Pretty much what I expected. It's clear that the GOP wants to fight this election on its turf, which is personality/character, tribal identity, and cultural values. But this time around I don't think it's enough. I agree with Josh Marshall:
Biden will have his hands full in the debate. As a personality, she's far more appealing (IMO) than Hillary, regardless of her stand on women's issues. She's got Annie Oakley spunk and this was her moment--she did as well as she could with it--but is she going to win enough undecideds to get to 270? She'll get the usual suspects, but I am still optimistic that a majority of Americans are onto this cynical b.s. 2008 is not 2004--even Peggy Noonan is not buying this smelly package. And Obama is not Kerry--I'm optimistic that the Obama campaign will be savvy enough to finesse GOP strategy and tactics. And there's still all the stuff most people don't know about her yet from her time as mayor and governor. There could be some real time bombs ticking that will keep her on her heels and diminish her ability to do her barracuda thing.
The GOP understands in a way that the Dems don't that facts don't matter. So much of the speech content, of course, was nonsense. The characterization of Obama's tax policy. This idea that the Republicans and McCain are the party of reform?! That the party will march into Washington to take on the special interests? But facts don't matter, so what' the pointless to try to make an issue of it.
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UPDATE: And how can anybody defend the kind of nonsense coming from Romney an Giulaian last night? From Romney's speech: "We need change all right -- change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington." Even he can't possibly believe this kind of classic GOP up-is-downism. It's just one example of just-say-anything demagoguery that calculates there are enough people who don't live in reality but in a fantasy that is realityish. It knows that there are relatively few negative consequences for throwing this kind of nonsense out there.
Do Democrats do it too? Not with such over-the-top, big-lie, breathtaking boldness.
Is it condescending to say call people deluded who buy into this? Or is it just the plain truth? Does anybody believe you can have a sane dialogue with people who live in this kind of fantasy world? I know people who are deluded don't like to be told they are. Neither do drunks like to be told they have a problem. Doesn't mean they don't have a problem. An intervention is called for here.