McCain’s Strategy Backfires

By Ned Shell

As many of you might have figured out by now, McCain’s new strategy is to smear and slander Obama as much as possible. A recent survey discovered that 100% of McCain’s TV ads are now negative. This may not be surprising, however. It’s not like this is a newly developed Republican weapon.

But what HAS proven to be interesting is the effect this negativity has had on McCain’s following. In recent town hall meetings, he has had to correct one woman who called Obama an Arab, and assure a man that raising a baby in an Obama-led America is not something to be scared of. He had to essentially defend Obama. What was surprising was the crowd’s reaction. It wasn’t one of understanding–one of consiliation and respect for McCain’s fairness and level-headedness. It was anger. They booed McCain for recognizing that Obama was NOT an Arab, but actually a decent family man.

Through his smears and attacks linking Obama to terrorists and painting him as one himself, McCain has appealed to fringe Republicans–people so far to the right that they would mistake Obama for an Arab (and imply that being an Arab is a bad thing!). His town hall meetings are no longer filled with people interested in McCain’s ideas and economic solutions; they are filled with people eager to discredit and attack someone they really don’t know anything about.

This is McCain’s fault, and his fault alone. He started along this path by picking Sarah Palin as his running mate–a woman who, through her folksy, go-get-’em attitude, has attracted those who don’t really understand the issues, but want to rally behind someone fun and perky. It has continued with ads incorrectly stating that Obama launched his political career in a terrorist’s living room. And it will end on November 4th when the American public decides that 8 years of failure is enough.