:: Surrealism as Campaign Tactic

Just had time for a quick peek at the news... and golldurnit if this wasn't the first thing I saw.

The AP says McCain "surrogates contended...that the Arizona Republican's turn toward drilling, which he had once opposed, showed how McCain would respond decisively to a crisis," while Obama's supporters "argued that his willingness to consider a bipartisan proposal including more drilling showed how the Illinois Democrat would pursue compromise to achieve results."

These two are running so hard to the "center" that they've actually smacked into each other and merged. Surely it must have occurred to Team Possum that by echoing McCain's positions, they are validating him? In other words: if Obama is sounding like McCain (a faux moderate) in order to appeal to the center, he's affirming that McCain *is* the center. This is one of the reasons the Obama campaign is (barely) winning the battle but losing the war - he may gain a few percentage points now, but the center, and thus the playing field, shifts to the right. He's letting McCain define what "moderate" means. And that's a long term loser for those of us who believe electoral politics is the means and issues are the end. [Of course if you think issues are the means and electoral politics the end, you don't care.]

Just to throw a bit of Orwell into the mix, here comes Tom:

Former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, on Fox News Sunday meanwhile, claimed Sen. Obama "has always been in favor of offshore drilling." Daschle explained that Obama previously favored additional drilling once the land already in use was fully exploited.

Very well. And I have always been in favor eliminating restrictions on gun ownership and distributing firearms to every citizen over the age of 18.

After the Russians invade, of course.

I'm having a news embargo for the rest of the day.