Synecdoche: Measuring the drapes

I came across this example of metonymy in an blog post by the New York Times, Stanley Fish (bold is mine):

Weeks later, the pattern continues, but in an even more intense form. The McCain campaign huffs and puffs and jumps from charge to charge: Obama consorts with terrorists; he’s a socialist; he’s a communist; he is un-American; he’s not one of us; he’s a celebrity; he’s going to take your money and give it to people who never did a day’s work; he’s going to sell out Israel; he’ll cozy up to foreign dictators; he’s measuring the drapes.

Measuring the drapes. This is an example of synecdoche: the kind of metonymy where the part is used to refer to the whole. Measuring the drapes is part of the process of taking over the White House which is an important - and symbolic - part of becoming president.

Measuring evokes anticipation. It is metonymy that suggests something that will happen in the future.