Nobody's coming to McCain's party

"I hate you, John." "I hate you, too, sir."

Bush and McCain; McCain and Bush...what a pair!

Getting corporate fat cats to write campaign checks (with a wink and a nod and a "You don't expect anything for this, do you?" chuckle) was the one thing that Junior seemed to do well. But, when you're saddled with a candidate like John McCain...well, blood from a turnip, lipstick on a pig...feel free to choose your own folksy, homespun adage... sometimes there's just nothing you can do.

Bush and McCain were set to co-headline a fund-raiser at the Phoenix Convention Center today, with tickets ranging from $1000 to $25000 apiece. Everyone associated with McCain's campaign was no doubt primed for a big, boisterous, "You go, John" event with television cameras and balloons, and a raucous, fired-up crowd.

But then, reality asserted itself.

According to the Phoenix Business Journal, sources "familiar with the situation" said the event was moved because tickets weren't selling all that well, raising the prospect of television cameras shooting footage of McCain and Bush rallying a near-empty convention hall, and that there were concerns about there being more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than McCain supporters actually attending the event.

The fund-raiser was suddenly and hastily moved out of the Phoenix Convention Center and into "private residences in the Phoenix area."

Pardon me if I smirk.

First off, this is an event that is occurring in McCain's home state! If he can't even fill a convention center in Phoenix, what are his chances in "battleground" states like Florida, Virginia, or Michigan?

Secondly, the concerns about war protesters speaks volumes about Junior's political toxicity. Junior's approval rating is hovering in the high-twenties to low-thirties (and one really must wonder about the mentality of those who still approve of him). He can still draw crowds, apparently. It's just that those crowds are more likely to throw rotten vegetables and use bad language than anything else.

Just as Americans are starting to clearly see the economic devastation, to realize the painful and unavoidable transitions to our once-comfortable lives, all that Republican jazz about "keeping more of your own money" starts to wear thin. Our money is all gobbled up by the corporate titans that are sticking it to us with gas prices inflated by unregulated market speculation, by soaring health care costs exacerbated by legislation that was written to serve the health insurance industry, by soaring tuition costs, by crashing housing markets.

In short, there aren't many people who want or can afford $1000 tickets to hear a couple shysters lie to them.