John McCain’s Convention Night Message To Barack Obama
By Doug Mataconis | Related entries in NewsHere’s the ad that John McCain will run tonight as Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party’s Presidential Nomination:
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I wrote about this earlier today — something confrontational, something to steal the thunder away from Obama, a clue that would point toward’s McCain’s choice of a running mate — but, given the tone the campaign has been taking lately, this certainly wasn’t it.
I think this is a good move on McCain’s part mostly because the ad itself is impossible to criticize. He’s congratulating Obama for an historic achievement; one that will, no doubt, be remembered no matter who wins the the election in November.
One also gets the sense that McCain realizes that, because of that history, this election isn’t really about him at all. He may still win, but this election will always be remembered as the first time that an African American, the son of an immigrant from the continent of Africa and a white woman no less, became one of the two men who, in 146 days will be the 44th President of the United States. There’s really no way to deny the meaning behind that simple fact, so it’s too McCain’s advantage to be as magnanimous as possible.
Smart move.
I’d also wager, given the tone of this ad, that, contrary to earlier reports, there will be no announcement of McCain’s VP pick tonight, either before or after Obama’s speech.
Cross-posted at Below The Beltway
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August 28th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Nice. Not what I expected either. I’m sure he’ll make up for it starting next week though.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Cool. I like it when political opponents don’t act like dicks to each other.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
You can almost make out Karl Rove’s hands making McCain’s lips move.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Nice, but he still looks snarky - like he’s gonna bust out laughing.
August 28th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
I agree with Mike. I don’t think McCain necessarily meant to give such mannerisms, but he definitely seems to be on the cusp of dripping with sarcasm. I’m sure it was an honest ad with the most honest of intentions, but I seriously doubt that McCain will really mean what he said in it until after he wins/loses.
On another night, this reminds me of the Christmas Truce (from WWI). “We’ll be back at it tomorrow”
August 28th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I think the ad is good and breath of fresh air.
As far as being sarcastic, we all know he’s had multiple operations on his face to remove skin cancer so I don’t think you can fault the guy for not having the perfect smile.
August 28th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
It seems that while there will be no announcement tonight the campaign conveniently is letting it leak.
August 28th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Isn’t Obama of mixed racial heritage? I keep hearing people say, “first African-American,” or “First Black Presidential Candidate,” but most of the racially mixed people I know identify themselves as such. Just kind of odd.
August 29th, 2008 at 12:05 am
Why the redundant formal approval of a message he’s already recited in a single shot?
August 29th, 2008 at 8:39 am
ExiledIndependent - If Obama was in the Antebellum South, do you think he’d be enslaved? If Obama lived in Selma during the 60s, would he be allowed to vote?
My point is that yes, we can quibble over “which half” of Obama we’re calling what here, but racism isn’t about that kind of nuance. It’s about judging people based on skin color.
and Obama is black.
August 29th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
CaptainUltimate…..
THANK YOU!
man i am tired of hearing these stupid comments “hes not as black as most african americans.” “hes not black enough.” truth is if you trace any black person in america’s family back far enough theres prolly an 80% chance that there’s a white person mixed in there somewhere. there arent many people of any race in america that are PURELY that race, theres always something else mixed in somewhere along the line.
As for McCains ad… i have a hard time believing he means anything he says anymore, but im glad he at least had the intelligence to say it whether he means it or not.. as for whether or not this means hes going to clean up his campaign or not, only time will tell.. but its going to take a while for him to gain back my respect after the crap hes been pulling during this campaign. either way my vote is firmly with obama.. but it would be really nice to see a republican run a respectable campaign for once.