Hoover? Really? Is That Your Best Dig?

Does John McCain understand at all that by trying to taint Barack Obama by using references to Herbert Hoover he’s accomplishing absolutely nothing? I’m older than Obama (just), I love American History, and even I know almost bupkis about the Hoover administration.

This is the sort of generational reset I have to do all the time. My brother is almost 36. By the time the 80s started, he was only turning eight years old. He doens’t have much in the way of effective first-hand memories of the larger world before 1980 (I’ve asked). Do you think references to Hoover are going to resonate with him, Senator McCain? It’s just blah, blah, blah in a high school history text that was forgotten almost as quickly as it was scanned.

Seriously, if you want to keep losing points with the younger voters (say, those under 50), then make references to Polk, Pierce, or Filmore in addition to your Hoover comparisons. Why not cite an Indian war or two?

It also doesn’t help that the Hoover comparison probably fits better with G.W. Bush than with Obama. By making the comparison, you’re just asking for the counter-compare of Bush being Hoover and Obama being FDR. We younguns might not remember FDR, but we know he’s well thought of. As long as Obama doesn’t start a trade war with the rest of the world, the odds of him becoming a Hoover are slim.

So, John…I can call you John, can’t I?…If you really want to score major voter ducats, stop what you are doing and act presidential. That’s what your opponent is doing and he’s wiping the floor with you. Here’s a deal Joe the plumber, Joe the draftsman, Joe the executive, Joe the househusband, Jo the business owner, Jo the waitress, Jo the landscape designer, and Jo the postal worker can tell you about in a heartbeat: as much as Obama isn’t behaving like Hoover, you are most certainly behaving like Howard Dean…another politician with a dubious grasp on political appearances. If you don’t stop, then you lose big.

How to turn it around? You and Governor Palin need to stop mentioning the other ticket. Just talk about your stuff. Don’t try to out-patriot or out-family-value the other guys, just talk seriously about serious issues. Be a leader because at this point in time you are little more than a follower being led around by the nose with these old-school tactics. Stop huckstering for votes. EARN them. You aren’t a carnival barker, you’re a U.S. Senator for pity’s sake…start acting like it. Your current brand of politicking is embarrassing us in front of the world, and frankly, I’m resenting it.