The "Maverick"
This blog entry is part of a Fall 2008 blogging exchange between American University in Cairo and Stanford University's Online Activism class. To read all the entries, follow this thread; be sure read the earliest entries first.
I am writing this blog post as part of my PWR 2 class, The Rhetoric of Online Activism. I will be commenting on John McCain website. (JohnMcCain.com)
John McCain knows he most likely will not be able to sway any Democrats in this election, but might be able to persuade some independents to vote for him. His site seems to engage the already loyal Republican voter while being a collage of his life and adding forays into Obama’s inexperience.
Upon entering the webpage, there are videos of John McCain taking to the audience about how horrible the last four years have been trying his hardest to separate himself from Bush but not the Republican Party. He then goes to show the events of the Vietnam War and how he was not in the “hippie” movement, but in a prison camp in Vietnam for years serving his country. He uses his experiences in Vietnam to show how he puts “Country First” and himself second.
When directed to the main page we see tabs for his issues and then “Photos of the Week” showing McCain and Sarah Palin in images that make them look powerful and distinguished. He then tries to appeal to the “Joe the Plumber” person with the phrase, “Don’t Tax Me for Working Hard”. On the “Issues” page, the site uses images of different things including a fighter jet a picture of a “traditional” American family outside a house. These photos appeal to many people as being “American” and promoting the “American Dream”. McCain displays himself as “Maverick” willing to put the country first and how he crosses party lines to help America, for example the immigration reform bill alongside Democrat Ted Kennedy.
JohnMcCain.com seems to try and appeal to the values of the Republican Party while debunking Obama from everything from his Senate voting record to his inexperience. McCain poses himself as the seasoned and experienced “Maverick” while making Barack Obama seem too inexperienced to be President, and stating how he does not stand up for the American People. I think his site does a great job engaging people who are already going to vote for him but could have done a better job influencing the undecided voter.
Comments
McCain is in fact trying to show himself as a "Maverick" and this is very apparent from his website but I do not think that attacking Obama in every bit of the website is an adequate way of displaying that. He is always trying to show that he is not at all like Bush and that Obama is an inexperience person who knows nothing about politics or economy. Most of his website is devoted to this. Even when he talks about his plans for America he cannot prevent himself from comparing his with Obama's plans. I agree that he is trying to show himself as the "Maverick" persons whose only concern is his country but I do not think that managed to do this in a good way.
Posted by: Mohamed Selim Ibrahim | November 3, 2008 01:29 PM