When exactly did eloquence become a distasteful trait, something to disdain and ridicule rather than admire or aspire to? Did I miss that meeting?
Twice last night, McCain sought to damn a man seeking the Presidency by belitting That One’s abilty to communicate.
On paper, it looks fine enough:
Well, you know, I admire so much Senator Obama’s eloquence. And you really have to pay attention to words.
[...] Just again, the example of the eloquence of Senator Obama.
But on radio or television, you get the full sense of sarcasm dribbling incontinently from McCain’s mouth and down his jowls.
By seeking to scorn the fact that Obama can string together a coherent sentence, choose his words carefully and successfully employ nuance, McCain must surely be suggesting that he himself does not possess such distasteful attributes – though I’m buggered if I know how this weakness in speaking is supposed to make McCain more electable.
Personally I would place “ability to communicate” in the top half-dozen attributes needed in someone running for a role as an elected head of state, but what the fuck do I know, my friends?
Jesus, I wish Bill Hicks were still alive.
Why do people keep talking about the ‘knockout blow’? There’s no such thing, short of Obama imploding, admitting double murder and apologising to the American people and recusing himself from the race? It’s a stupid myth that does no justice to otherwise intelligent media commentators. “Oooh, McCain failed to deliver the knockout blow. What – a funny line? That makes up 10 points in the polls?” Titwank.