Requiem for a Maverick

They compounded a millionfold Bush's legacy of incompetence by soiling both possible Republican ideological strategies going forward: They killed off Bush-style neoconservatism as well as the more traditional fiscal conservatism McCain himself was once known for by trying to fuse both approaches into one gorgeously incoherent ticket. Full Story »

Posted by Randy Morrow
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Posted by: Posted by Randy Morrow - Nov 21, 2008 - 1:06 AM PST
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Edited by: Derek Hawkins - Nov 21, 2008 - 2:50 PM PST

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Reviews

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4.2
by Derek Hawkins - Nov. 21, 2008

One of the strongest, most readable and compelling opinions I've read of the 2008 election. Be advised: this story is not for everyone. It is loaded with profanity and overstatements that would make many a breakfast table news reader uncomfortable. But Matt Taibbi is relentless, and his attacks are grounded in intense scrutiny of John McCain's campaign.

What a powerful and irreverent criticism of John McCain and the Republican Party! Paragraph after paragraph my jaw dropped at how caustic -- but ... More »

“I just don’t think America’s ready for a black president,” she explains. “And I don’t mean that in a racial way whatsoever.” More »

See Full Review » (14 answers)
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4.1
by Glenn LaBauve - Nov. 21, 2008

Deconstructing failure while giving as much credit to all the responsible parties and still gives a ray of hope in a time when hoplessness has taken a new seat at the table.

See Full Review » (12 answers)
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4.9
by Jack Dinkmeyer - Nov. 22, 2008

The most perfect analysis of ultra conservatism’s 2008 confusing, bumbling, stumbling, crashing, self-inflicted destructive behavior that shall ever written. This over-the-top, overly written, insulting, sarcastic, hilarious article chock full of shame-shame words and exaggerated comparisons is my kind of journalism.

Interestingly, McCain and Moose Momma garnered 47% of the popular vote. The reasons: some neocons voted for a renegade neocon; other neocons voted ... More »

See Full Review » (12 answers)
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4.1
by Randy Morrow - Nov. 21, 2008

Another biting article from Mr. Taibbi, here he runs down the mis-steps of the McCain/Palin campaign (as well as the state of American politics). He ends on an optimistic note however: "We feel like ourselves again, and the floundering economy and our two stagnating wars now seem like mere logistical problems that will be overcome sooner or later, instead of horrifying symptoms of inevitable empire-decline." and says we must credit McCain for screwing up at just the right time.

See Full Review » (11 answers)
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3.4
by Dwight Rousu - Nov. 21, 2008

The article is colorfully written, though occasionally Taibbi's images go maverick on him. He describes the spectacle of the disasterous campaign, but largely misses one facet that is bothersome. Why was this election even as close as it was; why did Obama not win 75% to 25%? He touches the periphery of it when he talks about the dumbed down Ivy League journalists.

The race was kept unconscionably close by a bevy of commentators and media republican advocates in the big corporate media who mostly kept promoting ... More »

We’ve dumbed this process up so much over the years, in fact, that it had lately become hard to imagine an American presidential election being anything but an ... More »

See Full Review » (14 answers)
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5.0
by Kenneth Sibbett - Nov. 21, 2008

Like a martini for breakfast. If he'd had been more on time he could have been McCain's campaign manager.

I hope K. Rove reads this article and see's what his secretive , misleading and just plain mean political manipulative mind has set the GOP back for ... More »

See Full Review » (7 answers)
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1.3
by Norman Rogers - Nov. 22, 2008

Absurd over statement. Obama got a "landslide" 53% of the vote. Obama got lucky with the stock market and banks tanking just before the election. The real story is that the wrong candidate got elected by chance.

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4.7
by Lyn Attreed - Nov. 21, 2008
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4.1
by Mark Schlesinger - Nov. 21, 2008

Yes, because it takes on cliches about the quality of Presidential-level politics; yes because it incorporates vivid and enaging description that is more than plausible. And yes, because it's 'slant' is clear; we read the author thinking out loud, and whether we arrive where he does or elsewhere, we've been given something to think about.

See Full Review » (6 answers)
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4.0
by Erin Skinner - Nov. 21, 2008

I have greatly enjoyed Matt Taibbi's coverage of the 2008 presidential election. He has the gift every good feature writer must have, the ability to ... More »

See Full Review » (6 answers)
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4.5
by David Udin - Nov. 24, 2008
See Full Review » (5 answers)

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