We’ve lived in a political culture where, for the past seven-plus years but really longer than that, Republicans have defined themselves - and then been defined by popular culture - as strong and aggressive. Democrats, by contrast, were weaklings and whiners.
Boy, how things are changing.
The right is currently in the midst of one big hissy-fit because of what they’re calling NBC’s “selective” editing of a Bush press conference, in which the edited video makes it seem as if Teh Leader is accusing Barack Obama of being an appeaser.
Anyone remotely familiar with the right wing this spring knows that this is exactly what they’re saying. But - the White House is apparently uncomfortable with the insinuation that Teh Leader himself is saying it, and demanding that NBC re-run the press conference with a follow-up question that was originally edited out included - to show the context.
You know, it seems to me there was a time when Democrats were reduced to this sort of whining, complaining about context, and how the Big Meanies had treated them so unfairly.
It shows, I think, how uncertain the right as a whole is over its strategy of painting Obama as an “appeaser,” something the base clearly savors but something which, after seven years of boneheaded “stay the course” rhetoric, the adults realize might not play so well in Peoria. As Marc Ambinder notes:
Still — doesn’t the fact that the White House still finds it necessary to explain what President Bush meant by “appeasement” mean that, in essence, Obama won the day?
Yep. And Dan Froomkin adds some context - the fact, for instance, that Teh Leader isn’t used to being hit with all the hardball questions, and may be trying to punish the reporter in question; and the fact that the right in general hates MSNBC, and by extension NBC; that the Fox News propaganda arm of the Bush administration has found its match a few cable channels away, doesn’t like it - and is doing a lot of complaining about it.
This is the right vacillating.
The right displaying weakness.
And as noted here by Glenn Greenwald, what we’re seeing in races around the country - and are guaranteed to see in the Obama-McCain race - is a Democratic Party emboldened by the smell of blood.
Case in point, as Greenwald notes, is a race in Missouri where the incumbent GOP congressman is being challenged by the former mayor of Kansas City; the incumbent ran this ad attacking his opponents family values (forewarned; as is the case with so many YouTube videos these days, this one doesn’t seem to be working, but maybe).
That prompted this response by the Democratic challenger:
Note the wording: Sad. Pathetic.
Writes Greenwald:
As the collapsing Republican Party becomes weaker and more discredited, Democrats — who have long been plagued by spasms of worry and fear in the face of such attacks — seem to be much more emboldened when responding. That’s the same approach Barack Obama needs to take, and he seems well aware of that.
Going to be an interesting campaign this fall. The Republicans aren’t used to being back on their heels - but methinks they’re going to learn.
