Eric Krol’s story suggests where the campaign is headed–into satire as the press tires of a loon:
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Alan Keyes used his first major public speech Wednesday to say gay people are sinners, those who would allow women to have abortions in cases of rape or incest lack integrity and his opponent is like a socialist for supporting big government.
In other words, just another day on the campaign trail for Keyes, whom the state GOP brought in from Maryland 10 days ago to take on Democratic Senate nominee Barack Obama of Hyde Park.
You’ll notice some are trying to blame the media treatment of Keyes on some sort of magical effect the Obama folks have on the media. This ignores the more logical conclusion that the press tires of loons pretty quickly. That people expect Keyes to be taken seriously is a cynical joke on the people of Illinois. He isn’t doing anything different than he has done in all of his public pronouncements in four other campaigns and in his role as a commentator. He makes obnoxious and offensive pronouncements and then calls anyone who disagrees with him stupid, evil or a name caller while he is claiming to have taken the high road. The only difficult part to figure out about Alan Keyes is whether he is aware of his act or if he is so self-deluded that he thinks he is a serious person.
It occurs to me that the entity — other than the IL-GOP — that will be severely harmed by the Keyes Senate campaign is… Alan Keyes.
Before this campaign he was apparently perceived by some to be a “engaging speaker,” “polished debater” and “a man of ideas.” They seemed to believe that he could do something positive for the IL-GOP.
But with the national attention that this campaign is getting coupled to Keyes actual performance is there a right-winger in the United States foolish enough to believe that Alan Keyes would be an asset to their position?
In the end, the Keyes Senate campaign is such a disaster that it is taking Alan Keyes down with it.