"Locked up in modes that surely have little interest to voters"

Not unlike the editors of the Wall Street Journal, Baby Cakes — outside on the lawn early morning, locked up in a squirrel-monitoring mode — has little interest in presidential dog-and-pony shows.

"Both men have locked up in modes that surely have little interest to voters," declare the WSJ editors this morning, in high dudgeon over that anti-Obama "Celeb" ad we awarded four stars yesterday (Click here to view ad): 

Senator McCain's latest "inexperience" TV ad about his opponent opened with fleeting images of celeb babes Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, who likely don't know who he is. The celebrity link was a leap that fell flat. 

If that was silly, Senator Obama's verbal crackback at his opponent's criticism was more troubling. Campaigning in Missouri, he said: "So what they're going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, 'He's not patriotic enough, he's got a funny name,' you know, 'He doesn't look like all those other Presidents on the dollar bills.'"

Dog-and-pony shows? Tiny is not amused.

We beg to differ, of course:

1. For us, Barack Obama's race-card tricks are old hat. Why be "troubled" about his legerdemain now? As we blogged way back in December of 2006 when we picked up on something "troubling" the Illinois Senator said that seemed to elude our betters in the mainstream media — that people of our political persuasion are probably "not going to vote for me because I’m African-American" — Obama has been race-baiting Republicans like us from the starting gate.

She much prefers locking up in a mode of "rapt contemplation Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of her name: Her ineffable effable Effanineffable Deep and inscrutable singular Name."

2. As for the WSJ editors' dismissal of the McCain "Celeb" ad's conflation of fans' unquenchable thirst for all things Britney and Paris with Obamaniacs' similarly insatiable appetite for the object of their lust, our friends at the Journal would appear to be projecting their own high-falutin' preferences for low-key, measured, rational debate onto an unwilling populace.

Update: Dogs, ponies, snakes, snails and all things bright and beautiful, including Tiny and Baby, at Modulator's Friday Ark #202.

Comments

[goomp]

Hail the ignorant who seem to dominate our media. Of course many people will not vote for a candidate because of his race or his religion. A century ago a Catholic could not have been elected president. Today being a Morman or having some negro ancesters will infuance some voters. So what? If it is still a free country that is their right.

[Patti]

Well, people are definitely locked into something unpleasant. The unscientific poll on my site has not only Obama winning, but Ron Paul ahead of McCain. I love nonscientific polls...

[Tom the Redhunter]

Well... you may be right that the candidates are talking about issues that don't concern the voters, in the sense that they're not straight policy-wonk debates.

But in another sense the things being discussed do concern voters, because they center on character. Voters want, or should want, to know exactly who who these people are. What makes McCain tick? Obama? Character counts.

Also, love the cat photos!

[Victor Tabbycat]

I don't pay 'tension to politicks or sell-ebritees, but squirrels - them I can watch fur hours. I can belief in squirrels. Purrs!
~ Victor
Beautiful cat pictures! I'm jealous.
~ Tabbymom Jen

[Gayle Miller]

Character counts!

Sam the Wonder Cat has been extremely busy of late as the back yard is being repaired, supplied with much fill dirt, regraded, re-topsoiled, reseeded and covered with straw. He has been seriously stressed, between caring for and guarding his ailing "mom" and supervising the yard work, a poor pussycat hardly gets any rest at all.

I'm on the mend but still need a little time to pull it together.