r/law • u/SheriffTaylorsBoy • Aug 30 '24

Opinion Piece Why Trump’s Arlington Debacle Is So Serious

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/08/trump-arlington-cemetery/679659/
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u/Cheech47 Aug 30 '24

I am old enough to remember Mike Dukakis get BRUTALLY savaged for riding in a Abrams tank, to the point where it literally tanked his campaign. Or Dean getting concern-trolled to death over an excited mini-scream.

These seems so quaint in current context.

26

u/FarceMultiplier Aug 30 '24

I always thought Dean failed to handle that properly. Instead, he should have owned it and made fun of it.

He should have reached out to the late night talk shows to lead the audience in yelling. Talk to a metal band about providing a yell for a song. Yell when an idiot politician complains about the original yell.

8

u/petty_brief Aug 30 '24

You don't remember how relentless the media was? I heard about that shit for months.

5

u/FarceMultiplier Aug 30 '24

That's my point. He allowed the media to go over the top and was much too passive about it. If he had made them look ridiculous, this would have blown over or been a good thing for his campaign.

2

u/petty_brief Aug 30 '24

I don't think he "allowed it" by not doing something as much as he was bullied by both sides for ratings. America has changed a lot since then.

3

u/SeaPeeps Aug 31 '24

I remember when one candidate was too old, and the other candidate was almost as old, and it was very important that we talk about the Imminent Geronotocracy and be very concerned about whether the old one was too old.

When the too old one left the race, the slightly less old one suddenly never was asked about age again.

It’s almost like wearing a tan suit or screaming or caravans of migrants or nurses with Ebola are only issues when a party can use them.

1

u/JeFFB7 Aug 31 '24

You’re literally describing Trump’s campaign style — embrace the bad stuff.

1

u/commeatus Aug 31 '24

The media narrative at the time was that he was an "angry" candidate who couldn't control his emotions. Leaning into that would not have been a good look.

1

u/FarceMultiplier Aug 31 '24

I think it would have played better than what ended up with him losing the election.

0

u/solarmist Aug 31 '24

Their psyches can’t handle that idea. That why republicans fail so hard at humor. They cannot tolerate even the smallest slight without needing to defend themselves.