The move strikes me as a modest success, and it's best considered against the alternative. Had McCain not abandoned ship yesterday, the news from his campaign would have been twofold: his campaign manager's ties to Freddie Mac, which the campaign hasn't been able to convincingly deny; and his running mate's truly unsteady interview with Katie Couric. (The fact that McCain also sat down with Couric yesterday suggests his campaign knew it had to counterbalance that interview.)
Meanwhile, the candidate would have simply been swept along with President Bush's bailout, leaving no mark of his own on it, and saying nothing about the economy.
Now he's made himself a player, appeared as a leader, and shown he cares about the economy, even if his attempt to take credit for doing anything is doubtful and contested. And he's spent far less time talking about Davis and Palin.
That doesn't mean he "wins the week" or has vastly changed the narrative. But it may be better than the alternative.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Desperate Times Call For Desperate Moves
This is a really smart take on how to judge the success or failure of McCain's suspension and why he did it:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
I agree that's why he did it, but i don't think it's worked...I am biased but i think the last 2 weeks have given Obama back the narrative the way you wanted...he looks above politics while McCain looks like he's playing politics..and continually tread water.
I think/hope this is the beginning of the time when historians will look back and say, that's why obama won. it seems very remenscient of moments during the primary. People want obama to go dirtier than he does and he sits back and lets his opponents self-destruct
Post a Comment