McCain of 2008 = Gore + Kerry

[Burgold]

I'm beginning to believe people have it wrong. McCain isn't running for the third term of Bush, but he's running as Gore and Kerry.

McCain has lost his canniness, his McCaininess, if you prefer. He is not his own man in this election so far. Instead, he's being lead around by the nose by his handlers and people and advisors. You can see it when he speaks. You can see it in his ads. This isn't John McCain. McCain isn't even comfortable doing it. He looks out of sorts and confused.

He's become a speech writer's puppet, doing a scattershot snarling attack on whatever subject his advisors think will score points. Obama is Brittany Spears, I'm John McCain and I approve this message. Obama is a false messiah, I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

That's not the McCain that stood up to Bush and the Republicans. It's not the McCain that stood in defiance against dumb Democratic ideas. It's weak-kneed. It's dishonorable. And it's a shame, because I'm not used to seeing John McCain acting dishonorably and that's where he's going. That's where his pollsters, advisors, and shapers are taking him.

McCain needs to take back control of his campaign. He is better than this. Right now, he is foundering like Gore did and Kerry did. Letting others run his election. Letting the PR people run him. Kerry was led to believe he had to become George Bush like to win. His immitations on Bush on Iraq and with other issues gave people little choice. He ran a terrible campaign. If there was no substansive difference, you go with the devil you know. Gore let others tell him what the issues were and became a "wooden" marrionette. We see now that it was his handlers and gore isn't the stiff, wooden, passionless automaton he appeared in 2000. McCain is also surrendering his soul.

It's a bad idea and it usually doesn't work. People don't fall for it.

Gore and Kerry lost in large part because they let others in their campaign guide them badly. McCain may lose for the same reason. He is sacrificing John McCain to try to win.

[PokerPacker]

I haven't really heard much from McCain in the campaign since the Primary ended.

[Burgold]

If you listen to his ads and speeches, he just doesn't sound like McCain... he sounds like a PR version of McCain. Then again, I could be wrong. It could be a soundbite illusion, but when I've seen him speaking and stumping, he looks like he's carrying a burden and is unhappy about what he is saying.

His ads recently have been the worst kind of substanceless propaganda.

[FanboyOf91]

McCain's soul has been on auction ever since he lost South Carolina in 2000. Embracing Bush (literally) in 2004 was painful to watch.

On Election Day, the final piece goes up for sale. Who knows what he would do if elected?

[SnyderShrugged]

great post Burgold. I think its pretty spot on. He seems permanently attached to the neo-con arm of the GOP which in it's fading power is blind to the realities that it cant keep that power for much longer.

[speardog1]

I agree that it is surprising that McCain is running this kind of negative campaign. Then again, like you said, he's probably not running it anymore, the republican negative machine is. The amount of ridiculousness that has come out of this campaign recently has been out of hand. It's apparent that all they're trying to do is feed on ignorance. I wish they would tone it down.

[PeterMP]

McCain is doing what he needs to win an election starting down by as much as ten points with an opponent that won't confront him (Obama refused the idea of town hall meetings on a regular basis).

You don't make up that much ground by making people "like" you. His energy plan essentially did nothing in the polls. You make that much ground by making people concerned about your opponent, and it is working. He's come from pretty far back to even or ahead.

Now, he needs to make the transition and get back to talking about the issues and being more positive (even though if he slipped again, I'd tell him to go right back to being negative).

Generally, I think you are over playing things a little. I don't doubt that McCain would have not preferred to run the campaing that he has recently and would have perferred to have the oppurtunity to close the gap in a more "honorable" way (e.g. the town hall meetings), but it isn't like Obama has been running a "clean" campaing.

He has been misrepresenting the 100 year Iraq quote before he was done in the primarys, and Obama did say that the McCain would try and scare voters because he didn't look like other Presidents (essentially accusing McCain of trying to insert race into the election) w/o them having done so.

Its essentially the same as the Cllinton campaing against Bush I and talking about how negative Bush was, when their slogan was 'its the economy stupid.'

In the end though, if things are going to change in elections, it is going to have to somebody who is ahead in the polls that is going to have to make the change. If the leader won't meet the opponent head on (e.g. debates), then history shows the person that is behind really doesn't have much chance if they don't create doubt about their opponet.