About Worn Out

After eight years of right wing domination, signs of the pendulum swing are everywhere.  This shot of the Doles — Liddy desperately clinging to her senate seat — is one of them.

The hand over the heart at the VFW post reflects a late and urgent effort to marshall the base.

Bob’s lapel stickers, like matching headlights, reflect how the Senator’s fate appears hinged to the top of the ticket.  (… Can’t read the fine print.  Is the word "Palin" there anywhere?)

And then, although the accompanying NYT article didn’t even mention it, here’s what the photo is largely about….  Quotes the Charlotte NewsObserver:

Bob Dole is on the campaign trail, but he’s trying to skip the handshakes.

…

Because of a war injury that left his right hand paralyzed, Dole usually carries a pen to discourage people from grabbing his hand and shakes with his left.

But lately he’s been having medical problems with his left hand too.

At a recent event at the state Republican headquarters, Dole had an Ace bandage wrapped around his left hand to discourage people from grabbing it, although a few did anyway.

"If I didn’t have that on, it’d be black and blue tonight," he said.

The photo is a metaphor.  Like the GOP, its presidential candidate and the larger conservative movement, Bob Dole — who got hammered by Clinton in ’96, and like John McCain, is a war veteran with wounded arms — is wearing out.

(image: Jeremy Lange.  September 2008.  Cary, North Carolina)