McCain wins over the decent right:
Today I was listening on NPR to a bit played back from a McCain rally
in Michigan where he was asked a question about illegal immigration.
McCain started out with a nuanced response about "how long they have
been here, what their record has been, ..." etc. You can see the video
at my blog post below.
He was soon interrupted by a woman (along with some heckling by a few
others) calling for more strict measures. As McCain tried to reason
with the crowd, the heckling grew worse and his patience ran out. "But
I will tell you this, ma'am", he said in exasperation and some anger,
"I am not going to call up a soldier that's fighting in Iraq today and
tell him that I am going to deport his mother. I am not going to do
that. YOU can do it. Okay?". The crowd broke out in applause, as
McCain turned away.
Two things struck me about this (apart from the pandering about
'securing the border' etc): his direct and clear rejection of the mob,
and the positive reaction that the rejection drew from the crowd.
Obama fans speak of his inspirational or transformative capacity, but
I doubt I have seen him take a clear and initially unpopular stand
such as this and use that clarity and integrity to turn the crowd
around.
http://platosbeard.org/archives/392
--ravi
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