McCain's Long PassHe's only got one option.
Posted Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, at 5:18 PM ETIn conversations I've had this week with Republican activists in Iowa and New Hampshire, the comments about John McCain's campaign have been of a piece. It's not just that they don't think he has a chance. They've moved past that. They're now trading theories about the real reason he's staying in the race. The prevailing view is that McCain is hanging on until January so he can claim federal matching funds to pay off his debts.
PRINT
DISCUSS
E-MAIL
RSS
RECOMMEND...
Facebook
MySpace
Mixx
Digg
Reddit
del.icio.us
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Sphere
StumbleUponMcCain and his campaign insist they're earnestly trying to win, but that's not going to stop the chatter. He doesn't have enough money for ads. His campaign is so broke, in fact, the candidate is flying coach and carrying his own bags.
If McCain wants to prove he's still committed to winning, it's time for him to throw his Hail Mary pass. That can only mean one thing: doubling down on his support for continuing the war in Iraq and taking on his opponents for being half-hearted about it. His big chance to do this will come in Sunday's early morning Republican debate, the first since the McCain campaign went into its graveyard spiral.
McCain's support of the war is the only thing he has going for him. At this point, he isn't going to win the nomination with a better health-care plan or by changing his position on immigration. But he might have an outside shot at turning things around by making the case that his rivals shy away from—for more anguish and heartache in Iraq. McCain has been the president's most loyal supporter on the troop surge for months for one simple reason: because he really believes in it. Among Republican voters, his fierce resolve on the issue is his strongest selling point. By making constancy and sacrifice his big themes, McCain can also take some of the focus off of his political problem and reframe his campaign around the larger mission he thinks we have to get right.
Given how much more knowledgeable he is than his opponents on security and defense issues, McCain stands to win any argument he provokes on the subject. The issue also provides a nice contrast with his opponents. Though McCain's rivals support the surge and make fun of Democrats for backing a strategy of defeat in Iraq, no one talks about keeping up the fight the way McCain has. There's even some evidence that other Republicans are inching away from their support of the surge. If McCain is serious about staying in the campaign, he'll make them pay for any fudging or waffling on the issue. McCain can make the case that Romney's and Giuliani's executive experience means nothing if they're going to shirk the big fight of the day.
This is a risky approach, of course, but McCain doesn't have a lot of time or other alternatives. He's got to show Republicans he's still alive. And maybe he has to show himself, too. McCain has always said he would rather win the war than the election. At this point, it may be impossible to win either. But honorable defeat remains a possibility.
Harry Reid's Clever Scheme To Tax Rich People To Fund Health Care
Fix Your Terrible, Insecure Passwords in Five Minutes
The John Cassavetes Movie That Changed American Cinema Forever
Why Doesn't Health Care Cover Birth Control?
Why Do They Play Bagpipes at Military Funerals?
The Four Reasons Precious Is So Fat
Remarks from the Fray:
The Senator lost his bearings a long time ago, and it has nothing to do with his money pot today or his sentiments re Iraq.
It has to do with his convictions. Or lack thereof.
Back when he was running against the current President, he was admired by a great number of independents and Democrats for his steadfastness and toughness, despite what you might hear today.
He would have won that election, I believe, outright. No ifs, ands, or chads. But he wasn't there, because the Republicans went for the neophyte with the backing of the heaviest of hitters, and conservative/moderate Democrats (and many independents) were never permitted the opportunity to support him.
Tragically, or perhaps providentially, McCain has since been seen to sell out to the religious right he once disdained, an error of the greatest degree, and has waivered as well on any number of other issues, the perception being that he is interested in the Presidency at the expense of upholding the principles he once appeared to hold so dear.
The game is lost, because he lost himself in the game.
James Webb, who is in his brightest image, in a sense, would take care to heed the lesson.
--Soccerfreak
(To reply, click here.)
John McCain is twice the man any of the other GOP contenders could ever hope to be. He is correct that a complete withdrawal of our troops from Iraq without a post war plan would be an unmitigated disaster.
Before we remove ourselves from this most retarded folly, we must remedy some of the ethnic strife our invasion created. We must also move beyond the finger pointing of the fact that the war should never have happened,.
Iraq is a disaster, not because of our armed forces but because of their incompetent and arrogant leadership. Should McCain quit apologizing for the man who so slandered and libeled him 7 years ago and outline his own strategy for this nation's future it would become hard for any candidate from any party to outshine him. If he continues to be Bush Lite then he deserves the ignoble end to his distinguished political career that we appear to be witnessing.
--NickD
(To reply, click here.)
Maybe McCain should be the one to throw the long bomb with an appeal to those of us who think we made a commitment to Iraq and have to make good on it. That would really distance him from the Democrats who advocate running away or walking away at a fast clip. It would also distance him from other Republicans, most of whom advocate shuffling in place before eventually sneaking out the side door. He can't do any worse than he's doing now, and it would put the issue on the table for as long as he could stay in the race. Not only that, but it's exactly the position he seems to favor. Looks like a perfect fit to me.
Would that cause me to vote for him? Probably. I'm sick of the neocon thinking that got us into this jam on the premise it would be easy and cheap. I can agree with the Democrats who advocate a quick exit, but only because I think we don't have the guts to do what needs to be done if we stay in Iraq. If we continue with the Bush method, we're looking at ten years of intermittent surges, a succession of alternating success and failure that won't transform or rebuild Iraq. Every candidate except McCain is likely to follow some path along those lines, whether you want to call it withdrawal, redeployment, cutting and running, staying the course, etc.
Give me President McCain and the will to do what we promised, or give me a cut-and-run Democrat, but give me someone who will do something. We're pissing away our future and Iraq's future.
--Arlington
(To reply, click here.)
Typical of the 'analysis' we're subjected to from the out-of-touch MSM. McCain isn't drowning because he doesn't have enough money to buy ads. Or because he isn't getting his message out. Or any of the other typical political strategy reasons. Most voters don't question his patriotism. Or his character. Or his history. We don't question his commitment to his ideals or those of this country.
We question his judgment. Nothing more. McCain is fading because he is wrong. Wrong about the reasons we went into this war. Wrong about the threat to this country. Wrong about how we should conduct ourselves as it winds down. Iraq was a mistake. A mistake in concept and execution. Most Americans recognize this now. Yet, McCain, and this author, continue to think it's merely a game of strategy and positioning.
--Farquar
(To reply, click here.)
(8/8)