Have A Little FU With Your National Crisis

It's a fascinating behavioral portrait of the co-conspirators who pulled the plug on the McCain campaign this morning.

Is this what a senior campaign staff would look like having, as alleged, just been forced to take earth-stopping measures in response to a national crisis they likened to 9/11?

In using the financial crisis to upend the election process, co-opt the delicate Wall Street negotiations in Congress, and unilaterally force the Obama campaign off the road, Charlie Black, Matt McDonald, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter can barely restrain themselves from laughing in our faces.

(image: Reuters. New York. September 24, 2008)

Comments

[MonsieurGonzo]

ref : “can barely restrain themselves from laughing in our faces.”

. . . !

stupendous grab off the wire-stream, Michael, just fabulous ~ likely to be seen nowhere else but right here on your BAG, man.

PS fwiw, when you're grabbing images off the wire-stream, it is as if you, yourself become the "photo-journalist", so to speak, taking pictures of the pictures. For all intents and purposes you are a roving reporter, entirely indistinguishable from "real" ie., image originators, themselves. Interestingly, it does not need to be real-time, Michael. Were you to construct your (text) narrative as that drama of being there, the illusion does persist that YOU are the image-maker from OUR p.o.v., in perpetuity.

[Victoria]

Whoa. Great find + interp.

Now if you can just find the follow-up shots wherein those smiles are wiped away ... decisively.

[TrumanHugh]

It seems, ultimately, that the joke is on all of them. Obama's campaign hasn't been derailed; in fact, today's actions are further proof that the wheels have come off the Straight Talk Express and the McCain/Palin campaign.

The majority of opinion today is that what McCain did only further plays into this notion that he is flailing about trying to find solid footing. He tried to get Obama to follow his lead, but Obama--and cooler heads--prevailed.

The debates WILL proceed as planned and Obama will continue on with his campaign.

Smile away, guys!!

[Eric]

@TrumanHugh: It's now the Cut And Run Express.

[matt]

i can't quite decide if steve schmidt looks more like lex luthor or a conehead.

[donna]

I think Obama should debate one of the McCain cardboard cutouts if he refuses to show up. It would probably do a better job.

[Books Alive]

I'd add to this the clip I saw of "Freddie" Davis looking like the cat that caught the canary. He was shown a couple of times looking immensely proud of himself following McCain's preemption announcement and before Obama's response.

[CF2K]

The smug brazenness, the lack of shame, the "up is downism"--where have we seen this before? Oh, yeah--the Republican "Brooks Brothers Riot" that shut down the recount in Miami-Dade recount.

http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/28/miami/story.jpg

I wonder if any of Team McCain have "Brooks Brothers Rioter" on their resumes?

[MonsieurGonzo]

fwiw, At a dinner party last night MadameGonzo sketched out on a napkin a signage ("do this in that Orwellian 'CHANGE' font, white-on-blue rectangle") that, in her opinion would be an effective counter-propaganda ("run off a few hundred of these and pass them out for the next crowd-scene broadcast").

MY MONEY ?

NO MAVERICKS !

------------0------------

Obama 'O8

[odanobu]

...who pulled the plug on the McCain campaign

no: they didn't abate the McCain campaign, they accelerated it.

They "pulled the plug" on the Obama campaign.

[chimproller]

This economic disaster is a perfect chance for McCain to show his "leadership" and reach across the aisle etc. - and by looking at the smirks on McCains brain(s), they know it.
I bet McCain comes out of this looking better, not worse.

[cmac]

Here's a happy thought: if McCain, through some horrific set of disastrous circumstances, manages to win this election, these are the folks who'll be running the country.

Kill me now.

[zatopa]

Steve Schmidt is not drinking Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

[Fuzzykisser]

Can't thank you enough for pointing us to this piece!
I hope it now gets to be better known.

[Lib4]

Would that be a cup of STARBUCKS latte Mr Schmidt is holding in his hands...how f'n elitist of him....

[eatbees]

"Are we having fun yet?"

[Michael]

Good lord... they look like a scene out of a mafia flick... the GoodFellas waiting outside of the club for the Boss to emerge from his meeting with another Don Capo...