Why McCain Lost the Debate
John McCain could beat Barack Obama. But he can’t beat the combination of Obama, George Bush, Dow Jones and, most of all, John McCain himself.
McCain came out swinging last night. And he connected repeatedly. Unfortunately, most of his punches landed squarely on his own jaw.
The media and talking heads have spewed out millions of words analyzing the thousands of words the candidates spewed.
But only one thing mattered: the impression people had of the men who would be President.
Obama was JFK in 1960 and Reagan in 1980. McCain had the physical awkwardness of Nixon in 1960, the verbal clumsiness of Ford in 1976 and Carter in 1980, the outright meanness of Dole in 1976 and 1996 and the off-putting stiffness of Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004.
McCain was an angry old man in front of a nation obsessed with youth, fitness and physical grace.
He’s just lucky Obama didn’t accept his challenge to hold more town-hall meetings.
There is no point to the ongoing debate by McCain’s supporters about what kind of campaign he should run. There is nothing he can do now to affect the election.
Only something beyond his control can keep Obama from winning. Like race. Or William Ayers.
McCain can do nothing about George Bush. He may not be Bush, but he has been with Bush, and he cannot escape. McCain surely looks forward to this weekend’s debut of the movie version of the disaster that was W.
Nor can McCain do anything about the Dow. The Dow actually has no affect on our daily lives, unless we’re buying and selling stocks today. But it drives media coverage, and media coverage drives the fear and panic that grip Americans and grind our economic gears.
This election is not over. But it’s out of McCain’s hands. He’s done all the damage he can do. Most of it to himself.
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Why McCain Lost the Debate
John McCain could beat Barack Obama. But he can’t beat the combination of Obama, George Bush, Dow Jones and, most of all, John McCain himself.
McCain came out swinging last night. And he connected repeatedly. Unfortunately, most of his punches landed squarely on his own jaw.
The media and talking heads have spewed out millions of words analyzing the thousands of words the candidates spewed.
But only one thing mattered: the impression people had of the men who would be President.
Obama was JFK in 1960 and Reagan in 1980. McCain had the physical awkwardness of Nixon in 1960, the verbal clumsiness of Ford in 1976 and Carter in 1980, the outright meanness of Dole in 1976 and 1996 and the off-putting stiffness of Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004.
McCain was an angry old man in front of a nation obsessed with youth, fitness and physical grace.
He’s just lucky Obama didn’t accept his challenge to hold more town-hall meetings.
There is no point to the ongoing debate by McCain’s supporters about what kind of campaign he should run. There is nothing he can do now to affect the election.
Only something beyond his control can keep Obama from winning. Like race. Or William Ayers.
McCain can do nothing about George Bush. He may not be Bush, but he has been with Bush, and he cannot escape. McCain surely looks forward to this weekend’s debut of the movie version of the disaster that was W.
Nor can McCain do anything about the Dow. The Dow actually has no affect on our daily lives, unless we’re buying and selling stocks today. But it drives media coverage, and media coverage drives the fear and panic that grip Americans and grind our economic gears.
This election is not over. But it’s out of McCain’s hands. He’s done all the damage he can do. Most of it to himself.
Click Here to discuss and comment on this and other articles.