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Friday, October 24, 2008
What must John McCain’s endgame strategy be?
Shaunti Feldhahn, a right-leaning columnist, writes the commentary this week and Andrea Cornell Sarvady, a left-leaning columnist, responds.
Rebuttal
Wow. The Republican machine clearly finds John McCain utterly uninspiring; their hopes for a win seem to focus solely on tearing down his opponent. Extremists in the party tag Barack Obama as a Muslim, a terrorist and—this just in!—a socialist. Others are simply hoping you’ll see the Democrat as a slick pol with nothing to offer but the gift of gab.
It’s too bad McCain’s team has focused so relentlessly on this approach because it’s just not working. The terrorist/Muslim message is too easily dismantled, and the economy is proving to be an Obama strong suit. Moreover, the only buyer’s remorse so far concerns the pick of Sarah Palin over far more qualified VP candidates.
In effect, McCain has already made two presidential decisions— his choice of a running mate and his response during the recent bailout crisis. Neither action demonstrates sound judgment in the pressure-filled environment faced by presidents. A recent ABC poll shows that over half of all likely voters say the Palin pick makes them less confident in McCain’s judgment. Meanwhile, Obama’s impressive lead post-bailout indicates that an economic meltdown requires thoughtful examination, not a meaningless publicity stunt.
So what now? McCain could try leaping on the issue of checks and balances, to see if he can create fear around a filibuster-proof Democratic majority. Of course, to play that card he’ll have to throw his party under the bus, admitting they’re being trounced on all fronts. Yet what’s he got to lose? If McCain doesn’t win, the GOP bus is all revved up and ready to roll right over him.
A better endgame strategy? McCain could help us envision the diverse group of experts he would surround himself with for the next four years. Real-America Americans—that would be all of us, Gov. Palin— appreciate the bipartisan support Obama receives from Warren Buffet, Paul Volcker and Colin Powell. Conversely, we’ve yet to receive a unifying message from McCain’s increasingly erratic campaign. The man who once thought nothing of reaching across the aisle while slapping down his own party is long gone, losing the very centrists who will probably decide this election.
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Commentary
By Shaunti Feldhahn
At this point, John McCain’s message must be entirely about buyer’s remorse. Barack Obama is the least-experienced presidential candidate in modern history, has never had to handle a crisis, and would take office in the middle of an economic crisis that he is unqualified to manage. If he wins, the markets will likely show serious pessimism, and the average American will likely suffer a serious case of buyer’s remorse.
The next time there is a national security issue, the buyer’s remorse will get even worse. And if election night delivers a Democratic filibuster-proof supermajority in Congress and the Senate, the markets and the economy - and the Supreme Court — will be in for some rough years ahead.
McCain’s endgame strategy must be to hammer that message in advance. As much as it infuriates me that the media has helped Obama by light investigating and friendly questions, that can’t be helped. And as much as it should raise red flags that Obama went back on his word about accepting public funding, and now has a massive cash advantage to spend as he likes, that can’t be helped either.
McCain must go back to the “celebrity” message that is the heart of the issue: yes, Obama is an amazing speaker, yes, I know you love him - but we’re in a crisis here and I’m the only one with experience.
In an interview, Dr. David Woodard, Thurmond Chair of Government at Clemson University and co-author of “Why We Whisper,” said he can’t remember a time when a candidate came back from this far behind, this close to the election. The closest parallel was 1976 when Gerald Ford came from far behind and almost won.
Woodard explained, “Ford began with disadvantages, much like McCain is. Ford had pardoned [Richard] Nixon, had a bad economy, but in the last week or 10 days, he really closed the gap and almost caught up by hammering [Jimmy] Carter’s inexperience. As the election draws near, if voters have questions about a candidate and the race is close, there are often drops in confidence. Raising those questions in voter’s minds could be effective here at the end.”
The polls, markets and pundits are all predicting an Obama win - but if McCain focuses on the “experience” message, he might still do what Ford could not.