Mistaken Mansions - a sign of things to come

The Republicans come off as being just plain incompetent. The major proof for that statement lies in the choice of Sarah Palin as vice presidential candidate; a choice that was not even made by McCain, but by the powers of the Religious Right; a choice that was not properly vetted, if at all.

Then we have the Mansion thingy.

The Republican National Committee had been months or maybe years in the planning of the Convention just concluded in St. Paul.

How could it be that on the night of McCain's big speech - that's the one in which he told the story that he is really reluctant to talk about - his POW experience; the one in which he proceeded to spill lies about the Democrats and Obama (energy and taxes, for two); the one in which he was supposed to show the country what a great leader he would be if they would only give him the chance; the one that put everybody outside the Convention floor in a deep stupor - that the Convention planners would show a huge mansion on the huge screen that dwarfed Mr. McCain's balding pate?

My first thought was, "My god, they're showing off one of his many mansions!"

Could that be possible?

Well, no. That's not what they had in mind. But I don't think anyone knows what they had in mind. It turns out the photo on the screen was of the Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, California!

What the Walter Reed Middle School has to do with anything, no one knows. I read that personnel from the school initially said they were happy to see their school displayed before the Convention, but they didn't know anything about it. Now the principal of the school has expressed a muted outrage that the photo was used without their permission and wanted the world to know they knew nothing about this and they do not support any political party!

Could it be that the RNC intended to show a photo of Walter Reed Army Medical Center as some kind of link to McCain's long-ago military service? Did they intend to intimate that McCain was pro-military or pro-veterans or pro-war?

But it wouldn't make sense to show the Walter Reed Medical Center for McCain has voted against improving the care of veterans at every opportunity for the past several years!

The Repubs are refusing comment. Naturally.

Whatever. It does make you wonder, though, how these clowns think they can ask for your vote to put them in charge of running the country, when they can't even run a convention!