John McCain’s “In Your Dreams” Express
The New York Times has a truly bittersweet piece on Senator John McCain trying to regain his 2000 man-of-independence imagery by taking a train called The Straight Talk Express — a problem underscored by the fact that polls show many voters consider his sagging 2006 campaign The Pander Parade:
Senator John McCain of Arizona worked hard for years to make himself the all-but-inevitable 2008 Republican presidential nominee, assembling a formidable machine of advisers and contributors, repairing his relationship with the Bush White House and reaching out to conservatives long wary of his views.As he began what was supposed to be a triumphant day with his first bus trip across Iowa on Thursday, he was instead faced with a sense among some Republicans that his campaign had faltered in the early going and that his political identity had been blurred rather than enhanced by his efforts to position himself as first in line for the nomination.
One of the most difficult things for a politician to do is to “be true to yourself.” McCain has walked an increasingly wobbly political tightrope since 2000 as he tried to win over parts of the GOP establishment that had squelched his campaign that year — a campaign that sparked wildly enthusiastic crowds at universities and garnered wonderful media coverage. In 2006? He has seemingly fallen off the tightrope and is coming across as just another politician who says what he has to say to win a group of voters’ votes — except on the war. MORE:
As he rolled out of Des Moines on the Straight Talk Express, the vehicle that in the 2000 campaign became a potent symbol of his message and appeal, he was in some ways starting over, reintroducing himself to voters and reporters and trying to address a host of questions that follow him everywhere he goes.“Everybody says, ‘We just want you to be like last time,’ � he said amid a welter of microphones in what turned into a daylong conversation with reporters, punctuated by the occasional meeting with voters. “Last time we lost! But I haven’t changed any, and as we go through the town hall meetings and the debate, I can make that abundantly clear.�
The problem: McCain’s moment may be over. It’s “may” because if Rudy Giuliani stubs his toe with his temper or news stories surface damaging his candidacy, McCain will be there as an option for the GOP. But has he been too zig-zaggy for the GOP?
The key question is: did McCain miss his moment in history in 2000 and did he gravely misread the opening he could have had in 2008 if he had appeared more independent from the White House? In public perceptions, at least, the onetime “maverick” has morphed into the loyal White House team player.
Can a train with words on it and McCain’s assurances that he’s the same as he was in 2000 change the perceptions?
4 Responses to “John McCain’s “In Your Dreams” Express”
It’s McCain’s dream(s) — or possibly delusion(s).
Who would seriously consider voting for him?
(Lefties trying to sabotage the 2008 primaries
if anyone strong entered the GOP field are of
course excepted.)
“Everybody says, ‘We just want you to be like last time,’ � he said amid a welter of microphones in what turned into a daylong conversation with reporters, punctuated by the occasional meeting with voters. “Last time we lost! But I haven’t changed any, and as we go through the town hall meetings and the debate, I can make that abundantly clear.�
Al Gore lost as well, but hasn’t whored himself, and his principles out to the powers that be either. The Prostitute Express is doomed, and infact he might have lost Arizona come next election for Senate as well.
[...] While McCain is the oldest candidate in the Republican field, he suffers from the Typical Politician’s Disease. This is a particularly virulent narcissism where a man believes it doesn’t matter what he believes and what he stands for. The people believe in him even if he believes in nothing. [...]
If you’re talking about his problems for the General Election, I think you’re spot on. But, the typical conventional wisdom on his lack of appeal for the GOP in the primaries are fairly off the mark, IMO. If only the base really did think he were a loyal WH team player! The base can’t stand him, not because he is seemingly insincere on his attempts to appeal to them (though I suspect that Evangelicals are highly skeptical of his newfound appreciation for Jerry Falwell), but because he has consistently stuck his thumb in the eyes’ of just about every group in the party at one point or another.
Examples:
-free market conservatives (against tax cuts in ’01 and ’03, to a lesser degree);
-socons (the “agents of intolerance” remark, and gang of 14 which prevented “nuclear option” and getting a whole bunch more federal appellate judges on the bench who were more likely to rule in scalia/thomas-like manner, ie like the socons want; btw, alito/roberts as a benefit of the g14 deal are a no go here, they wouldve been confirmed anyway.),
l-ibertarian-cons (BCRA is considered by them the biggest infringement on free speech since America was under the rule of King George (of England, not W. – saw that one coming a mile away))
-National Security-cons (whatever your own opinion is on whether to classify our “interrogation techniques” as torture, you can’t deny that a very large chunk of the GOP base thinks it’s not – and McCain, along with L. Grahahm, gave the WH fits on this one),
-legal cons (again, g14, but for different reason — they have a huge prob with what they see as “liberal court activism” and think it has usurped power from the legislatures; some overlap here obviously with the socons);
-isolationist paleocons (ummmm….illegal immigration anyone?)
What many commentators and pundits fail to realize is that is McCain not going to be able to leverage the “straight-talk express” like he did in 2000 for two interrelated reasons:
– he pissed too many Republicans off on too many issues in the last 6 years which were important (see above), doing so in a way that seemed like he was trying to ingratiate himself with the “inside-the-beltway” types at the expense of the core base and their main issues. The timing of the torture and immigration vote torpedoing at just about the perfect time to inflict max damage on the GOP in ’06 didnt help things either. He works on Major legislation which the base can’t stand with very lib dems, like Feingold, Kennedy, etc. (whether that is something to admire, I think we can all agree the base sure doesnt.) Conservatives dont think he is conservative enough; and GW fans (conservatives and GW backers are not the same thing, contrary to what the NYT says) think, contrary to conventional wisdom, he has been a pain in their ass, too.
– such “maverick” tendencies do not take into account a fundamental difference for GOP voters from 2000 to 20006; for the GOP, 9/11 changed everything. Hence, a guy like rudy who seems great on national security, good nuff on most issues, and anathema to socons, is running away with it bc the base feels like they can actually trust him on the biggest issue of all (though McCain is fine here for them), and that they know what they’re getting on other stuff, too. It’s the devil you know being better than devil you dont. McCain is so unpredictable, and has been so arrogant about those who dont see things his way, that the base, when faced with a choices between him and rudy, doesnt have to really think too long or hard. In other words, if McCain’s straight talk express stayed on track a bit more consistently and didnt seem like it always was angling for the path toward screwing over the base, he would probably be ok. But, while he has certainly been anything but a “straight-talker,” he sure as hell has been a maverick and he sure as hell has NOT pandered to the base.