Things to Worry About
Nagourney & Bumiller report:
After a turbulent week that included disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin and signs that Senator John McCain was struggling to strike the right tone for his campaign, Republican leaders said Saturday that they were worried Mr. McCain was heading for defeat unless he brought stability to his presidential candidacy and settled on a clear message to counter Senator Barack Obama.
The concern here is touching, but it seems pretty obvious that McCain’s problems have less to do with his campaign tactics and “message” than they do with events in the world. Either McCain is the victim of bad luck, or else he’s the victim bad conservative policies producing bad results, but however you see that it’s pretty far-fetched to think that more clever campaign gambits could have pulled this out for him.
28 Responses to “Things to Worry About”
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October 12th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I hear Gramps is going to give out offer toasters at all polling places on election day.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
To be fair, he actually has run a schizophrenic, poorly managed, and almost entirely negative campaign.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
(THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR FROM GOP CHAIRMAN JEFF FREDERICK)
“With so much at stake, and time running short, [Virginia Republican Party Chairman Jeff] Frederick did not feel he had the luxury of subtlety. He climbed atop a folding chair to give 30 campaign volunteers who were about to go canvassing door to door their talking points — for instance, the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden: “Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon,” he said. “That is scary.” It is also not exactly true — though that distorted reference to Obama’s controversial association with William Ayers, a former 60s radical, was enough to get the volunteers stoked. “And he won’t salute the flag,” one woman added, repeating another myth about Obama. She was quickly topped by a man who called out, “We don’t even know where Senator Obama was really born.” Actually, we do; it’s Hawaii.”
http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/10/a_view_from_the_ground.html
(It is a Shame that the GOP Party has to resort to lying, cheating and stealing in order to try and keep power in their hands and in the hands of their Rich friends. The American people deserve more from their leaders — truth, honesty and integrity, something sorely lacking in the GOP Party!)
October 12th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I like the use of the past tense at the end there, Matt.
Anthony, I’m not sure whether “almost entirely negative” is really a criticism of McCain’s campaign. It’s quite possible that, given the circumstances and the candidate, that that really is their best hope. Obviously they believe that to be the case and they probably know better than you or I.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I think it’s a fact that McCain has run a woefully bad, erratic campaign. And Obama has shown that it is possible to run an organized, disciplined campaign in a turbulent environment. It’s not unreasonable to think that if McCain’s campaign was minimally competent, he’d be doing a lot better in the polls.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I think Matt’s explanation is nonsense. Yes, McCain had some bad luck, and yes under the circumstances he’s probably destined to lose. But now it looks like he’s going to lose by a lot /and/ take a few downticket candidates with him. That’s entirely his fault, for running a news-cycle oriented, erratic, and most important /unpresidential/ campaign.
Case in point: even after the markets started crashing he flubbed the opportunity to look and act presidential— it might have been possible if the campaign had gotten some real economic talent behind him quickly. Instead they just flapped around uselessly and then decided to go viciously negative some more. It’s driven his poll numbers into the ground.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
She was quickly topped by a man who called out, “We don’t even know where Senator Obama was really born.” Actually, we do; it’s Hawaii.”
But Hawaii had only been a state for two years when Obama was born there. Plus, it’s exotic. If Obama had better judgment, he would have been born in Myrtle Beach.
October 12th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Yeah, I think McCain snatched a humiliating defeat from the jaws of ordinary defeat.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
What election? Oh yea. Could still happen. Inauguration, don’t bet on it.
October 12th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Their campaign has been bizarre and all over the place. I don’t think they’re capable of appearing stable for three weeks.
October 12th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
McCain’s handlers have other things to do than mount an effective campaign: they are too busy playing Mrs. Wilson hiding Woodrow’s stroke. McCain obviously has a-bit-more-than-budding senility going on.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Well just as Republicans and conservatives blame Bush’s failures on his incompetence alone, when in fact he and those who work for and have supported him are the apotheosis of conservative idealogy and Republican policy of the past thirty years, one can say McCain as heir to all that is up the proverbial creek without a tiller to steady the boat already. Nonetheless, Bush has been a regular eight year long nincompoop, and it’s hard to imagine a more erratic, unfocused, undisciplined, grating campaign performance than that of McCain’s this year, especially contrasted with Obama’s far-sighted aplomb.
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