Posted: 10/11/08 12:57
by Dave Mindeman
John McCain came to Minnesota yesterday and our Minnesota nice label got busted.
His campaign is beginning to sow the harvest of what was inevitable from such a relentless negative campaign. And he seems to have managed to find every mean person in Minnesota. And to call this gathering a "town hall meeting" is a stretch -- it was like you had to carry your "mean" card just to get in.
It started on Thursday and Friday when the tickets were made available. Only people who were willing to make 50 calls for the campaign could get the tickets....in other words, only the "basest of the base" would be there. Ross and Coleen Rowley had told the Lakeville High School that they would be demonstrating outside the high school, holding up anti-war signs to offer a counter viewpoint. The school's administration was not resistant but the Rowleys got a call from the Lakeville police department. The police told them that they would have to be moved to an outside perimeter...a good distance from the event. When Ross asked them why, the police captain told them that (paraphrasing) 'a few parents called and didn't want their children to see that message'. When a reporter called that captain back to check on that, suddenly it changed to a secret service request.
And then came the rally and the questions from the audience. Now, I suppose when you run dark and forboding negative ads on a consistent basis, you might expect that your base of support will pick up on that. The questions were angry...they wanted a fight...they were "scared". These are not the kind of emotions that will give you a civil campaign.
But I think even McCain was taken aback at a lady questioning Barack Obama's ethnic origin (with negative implications) -- "can't trust Obama because he's an Arab". To which McCain recoiled and realized that they had stepped outside the boundaries. While trying to play damage control and indicate that Obama was a good person and capable of being President, the boo birds wafted through the building.
John Kline was there and he's not helping:
After the rally, U.S. Rep. John Kline, a Lakeville Republican, said McCain was like a coach telling his team to calm down. But he said their message that he needed to be more aggressive was "something he needed to hear."
And an 18 year old kid weighs in:
Rich Marshall, 18, a Prior Lake High School student, agreed. "Quite honestly, I think he needs to be more cutthroat," he said.
And if you thought the woman who couldn't trust Obama might backtrack from her question, guess again:
But Quinnell, the Shakopee woman who wrongly called Obama an Arab, was disappointed McCain didn't answer her charges. "He just kind of brushed me off," she said.
Is this still Minnesota?
You know, we have a country in real crisis right now. After this election, no matter who wins, we have to come together as a nation and go down a very difficult path.
McCain got it right this time. We need to be respectful. Either of these men are fully capable of leading this nation and they will need the full support and confidence of everyone.
Time to see if the "Country First" slogan is real.
