McCain’s “Fundamental” Problem
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Barack, Economy, McCain
“The critical event was McCain’s unfortunate comment that the economy is sound. He’s been really slow to pick up on what’s been going on. He stumbled knee-deep into a pile, and it’s going to be hard for him to get out. This has been the biggest faux pas committed by either of them all year.â€
- Charlie Cook of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in a story about Mccain’s awful week.
Whether you like it or not, people are talking about the “fundamentals of economy are sound” line this week like they were talking about Palin’s fumbling of the Bush Doctrine last week. This is why McCain has gone negative on Obama and tried like hell to tie him to this crisis. Because he needs to climb out of the hole he’s dug himself.
But as Politico explains (in the linked story above), that may be working to Obama’s advantage…
McCain aides, recognizing the political difficulties of the moment, are trying to turn the debate over an economic crisis into a fight over Obama’s character and leadership. In a blistering speech Friday in Green Bay, Wis., McCain tried to put the blame for the financial meltdown on Obama and resurrect a larger debate over taxes and the candidates’ competing economic plans.Obama, by contrast, has sought to play the steady, if cautious, statesman — studiously avoiding a position on the AIG bailout, aligning himself with economic advisers such as former Clinton Treasury Secretary and economic soother Robert Rubin, and talking about the need to put politics aside and address the problem at hand in a fashion his advisers hoped seemed presidential.
“Today,†Obama said in Coral Gables, Fla., “I fully support the efforts of Secretary [Henry] Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman [Ben] Bernanke to work in a bipartisan spirit with Congress to find a solution of this sort.â€
Obama remained above the political fray Friday — at least until McCain attacked, at which point Obama returned fire by mocking his rival as being “panicked.â€
McCain desperately needs this race to shift from the economy, and with more than a month left it very well may. But for right now it’s the economy, and McCain’s flub is making many think he’s simply not the guy to turn the fundamentals around.
More as it develops…
This entry was posted on Saturday, September 20th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Barack, Economy, McCain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
You can’t “makeup” this stuff!
http://pabloonpolitics.com/lo_pig.htm
September 20th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
McCain trying to make Obama responsible for the crisis makes zero sense. No one will believe that and it will McCain look, desperate, or dishonest or both. It is just not a plausible line of attack when you spend the rest of the time alleging he has never done anything.
September 20th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I think the real turning point of this election for McCain came back in early July when he didn’t hire Mike Murphy.
I still think that deep down inside, John McCain IS the “straight talking Maverick”.
For past couple of months (because he’s been convinced it’s his “best” chance of winning) though, he’s tried to be a “message man” who says what he needs to, to try to appeal to various interest groups.
Unfortunately for him, he’s just not very good at it … because it’s not who he really is.
I predict the gaffs will keep coming.
… not because John McCain is a “bad” man. But because it would hard for any of us to keep our stories straight when we first have to go ask Steve Schmitt what our message is this week.
And yes, I know that Obama has advisors, and a message. But his biggest advantage is that the message has remained essentially unchanged (little play on words there) since the very beginning of his campaign.
September 20th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Todd,
If he hired Murphy then he would’ve had another running mate and maybe not have received such a bump after the RNC. As for his ‘maverick’ qualities, check out these points made in a recent WaPo article:
“A decade ago, Sen. John McCain embraced legislation to broadly deregulate the banking and insurance industries, helping to sweep aside a thicket of rules established over decades in favor of a less restricted financial marketplace that proponents said would result in greater economic growth.”…. “Government has a clear responsibility to act in defense of the public interest, and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” a fiery McCain said at a rally in Tampa yesterday. “In my administration, we’re going to hold people on Wall Street responsible. And we’re going to enact and enforce reforms to make sure that these outrages never happen in the first place.”
But as Senator, in 1999, “McCain had joined with other Republicans to push through landmark legislation sponsored by then-Sen. Phil Gramm (Tex.), who is now an economic adviser to his campaign. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act aimed to make the country’s financial institutions competitive by removing the Depression-era walls between banking, investment and insurance companies.” It’s all about credibility, my friend!
Now, to be fair, McCain has broke with his party many times to reveal his maverick side, and this John McCain would’ve had a good chance to win my vote this election. Since then he’s completely turned me off with his campaign, esp since he hired this current team and picked his VP choice. OMG what was he thinking!
September 20th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Hi Ben,
Exactly, he would have had another running mate … most likely Romney.
And you’re also right, he probably wouldn’t have gotten the big convention bounce. But realistically, the main difference would have been that Obama would have stayed ahead for the past few weeks … until His bounce faded … at which time we’d probably find the polls just about exactly where they are now anyway.
The big plus for McCain would be, that he would have a credible running mate. And more importantly, if his “straight talker” reputation was still intact (and I think any body would have a hard time arguing that it is), some of the contradictions in his previous record would Not matter nearly as much.
If we could honestly believe that McCain was leveling with us, giving us the straight scoop now, I think a lot of people would be more willing to overlook some of his past contradictory positions.
No way now though. As someone who has admired John McCain in the past, anything he says today, I just can’t tell whether it’s what he really thinks, or what his campaign advisers told him to say.
Bottom line, I don’t trust him (or his judgment).
… and somehow, I don’t think I’m alone amongst moderate voters.
Todd
September 21st, 2008 at 11:42 pm
As a moderate, I have to agree. McCain’s desperation is showing.
From the choice of Palin to his turning negative, to his latest confusion and furious attempts at backpedaling, most moderates I know just don’t trust his judgment.
Mr. Keating Five helped deregulate the industries that are now dragging America down. The rest of us are now going to pay for his coziness with big banking.