08:45 am
The Dean Wormer Theory of Politics
If you look at this blog’s tag cloud, you’ll notice that the largest are the ones for Barack Obama and John McCain. Given that we are in the middle of a Presidential election, that’s no surprise. But it did get me thinking about the issue of balance. I’ve actually tried to write an equal amount on both campaigns, but it hasn’t turned out that way.
Obama’s tag cloud is slightly larger than McCain’s. Given my preference for Obama, that’s not surprising. But if you look at the number of posts on each, I’ve actually written more on McCain. Now that surprised me. How could I have more stories on McCain and yet more mentions of Obama?
I know this all may seem a little solipsistic or meta (can something be both?), but I think there’s an important point here. It’s what I’ll call the Dean Wormer Theory of Politics
When I write about Obama, it’s usually (although not always) to discuss something he has said or done. But when I write about McCain, it’s usually because he’s complaining about Obama. So while some of my posts on Obama mention McCain, all of my posts on McCain mention Obama — because every time McCain opens his mouth, he talks about — or in fairness, is asked about — Obama.
You could ascribe this to media bias towards, or at least media obsession with Obama. But there’s more to it than that. Increasingly, McCain’s campaign is about why Obama is the wrong man for the job rather than why McCain is the right one. Either he’s obsessed, or as I’ve noted before, his advisors have concluded that the best path to victory is through their opponent.
If it is the latter, the McCain campaign might want to revisit what happened four years ago to McCain’s former friend, Senator John Kerry. Kerry ran on the argument that a) Bush was bad; b) anyone would be better than Bush; and c) if you believed both a and b, then you should vote for him. Obviously, that proved not to be a very successful approach to getting yourself elected President (see also Bob Dole, 1996).
And that brings me to the Dean Wormer Theory of Politics. In Animal House, Vernon Wormer tells Flounder, “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.” Well in politics, mean, bitter, and angry is no way to win an election, Senator — especially if the economy favors your opponent and your signature issue doesn’t motivate voters the way you think it should.
Senator McCain, what do you stand for? Is there anything you believe in, beyond the surge in Iraq? Yes, you’re for offshore drilling and a gas tax holiday, but those seem more devices to talk about Obama being against them than principled stands. Your commercials are all about how awful Obama is, not about how great you are.
So tell us, Senator, please. What reasons can you give — without attacking, disparaging, or even mentioning Obama — that would convince Americans to support you?
Image and links courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.