He So PoMo

by digby

… he so cool.

Last week I wrote about Neal Gabler’s scorching essay about McCain’s relationship to the media in which he observed:

Though Mr. McCain can be the most self-deprecating of candidates (yet another reason the news media love him), his vision of the process also betrays an obvious superiority — one the mainstream political news media, a group of liberal cosmologists, have long shared. If in the past he flattered the press by posing as its friend, he is now flattering it by posing as its conspirator, a secret sharer of its cynicism. He is the guy who “gets it.” He sees what the press sees. Michael Scherer, a blogger for Time, called him the “coolest kid in school.

Here’s a perfect example of the phenomenon:

We were extraordinarily impressed at your ability to look right into the camera and lie about the fact that you’re a huge fan of The Hills,” host Joe Scarborough said (at 48 seconds into the video above). “Heidi Montag on your side – you got that going for you.” “That was pretty good wasn’t it?” McCain replied. “Well, she’s a very talented actress.” “He did it again!” Scarborough remarked.

Check out the video at the link to see how pleased with themselves the two cynical jokesters are. As I wrote in my earlier post, McCain has a lethal advantage here. We all think he’s a crazy old coot who nobody could possibly take seriously, but underestimating his appeal to the press (or his sense of humor) is stupid. He can deliver a line.

H/T to RS