Obama Speechwriter Switches to McCain; Ignored by MSM By P.J. Gladnick (Bio | Archive) October 29, 2008 - 10:56 ET Imagine if a speechwriter for John McCain had switched sides and announced she was going to vote for Barack Obama. Would she not be featured bigtime in the mainstream media complete with new thrills running up Chris Matthews leg? Well, this did happen except that it was an Obama speechwriter, Wendy Button, who became disillusioned with The One and switched to supporting McCain. Here are the highlights of Wendy Button's explanation of why she made the switch:
Since I started writing speeches more than ten years ago, I have always believed in the Democratic Party. Not anymore. Not after the election of 2008. This transformation has been swift and complete and since Im a woman writing in the election of 2008, very emotional."
Young lady, only when the switch is made from Republican to Democrat will it be mentioned in the MSM. They search the country for "lifelong Republicans" who are going to vote for Obama but when an Obama speechwriter switches over to the "Dark Side," all you will hear from the MSM is the sound of crickets chirping.
When we first met, Obama and I had a nice conversation about speeches and writing, and at the end of the meeting I handed him a pocket-sized bottle of Grey Poupon mustard so he wouldnt have to ask staff if it was okay to put it on his hamburger. At the bottom of the bottle was the logo for The South Beach Diet and he snapped, Oh so you read People magazine. He seemed to think that I was commenting on his bathing suit picture. I helped with his announcement speech and others. I worked in the Senate when he was in D.C. One day after a hearing on Darfur, we were walking back to the office. I was still hobbling from a very bad ankle injury and in a very kind and gentle way he offered his arm when we approached the stairs. But later in debate preps and phone conversations and meetings, I realized that I had made a mistake. I didnt belong. No matter how hard I tried, my heart wasnt in it anymore.
...The final straw came the other week when Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (a.k.a Joe the Plumber) asked a question about higher taxes for small businesses. Instead of celebrating his aspirations, they were mocked. He wasnt a real plumber, and Theyre fighting for Joe the Hedge-Fund manager, and the patronizing, Ive got nothing but love for Joe the Plumber.
Having worked in politics, I know that absolutely none of this is on the level. This back and forth is posturing, a charade, and a political game. These lines are what I refer to as hooker linesa sure thing to get applause and the press to scribble as if theyre reporting meaningful news.
As the nation slouches toward disaster, the level of political discourse is unworthy of this moment in history. We have Republicans raising Ayers and Democrats fostering ageism with erratic and jokes about Depends. Sexism. Racism. Ageism and maybe some Socialism have all made their ugly cameos in election 2008. Its not inspiring. Perhaps this is why I found the initial mocking of Joe so offensive and I realized an old line applied: I didnt leave the Democratic Party; the Democratic Party left me.
The party I believed in wouldnt look down on working people under any circumstance. And Joe the Plumber is right. This is the absolutely worst time to raise taxes on anyone: the rich, the middle class, the poor, small businesses and corporations.
...Not only has this party belittled working people in this campaign from Joe the Plumber to the bitter comments, it has also been part of tearing down two female candidates. At first, certain Democrats and the press called Senator Clinton dishonest. They went after her cleavage. They said her experience as First Lady consisted of having tea parties. There was no outrage over Bros before Hoes or Iron My Shirt. Did Senator Clinton make mistakes? Of course. Shes human.
But here we are about a week out and its déjà vu all over again. Really, front-page news is how the Republican National Committee paid for Governor Sarah Palins wardrobe? Wheres the op-ed about how Obama tucks in his shirt when he plays basketball or how Senator Biden buttons the top button on his golf shirt?
...Governor Palin and I dont agree on a lot of things, mostly social issues. But I have grown to appreciate the Governor. I was one of those initial skeptics and would laugh at the pictures. Not anymore. When someone takes on a corrupt political machine and a sitting governor, that is not done by someone with a low I.Q. or a moral core made of tissue paper. When someone fights her way to get scholarships and work her way through college even in a jagged line, that shows determination and humility you cant learn from reading Reinhold Niebuhr. When a mother brings her son with special needs onto the national stage with love, honesty, and pride, that gives hope to families like mine as my older brother lives with a mental disability. And when someone can sit on a stage during the Sarah Palin rap on Saturday Night Live, put her hands in the air and watch someone in a moose costume get shotthats a sign of both humor and humanity.
Has she made mistakes? Of course, shes human too. But the attention paid to her mistakes has been unprecedented compared to Senator Obamas 57 states remarks or Senator Biden using a version of the Samuel Johnson quote, Theres nothing like a hanging in the morning to focus a mans thoughts.
...I was dead wrong about the surge and thought it would be a disaster. Senator John McCain led when many of us were ready to quit. Yet we march on as if nothing has changed, wedded to an old plan, and that too is a long way from the Democratic Party.
I can no longer justify what this party has done and cant dismiss the treatment of women and working people as just part of the new kind of politics. Its wrong and someone has to say that. And also say that the Democratic Partys talking pointsthat Senator John McCain is just four more years of the same and that hes President Bushare now just hooker lines that fit a very effective and perhaps wave-winning political argument
doesnt mean theyre true. After all, he is the only one whos worked in a bipartisan way on big challenges.
Wow! Pretty strong stuff. However, Wendy, don't expect any accolades from the MSM for making your political switch in the "wrong direction." Oh, and I highly doubt you will ever again be permitted to post to your Huffington Post blog. P.J. Gladnick is a freelance writer and creator of the DUmmie FUnnies blog.