Following up on that Lakoff article... I was just watching this web video questioning McCain's lack of honor and integrity. It's pretty strong, but it makes a key mistake.
The first line of dialogue reinforces McCain's Vietnam experience. Regardless of the context, anytime the words "McCain" and "Vietnam" are mentioned in the same sentence, it's a win for McCain. Everyone knows about McCain and Vietnam, so there's no reason to mention it. Same goes for "McCain" and "POW." Likewise, anytime the words "Palin" and "Mom" or "Baby" or "Small Town" are mentioned in the same sentence, Palin wins.
Yet there's a wide variety of words that need to be superglued to any mention of the Republican ticket. Bridge to Nowhere is a huge one. The details don't even matter. Anytime the words "Palin" and "Bridge to Nowhere" are mentioned in the same sentence, Palin loses. Anytime the words "McCain" and "Bush" are mentioned in the same sentence, McCain loses.
Other words include: Liars, Flip-floppers, Sell-outs, Incompetent, Corrupted, Angry, Impulsive, Out of Touch, Clueless, Super-rich, Far-right, Racist and so on.