I love watching the political candidates avoid direct questions and spin their response. Senator John McCain is especially adept at "bridging" as we public relations people call it.
I've seen him asked countless times about his fading prospects (one recent poll had him trailing Senator Barack Obama by 14 percent). McCain always smiles contemptuously at the reporter asking the question, and sniffs: "Look, I like where we are. No one gave me a chance to win the GOP nomination, and I like the fact that no one's giving me a chance now. I like where we are in the polls."
I doubt that. In fact, I'll bet he and Sarah are sweating bigtime. Who wouldn't? Could you imagine some of the great losers in history saying something similar?
"I like the odds. The Indians seem to be running away," General George Armstrong Custer, Battle of the Little Big Horn, June 25, 1876
"I like Siberia and believe the Bolshevik guards will take good care of me and my family," Nicholas Romanov (the former Czar Nicholas II), November, 1917
"I like what the Colonists are doing. What's a little skirmish in two, small Massachusetts towns in the grand scheme of things?" King George III, May, 1775, after hearing about the battles of Lexington and Concord
"I like the fact that we struck the 'berg. The side of the ship needed to have some barnacles scraped off," Captain Smith, RMS Titanic, April 14, 1912
Just once, I'd like to hear the candidates say what's really on their minds:
- "I hope I don't blow this," Barack Obama
- "I'm toast," John McCain
It would be great if John McCain would come out and say, "My friends, I'm toast." If he's a master of bridging, then the term "my friends" would be his truss.
Posted by: LiaLia | October 15, 2008 at 03:42 PM
I like the fact that the best player in the league and my quarterback Tom Brady is out for the season after the first game. We shouldn't have any problems adjusting with an unproven backup who couldn't even start on his college team. I'm just going rally the troops, put my hoodie on and start preparing for our Super Bowl run.
- Coach Bill Belichick in September 2008
Posted by: Stan Phelps | October 16, 2008 at 12:32 PM
"Tell Jimmie Rollins that the NL East goes through New York."
- various NY big mouths
Posted by: Lunch Boy | October 16, 2008 at 01:50 PM
Congrats on the Phillies, Lunch Boy. They possess what the Mets lack: a spine.
Posted by: Steve Cody | October 16, 2008 at 02:05 PM