Imprisoned

by tristero

My friend, psychotherapist KS, wrote me regarding McCain’s “My fellow prisoners” slip:

there has not been any discussion of what the hell happened here. was it a senior moment? was he traumatized as a prisoner, and was he having a flashback due to the pressures of the campaign? did he feel like a prisoner of his campaign, or of palin?
if it is second option, then what?

I can’t answer these questions, of course. I doubt even McCain knows.

But it is curious how some Republican campaign rhetoric focuses on capture and imprisonment. In fact, McCain’s new campaign speech features the line , “We’ve got them just where we want them.” And who can forget Bush’s infamous, “You can run but you can’t hide?” I’m sure that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this kind of sadomasochistic imagery. UPDATE: Let me add, as per comments, that McCain wanting to “whip” Obama’s “you know what” is also part of this imagery.

And it’s weird.