A Sign Senator John McCain Is On Borrowed Time?
July 19th, 2007
By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief
It’s NOT a good sign when a certain, onetime-top-ranked candidate whose campaign is not doing well (columnist Robert Novak has called it “all but dead”) begins snapping angrily at the press.
And it’s even a WORSE SIGN if he says he won’t discuss his campaign anymore. Due to this news report, it might be humbly suggested that working reporters begin writing their “evergreen” obituary articles on the death of Senator John McCain’s campaign (if they haven’t already) right now:
A frustrated Sen. John McCain snapped Wednesday when asked by CNN about his troubled presidential campaign and vowed he would no longer answer questions on that topic.
“I’m not going to talk about my campaign anymore,†McCain said in a sharp tone. “I’m finished with talking about it. I’ve talked about it for two weeks. I will not discuss it or any aspect of it. Thank you.â€
Just from the standpoint of imagery this a hideous response from someone who is supposed to be a professional politician who can roll with the punches — one that should give Republican primary voters even more reason to balk at voting for him. The reason: McCain has for many years had a reputation of being someone with a bad temper. Presumably, he’d be smart and skilled enough to handle any questions. But if he performed like this during a general election campaign, he’d be toast.
The question that triggered McCain’s response was whether or not he was going to keep a scheduled meeting Wednesday with his congressional supporters to explain why his campaign is not in dire condition. Eileen McMenamin, the Arizona Republican’s spokeswoman, declined to elaborate whether McCain would no longer talk – ever – about his campaign or just not talk about it while in the Capitol. But she did say he remains a candidate and will be back on the trail next week – with reporters in tow.
And, politically, it’s pretty disastrous, too. McCain is insisting despite an almost daily McCain-staff-resignation-story that he’s still in the race and a contender. But it has been clear that he has lost much of his independent voter support, lost much of his centrist/moderate Democratic voter support, and failed to win over many Republicans.
McCain had enjoyed warm ties with press. This response will ensure reporters worth their salt will CONTINUE asking him about his campaign when they travel with him since they aren’t like radio talk show hosts and paid to do p.r. or throw softballs. The perception is: if a candidate says they don’t want a line of questioning, that’s probably the line that needs to be pursued.
McCain can now expect to be asked about his campaign repeatedly by reporters from all kinds of print and broadcast publications — unless it miraculously gets a huge infusion of money and top political operatives flock to it to replace the ones who have left. He’ll try to backtrack on this angry response to CNN, but the damage to him is as done as the realistic chances of him getting the GOP nomination.
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER VIEW:
Make sure to read Truthdig’s piece by Bill Boyarsky which says (from a Democrat’s perspective) don’t count McCain out yet. A small part of it:
But don’t dismiss him. McCain remains the greatest threat to a Democratic victory next year. Believing the media analyses and writing McCain off now could be a big mistake.
There is good reason to be suspicious of these analyses. The number of examples of journalistic wrongheadedness is endless….
…..If he survives and even comes close to winning in such states, the reporters writing McCain’s obituary would switch to a fresh story, his comeback. The comeback story would hurt even McCain’s strongest competitors, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the undeclared Fred Thompson, both of whom have enormous weaknesses.
I don’t want McCain to win the Republican nomination. He’s a wild card. I don’t know how well he would campaign in the fall. Logic says there is no chance of him or any other Republican winning. But McCain is unorthodox, always on the edge, a mixture of anger and affability, and a famous ex-POW. He’s capable of shifting his positions, as he did earlier in the year to get in the good graces of the religious right. All that, plus Republican money, would be a dangerous combination in fall 2008.
Read it in its entirety.
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 12:23 am and is filed under TV News, CNN, John McCain, Media, 2008 Elections, Republicans, Politics. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
