McCain campaign starts on weaknesses?
It seems very odd strategy to me that the McCain campaign is starting out so much on the defensive. First was the speech in New Orleans trying to argue he's not Bush's third term, and now we have the first big campaign ad buy called "Safe" which closes with "I hate war."
It just seems very odd to start out so defensively.
It just seems very odd to start out so defensively.
posted by mikevotes at
10:51 AM
5 Comments:
Not necessarily related to the post, but...
It dawned on my that I often think of McCain as a WWII era vet, not a Vietnam era vet. I wonder why that is? Maybe, like Bush, he frames much of his world view in the context of Allies vs. Axis... appeasement remarks, Hitler/Nazi references. To me it just falls into that whole McCain is living in the past and out of touch with the world of the 21st century image.
By
-epm, at 11:43 AM
I find myself thinking of him as a WW2 vet also, probably by association with Dole.
Of course, the immense distortion of the GWOT is that it's a conventional war like WW2, when it is really a counter-insurgency campaign more akin to Vietnam. The reasons for this distortion are obvious, as are the reasons for countering this distortion.
McCain has inertia on his side, not vision, strong policies, charisma, a motivated base, or money. That is a strong thing to have going for you, but a candidate must conceal it.
With Americans so sick of war, his military background is almost a wash among non-Republicans, IMHO.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 12:21 PM
It's interesting that you both have a WWII image evoked by the McCain ad/biography. Part of it, I'm sure is his age, but I would guess that some of it is the way the campaign shades his service.
Think about what they say about his Vietnam years. Do they ever mention anything he did before he got shot down? It's like they stripped that event from the broader context of the complex emotions of that war.
And, Todd, as to service, think back over the last however many presidential elections, military service was not a plus.
Look who lost, HW Bush, Dole, Gore, Kerry all lost to men who dodged Vietnam.
By
mikevotes, at 1:38 PM
McCain was pretty ambivalent about the war before he was shot down. He wasn't a true believer in the war. I think his message seems so wishy washy because his personal feelings and views are much more moderate than the neo-fascist bully boy rhetoric of the last 7 years.
By
matt, at 1:56 PM
I didn't know. I've never actually heard him discuss his views on vietnam. Just a repetition of the POW experience,
By
mikevotes, at 3:32 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home