The Phony Campaign

2007-12-26 Update

Phony volatility continues …

Query StringHit CountChange Since
2007-12-20
"Ron Paul" phony232,000-45,000
"Hillary Clinton" phony223,000-11,000
"Barack Obama" phony188,000-29,000
"John Edwards" phony185,000+5,000
"Fred Thompson" phony164,000+15,000
"Mitt Romney" phony160,000+5,000
"John McCain" phony154,000-9,000
"Rudy Giuliani" phony149,000-93,000
"Dennis Kucinich" phony149,000+1,000
"Mike Huckabee" phony128,000-23,000

  • The big phony news over the past few days has been the "unendorsement" of Mitt Romney by Pravda on the Merrimack, aka the Concord Monitor.

    When New Hampshire partisans are asked to defend the state's first-in-the-nation primary, we talk about our ability to see the candidates up close, ask tough questions and see through the baloney. If a candidate is a phony, we assure ourselves and the rest of the world, we'll know it.

    Mitt Romney is such a candidate. New Hampshire Republicans and independents must vote no.

    Puh-leez! Are New Hampshire voters unusually well-qualified to see through phoniness? Hah, I wish.

    And speaking as a true aficionado of candidate phoniness: there's no particular reason to start with Romney. Or stop with him either.

  • For example, our current frontrunner:

    Presidential contender Ron Paul said Sunday that despite his philosophy of cutting government spending, he was justified in requesting funding for special projects, known as earmarks, for his Texas congressional district.

    Paul, the libertarian-leaning GOP lawmaker from Lake Jackson, said on NBC's Meet the Press that he has requested earmarks "because I represent people who are asking for some of their money back."

    "They steal our money," said Paul, during a heated exchange with the show's host, Tim Russert, who questioned whether he was being true to his convictions.

    This year Paul requested 65 earmarks, more than any other congressman in the Houston area, including money for the renovation of an old movie theater in Edna and wild shrimp marketing.

    Paul's secondary defense: although he requested the earmarks, he voted against the bill in which they were contained. Now that's phony!

  • Thomas Sowell wins today's coveted Pun Salad "Read The Whole Thing" Award for today, with his impressions of the major candidates. His phony-spotting abilities far outmatch those of the Concord Monitor:

    None of the candidates looks truly inspiring at this point. I wouldn't buy a used car from most of them, nor a brand new car from some of them.

    And, of course, we're in total agreement here:

    John Edwards is the easiest to peg. He looks just like the phony that he is.

    Indeed!

  • And even though it is, technically, after Christmas, Mark Steyn's comments on candidates' Christmas ads should not be neglected for that reason. Especially telling is his observation that Ron Paul is "the only candidate with the courage to be filmed in front of an artificial tree." And there's his analysis of the Hillary ad:

    In Senator Clinton's Christmas message, Hillary is bundling up presents for all of us. They're beautifully wrapped, but oddly, instead of putting the name of the intended recipient on the gift tag, she's written out what's in them: "Universal Health Care", "Alternative Energy", "Middle-Class Tax Cuts." Strange. "Where did I put 'Universal Pre-K'?" she says. "Ah, there it is." If you thought Christmas at the mall was too materialistic, this is bonanza time. Message: It Takes A Santa's Village Staffed By Unionized Government Elves To Raise A Child, and I'm Santa and you're gonna need a much bigger chimney for all the federal entitlements I'll be tossing down there. Your stocking's gonna be packed tighter than Monica in fishnets.

    A belated Christmas gift to Pun Salad: the absence of that repugnant and depressing ad from the airwaves.


Last Modified 2014-12-01 10:19 AM EDT