It is a truism that the mushy middle American voter, that very endangered species that can vote either way in an election, already has some issues or they wouldn’t be in the middle, especially in a Trump administration. One of those issues is that the mushy middle can be swayed by the weirdest of things. It never has to make sense, nor do they.

For instance, as we’ve reported lately, Americans viciously punish any candidate that looks to have a medical issue or appears physically weak. That’s pretty ridiculous given that one of our greatest presidents, FDR, was in a wheelchair 90% of the time, and John Kennedy – who never lived a moral life but was a moral leader – was sickly as they come with back issues. It is ridiculous but no less true. One can see the impact by watching Trump respond and respond, and respond, to things like the video of him tip-toeing down a ramp, slurring speeches, or nearly falling on his ass going up the steps to a speech. Meanwhile, Biden whizzes by in a bike, which wasn’t factored into team Trump’s plan.

If one is a calculating bastard, trained in the darkest political arts, you go hard at these subtle messages, trying to catch 2-4% off guard, change their opinion without them even knowing it. The Lincoln Project is stuffed to the gills with these bastards and we love them for it because they put their country ahead of party. They truly might be the defining factor in a race for the future of this country, since Democrats are just naturally shitty at campaigning. We don’t do cynical well.

So they cooked up a picture meme to bust some nets, which is exactly what it’s doing:

A helpful guide. pic.twitter.com/zDIPm7DBsV

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) September 2, 2020

It is exceedingly difficult to look “strong” when one picture captures your high heels, your pirate leg recently rendered half-useless, and the unraveling head that tells the whole story. Other than perhaps the picture of Trump coming back from Tulsa, that’s about as devastating a picture of Trump as one has seen.

The fact that it also reminds the viewer that Trump is walking through Trump carnage, is just further proof that the best of the best political hacks are doing some of their best work. It shouldn’t matter. It matters.

****

Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom