Cementing a Stereotype in McCain's Campaign

I’m not sure John McCain’s campaign staff can be any more inept as they have been. They must be measuring their success in terms of how much solidification of the “old man, old politics” McCain stereotypes can be attained per day.

Let’s go over the stereotypes and see how the campaign successfully attained them:

McCain’s website features graphic miscues abundantly. Plastered on the front page of the site is this. The first thing I thought of upon seeing the “media is in love” piture is…yup, you guessed it, “I Love Lucy.” It shares a very similar backdrop to the famous 1950’s show starring Lucille Ball.

Another great example I came across was from this article on CNN.com. Eric Pearlmutter, a member of USC’s Young Republicans club, pointed to a picture of a barbershop on JohnMcCain.com. The webpage’s subject was apparently touting John McCain’s positions regarding small business ownership. “Well when you see the Main Street barber shop image, you think of 1950s America, an entrepreneur, a Silicon Valley guy would definitely make him more attractive," he said.

I’ve seen enough interviews and have read enough articles on John McCain’s wife, Cindy, to know she is truly a good person and should be an asset to Sen. McCain, personally and professionally. Why, then, is she not out front and center of his campaign? His staff seems more intent on portraying her as an old school political wife than who she really is, a strong, intelligent woman. From her stepford stare, to the physical position behind the Senator (as opposed to next to) in campaign-packaged pictures, John McCain is turning away from today’s young female voters. The “political wife” is and has been a dead image.

And I have to mention the infamous green backdrop. When it became apparent that Obama would become the nominee of the Democratic Party, John McCain’s podium backdrop changed. It was a bright green. I know the intent of his campaign was for a livelier backdrop that would emphasize his Irish heritage, but green is not a color that flatters him physically. His face looked sick, gaunt and expressionless. One look of a screenshot should have been enough for his image consultants to nix the idea.