A Potential Game Loser
Today is a critical point in time in the race for the White House. A few days ago one of the candidates, John McCain, rolled the dice escalating the significance of the day on multiple fronts. The day already had the potential for high drama, but McCain escalated today into a possible game loser for himself.
Several days ago he announced that he was “suspending his campaign”. That act has already been shown to be nothing more than a stunt. There was no suspension of his campaign, it was just a charade. Then he announced that he may or may not show up for his long scheduled appearance at the first of three presidential debates, because of his “campaign suspension”. This latest tactic had no relationship to the current crisis, created by Republicans, that has descended on America. It is only about the status of the McCain campaign.
His campaign had stalled. Actually that’s inaccurate. His campaign was tanking. The polls showed his numbers slipping away by the hour, and the issues facing our nation were looming as titans in his path, with his record proving he was on the wrong side of all of them.
Earlier this week Sarah Palin appeared for an interview with CBS News anchor, Katie Couric. I’m no Palin fan, but it was painful to watch. The depth of her shallowness is appalling. That speaks to the judgment of John McCain in selecting a running mate that is absolutely unqualified for the job she’s seeking, much less to be one heart beat away from becoming president. John McCain didn’t want to have to potentially address that issue in a direct confrontation with Barack Obama.
Special interests, lobbyists and the official Republican policy of stripping away regulations have created a financial crisis only rivaled by the crisis created by Republicans when we went through The Great Depression. John McCain didn’t want to face the issue of lobbyists holding all the top management positions in his campaign. He didn’t want to face his record of voting for de-regulations that have caused this latest crisis. He didn’t want to face the issue of his economic advisor, Phil Gramm, who was the architect of the Republican legislation that brought us this crisis. He didn’t want to face the issue of his failed judgment when it counted the most.
So he threw in a stunt, claimed he was “suspending his campaign” to save America, and might not show up for the debate. Now that his campaign has learned they fooled no one with this ploy, his stunt has made this even more dangerous territory for him to travel. His trick play created a heightened level of significance.
John McCain created this mess for himself. There’s no one else to blame. But on the up side, America is gaining a very useful insight into what kind of a floundering, rudderless administration he would bring to the presidency. For eight years we have already lived through that, and the current polls are indicating voters don’t want another four years of the same.
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09-26-2008, 09:10 AM
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