McCain Enjoys A Free Ride
Right now, with Democrats transfixed by the increasingly self-destructive battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, John McCain is getting a free ride politically (at the moment, a ride abroad, to provide the backdrop for the story he'd like to tell about being the one ready to take the helm of U.S. foreign policy and national security). That ride looks likely to last until June or beyond.
If the Democratic campaign had not taken such a negative turn, McCain would arguably be suffering from all the focus on the Democratic contest, which is clearly grabbing the lion's share of media attention. But the attention is no longer positive, and as the story has turned from voter enthusiasm to acrimony, it's giving McCain the opportunity both to brand himself and to join the fray on the other side of the aisle when the opportunity arises. McCain is defining himself with little resistance (and an occasional assist from the Clinton campaign) as the natural choice for commander-in-chief and as a straight-talker -- a particularly strong brand in an election that may turn out to be much like the 1976 election, when Jimmy Carter reassured a nation weary of the dishonesty of the Nixon years, "I will never lie to you."
He is also taking the opportunity to help brand his potential rivals, amplifying the perceived weaknesses of both Democratic contenders. Recently, for example, he described his opponents as offering "platitudes instead of principles and insults instead of ideas," effectively joining with Hillary Clinton in her attack on Barack Obama, while simultaneously turning her own relentless (and effective) attacks on Obama into an attack on her. By referring to her campaign's attacks as insults (some of which were, in fact, insulting), McCain was reinforcing what he and Republican strategists know is the greatest threat to her electability: her high negatives, and the public perception, built up through a well-financed, well-executed (if ill-intentioned) conservative branding campaign when she was First Lady, that she is cold and ruthless.
It would truly take talent for the Democrats to lose this election (although Democrats have never hurt for talent).
McCain Enjoys A Free Ride, The New Republic: McCain Sits Pretty While Obama And Clinton Endure "Smears" - CBS News
A VERY talented crew to say the least.:D
Have a good one!:s4:
