A Series of Tubes

Remember when John McCain admitted that he’s computer “illiterate“? Now his tech guys are trying to defend the fact that their candidate isn’t familiar with the most culturally significant communications medium in our lifetimes :

Pressed again on McCain’s tech savvy, he defends his candidate.

“You don’t actually have to use a computer to understand how it shapes the country,” he says.

“You actually do,” former Edwards blogger Tracy Russo responds, suggesting he try to explain Twitter to his grandmother and then ask her how that applies to governing.

“John McCain is aware of the Internet,” says Soohoo. “This is a man who has a very long history of understanding on a range of issues.”

The fact that McCain would consider the internet one of a range of “issues” is hilariously out of touch. That’s like bragging that Richard Nixon was familiar with the television “issue” in 1960 or that FDR’s fireside chats were panders on the radio “issue”. I don’t expect John McCain to start his own blog or have a personal Facebook account, but a lack of experience with a communications medium this ubiquitous is pretty revealing. After eight years of a president with zero intellectual curiosity, I find it astonishing that we have a prospective leader who wouldn’t want to get a little hands-on time with what has amounted to a communications revolution. I know if I was alive a hundred years ago and everyone around me was gushing about this new-fangled invention called the telephone, I’d probably put down the telegraph needle and give it a shot.

In other words, the medium really is the message in this case, and John McCain doesn’t seem to be interested in either.


posted by greg on June 24, 2008 @ 2:03 pm

10 comments »

  1. “John McCain is aware of the Internet,” says Soohoo. “This is a man who has a very long history of understanding on a range of issues.”

    Your point that it’s not an issue is a good one. But all I could think after I read this was about McCain’s “understanding on the . . . issue” on which Lieberman had to set him straight in the middle of a public appearance–Sunnis, Shiites, al-Qaeda, whatever.

    Where did I read about that? Oh, in one of your posts on This Modern World (http://thismodernworld.com/4238).

    Comment by OppEd — June 24, 2008 @ 9:03 pm

  2. See, when McCain doesn’t use the internet, it’s proof that he’s UNABLE TO GOVERN. When Obama has no military experience, it’s somehow NOT proof that he’s UNABLE TO BE COMMANDER IN CHIEF DURING A WAR.

    I mean, jesus fuck dog, are things like social security, infrastructure, and energy policy just too boring for gossipy bloggers these days?

    Comment by David Grenier — June 25, 2008 @ 4:10 am

  3. That’s telegraph “key”, not telegraph “needle”. I agree with your post, but if you’re going to criticize others’ understanding of technology, it helps to avoid embarassing mistakes yourself.

    Comment by radiobrad — June 25, 2008 @ 6:50 am

  4. [...] (via The Talent Show) [...]

    Pingback by John McCain and the Internets — June 25, 2008 @ 8:35 am

  5. Okay, so how *does* Twitter apply to governing?

    Just wondering.

    Comment by Steve — June 25, 2008 @ 10:42 am

  6. McCain ‘08: I am aware of all internet traditions.

    Comment by Raznor — June 25, 2008 @ 12:14 pm

  7. I’m with Steve and David Grenier. What’s the big deal?

    Comment by ambivalentmaybe — June 25, 2008 @ 2:02 pm

  8. Just another sign that McCain will be the perfect puppet for the corporate/goverment criminals who really run this national sheep farm.This brainwashed dupe,is a war profiteer’s wet dream,he will authenticate Bush’s phoney dumb dumb cowboy in a flightsuit role,while continuing a domestic policy designed to maintain corporate monopolies in energy,food,and healthcare markets(to name a few).His zeal for crushing labor,personel liberties,and political dessent,will benefit the militarized police,the greedy,corrupt,self-serving judiciary,the for profit prison system,and indeed,every upperlevel freeloading “public servant” in the country.Knowing that their fat salaries,pensions,and bribes,are safe from the citizens they rob,insures that the same overseerers who run Bush’s plantation,will gladly run McCains.Again I’am posting the link to the 1973 film “Hearts and Minds” . McCain has learned nothing,from history,or the vietnam war.
    http://filmschatten.blogspot.com/2008/06/hearts-and-minds.html

    Comment by pogo — June 26, 2008 @ 10:20 am

  9. McBush would be another W in that his eyes would glaze over if you discussed any other subject other than sending our young soldiers into war.

    Comment by dsmith — June 29, 2008 @ 4:10 am

  10. Great post, Greg. Hope you don’t mind an extensive blockquote on my blog…

    Oh, and the twitter remark is a terrible example. I’ve been blogging for years and am online for hours a day, and I have never used it, nor do I know anyone who does.

    Comment by Mr Furious — June 29, 2008 @ 7:08 pm

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