another conservative leader with charisma to rival the Gipper (read: don’t hold your breath).

Is McCain capable of powering his punches with the same level of savviness? Apparently not.

“We’ll continue to have humor in our campaigns,” McCain said. “Those ads really were focused on two things. They were focused on the fact that Sen. Obama wants to raise taxes, and I’m opposed of it. And he opposes an energy policy which would work, including offshore drilling. So the message there is there’re stark differences between myself and Sen. Obama.”

But McCain wasn’t done joking, either.

“I kind of enjoy ‘em,” McCain said of the ads. “You gotta have a sense of humor in this.

“You know, a few days ago, Sen. Obama said he challenged me to a duel,” McCain said. “I’m for the light sabers as weapons of choice.”

Now, do I find that comment funny in the least? No, I don’t. I think it’s tired and it makes my head hurt. It’s almost as forced and dated as his continuous ‘Dr. No’ references, but it does show promise. It’s the second time in as many weeks that we’ve seen the Republican party try to connect with the electorate on a personal level. Even if the jokes are bad, it helps to peel a little away from that predictable ‘stuffy’ Republican brand image.

If the trend continues, they might even start consulting with people who can be marginally amusing. Hell, I’m available.

So I say full speed ahead for the Straight Talk Express Blue Collar Comedy Tour. We’ve got a few months left for McCain to practice. He might even get some references from the 90s by the time November rolls around.

At least it’ll keep him on his toes. Camp McCain might even stumble back across a winning issue or two.