Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Bring back Hillary: Rundle

Guy Rundle writes for crikey.com.au today from Alaska and appears to be in a state of despair not entirely induced by the cold:

Would like to stay and not only because the beauty is so eerie that you could almost believe -- along with Sarah Palin's loopy church -- that Alaska is the promised land ... But also because here it's slightly easier to ignore the stunning, endless, utter ineptitude of the Obama campaign, their determination to lose under any circumstances.

... How has this come about? Simple. From day one the Obama campaign has refused to attack the Republicans for one very central failing -- that they're Republicans. That they represent the rich. That they have impoverished large sections of middle America. That there is such a thing as class. ... Their thought has always been that American politics will not bear class warfare, that you have to talk in the language of false univeralism -- we're all in this together, we've got to find consensus. To quote Kirk Douglas from Billy Wilder's great satire The Big Carnival: "We're not all in the same boat -- I'm in the boat, you're in the water."

... Really, it's a retroactive judgment on Obama. ... There is something vacant, absent about Obama, some sort of lack of understanding about what is required -- in terms of message, in terms of soundbites, in terms of sheer fight.

Hell, what would Hillary be making of this? McCain and the Republicans would be sashimi.


This is a very Rundle-esque analysis and I don't necessarily concur, lover of consensus that I am. But the metaphor about the boat and the water is pretty compelling in this case. And he is almost certainly right about Hillary.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Off-topic, but I'm glad to see your poll includes a "Cowboy Neil" option, and amused that (so far) it has the most votes (including mine).

David

Kerryn Goldsworthy said...

Yes, that's my favourite too. But who is this Cowboy Neil of whom you speak?

Anonymous said...

One option would to indicate Hil as a member of his cabinet - give her a clear role and let her at 'em. Rundle's comments though appropriately journo-bleak, are typical of a lot of liberal commentary. It's not looking good at the mo.

Though you do have to chuckle at ol' Pizza's contortions - blaming maverick rogue elements on Wall Street for all this untidiness in financial matters - mysteriously nothing to do with the current government...

Di said...

I reckon Hil was given a very rough trot (but what's the use of complainin) - and anyway I don't live in their country - just a satellite according to some...

ahem

So Hil lost and then Obama selected some whatsisname as a running mate- presumably could have selected Hil- now it looks like US voters recognise the whole Republican ticket but just one, Obama, on the Dem side. Sounds dumb.

How many voters can each side get out? That is the question. Obama won the primaries by getting out the primary votes, in party. but is his organisation strong enough to get out the mass? The Republicans already have the structure to get out the right wing vote -thanks to Karl Rove- and the hockey mom may engage them - or maybe not - or maybe the churches wil just force them to go to the polls; or bribe em?

As I said I don't live in their country so I wouldn't know. Don't mind Rundle but. He's been posting good stuff from Alaska.

Anonymous said...

Cowboy Neil is a slashdot thing - all their polls have a joke option that usually involves Cowboy Neil and is always non-serious. Sorry. Geek joke.

David

Anonymous said...

Bugger. I hate html. Link is: http://slashdot.org/

David

Ann ODyne said...

I would pay good money to hear Mrs.Clinton on La Palin.

and if they duked it out, it would go to 15 rounds that's fer shure.

the whole thing's a crapshoot anyhow.
While all the media is rivetted by knocked-up teen daughters, they are not asking the hard political questions of McCain. This will get him under the wire, and Palin can be filed under 'Deal with this after we win'.
Obama should have had his people talk Oprah into being his VP running mate.

Colin Campbell said...

Hillary Clinton was given effectively a cabinet role in Bills administration to sort out health care. She totally stuffed it up, pissing almost everyone off and killing all the good will that got the idea up and in the political agenda.

I doubt much has changed. She is very polarising.