They compounded a millionfold Bush's legacy of incompetence by soiling both possible Republican ideological strategies going forward: They killed off Bush-style neoconservatism as well as the more traditional fiscal conservatism McCain himself was once known for by trying to fuse both approaches into one gorgeously incoherent ticket. Full Story »
Posted by Randy Morrow
One of the strongest, most readable and compelling opinions I've read of the 2008 election. Be advised: this story is not for everyone. It is loaded with profanity and overstatements that would make many a breakfast table news reader uncomfortable. But Matt Taibbi is relentless, and his attacks are grounded in intense scrutiny of John McCain's campaign.
What a powerful and irreverent criticism of John McCain and the Republican Party! Paragraph after paragraph my jaw dropped at how caustic -- but totally on point -- Taibbi was willing to be. Great subtext too -- like no one I've read he shames the political theater of the 2008 election and the uniformity of media coverage that obediently put it in the spotlight. Taibbi's invective is welcome amid the hodgepodge of post-election analysis and opinion that has tried and in many cases ... More »
“I just don’t think America’s ready for a black president,” she explains. “And I don’t mean that in a racial way whatsoever.” More »
Deconstructing failure while giving as much credit to all the responsible parties and still gives a ray of hope in a time when hoplessness has taken a new seat at the table.
Another biting article from Mr. Taibbi, here he runs down the mis-steps of the McCain/Palin campaign (as well as the state of American politics). He ends on an optimistic note however: "We feel like ourselves again, and the floundering economy and our two stagnating wars now seem like mere logistical problems that will be overcome sooner or later, instead of horrifying symptoms of inevitable empire-decline." and says we must credit McCain for screwing up at just the right time.
The article is colorfully written, though occasionally Taibbi's images go maverick on him. He describes the spectacle of the disasterous campaign, but largely misses one facet that is bothersome. Why was this election even as close as it was; why did Obama not win 75% to 25%? He touches the periphery of it when he talks about the dumbed down Ivy League journalists.
The race was kept unconscionably close by a bevy of commentators and media republican advocates in the big corporate media who mostly kept promoting the McCain/Palin ticket and platform and echoing attacks against the Obama/Biden ticket and platform. Their are exceptions, but mostly the press is not serving to inform the democracy.
We’ve dumbed this process up so much over the years, in fact, that it had lately become hard to imagine an American presidential election being anything but an ... More »
The most perfect analysis of ultra conservatism’s 2008 confusing, bumbling, stumbling, crashing, self-inflicted destructive behavior that shall ever written. This over-the-top, overly written, insulting, sarcastic, hilarious article chock full of shame-shame words and exaggerated comparisons is my kind of journalism.
Interestingly, McCain and Moose Momma garnered 47% of the popular vote. The reasons: some neocons voted for a renegade neocon; other neocons voted for what they were stuck with; some voted for a war hero; others for experience and security; some saw Moose Momma as one of them; and a whole bunch of folks voted against a black man.
Like a martini for breakfast. If he'd had been more on time he could have been McCain's campaign manager.
I hope K. Rove reads this article and see's what his secretive , misleading and just plain mean political manipulative mind has set the GOP back for at least eight years.
Absurd over statement. Obama got a "landslide" 53% of the vote. Obama got lucky with the stock market and banks tanking just before the election. The real story is that the wrong candidate got elected by chance.
Yes, because it takes on cliches about the quality of Presidential-level politics; yes because it incorporates vivid and enaging description that is more than plausible. And yes, because it's 'slant' is clear; we read the author thinking out loud, and whether we arrive where he does or elsewhere, we've been given something to think about.
I have greatly enjoyed Matt Taibbi's coverage of the 2008 presidential election. He has the gift every good feature writer must have, the ability to provide succinct work pictures for his readers. A case in point is the description of the atmosphere at McCain's concession. I look forward to seeing what Taibbi turns his attention to next.
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