Erratic
After sending signals all weekend, the NYTimes says that McCain will not be launching any new economic proposal. (After all the stunts, I don't think they would be treated credibly.)
Later: Now, we get word that the McCain campaign will be "hitting the ‘reset’ button on the campaign," and trying to go the underdog/"fighter" route.
(I've been amazed at how closely the McCain campaign has followed the Clinton path. They tried attacking on "experience," attacking "change," appropriating "change," attacking on issues, attacking on sexism, attacking on character (with and without the slight racist tint,) and now they're going with "scrappy girl from Scranton.")
And, an early excerpt of the speech. (So, after all of this, we're back to "letting McCain be McCain"? Would this McCain pick Palin?)
(PS. Does this get him away from the economy? Does the press cover this as McCain getting his "groove back"? And, is the campaign capable of sending out enough positive "body language" to make this work to the press?)
Later: Influential Mike Allen calls it "hitting the panic button," and all the press are calling it "a new stump speech." (Hardly radical.)
Also, early rumors say he's going to try to break from Bush.
Later: Now, we get word that the McCain campaign will be "hitting the ‘reset’ button on the campaign," and trying to go the underdog/"fighter" route.
(I've been amazed at how closely the McCain campaign has followed the Clinton path. They tried attacking on "experience," attacking "change," appropriating "change," attacking on issues, attacking on sexism, attacking on character (with and without the slight racist tint,) and now they're going with "scrappy girl from Scranton.")
And, an early excerpt of the speech. (So, after all of this, we're back to "letting McCain be McCain"? Would this McCain pick Palin?)
(PS. Does this get him away from the economy? Does the press cover this as McCain getting his "groove back"? And, is the campaign capable of sending out enough positive "body language" to make this work to the press?)
Later: Influential Mike Allen calls it "hitting the panic button," and all the press are calling it "a new stump speech." (Hardly radical.)
Also, early rumors say he's going to try to break from Bush.
posted by mikevotes at
6:39 AM
7 Comments:
After the convention and two debates, people have seen Obama enough to know that he is not scary, which was always McCain's strongest play.
It is the McCain camp that is now scaring people.
A "reset" might work because people have very short memories. Your recap of the various McCain shifts over the campaign is proof of that. Of course, Obama can present a similar recap and show McCain as adrift.
On the issues, McCain has always been weak. More and bigger wars. Intimidation of our allies. A dismal health care plan. Tax cuts and a spending freeze with revenue coming from some sort of magic hat.
All that he ever really had was character and "POW"; one is gone, the other overplayed.
And now the nation waits to see which mask McCain will wear at the final debate.
By
Todd Dugdale , at 9:04 AM
If all else fails he can still try for the sympathy vote.
By
Anonymous, at 9:35 AM
Todd, that's kinda what I'm thinking because it heads back towards the preelection presentation of McCain which will make the sell alot easier.
That's also why I think the "angry crowds" did so much damage, because they were exactly opposed to that pre conception of McCain.
And, this is definitely about trying to shift from issues to character, I just wonder if that works.
Does he bring up Ayers in the debate? I'll bet he breaks that promise.
.....
Anon, I haven't seen the speech yet, but I think that's sort of what he's doing.
....
And just as an aside, how the media covers this will be everything.
By
mikevotes, at 10:59 AM
McCain cannot simply hit the reset button. The angry crowds are out there and they're not going away. Neither is Sarah Palin, who is now McCain's albatross.
And as Todd points out, McCain can pretend the past couple of months didn't happen, but Obama and his surrogates will be more than happy to remind us all who erratic McCain has been.
By
-epm, at 5:58 PM
As will the media, frankly.
McCain has played right into "erratic" and I can't imagine the media won't mention that as he tries to remake.
It's hardly been a chorus of "hoorays" for this relaunch today.
After all the stunts, the McCain camp has no credibility left.
By
mikevotes, at 6:04 PM
Funny, I've been thinking the same thing about the similarity of McCain and Clinton. Their strategies are really following almost the same track. It's like which McCain are we going to see today? They both suffer from the same problem -- a total lack of a coherent and consistent message of their own.
By
Libby Spencer, at 8:05 PM
They also both foundered on the same rock.
But, yeah. It's particularly funny to me that the McCain folks are following Clinton's path because Clinton among Dems was stronger than McCain in the general.
The only real difference probably is that McCain has substantially weaker positions on the issues relative to the American people.
By
mikevotes, at 9:09 PM
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