Quote:
Originally Posted by JWsleep
I actually like John Mc.'s senate record on lots of things: election reform and immigration, to name a few. But in his run to capture the republican base, he's had to repudiate all that. Further, his campaign's embrace of Rove operatives and their "call your opponent a terrorist or anti-american or worse" approach to elections is a 180 turn from his approach and attitudes after 2000. And Palin strikes me as a very bad VP choice, cynically chosen. So the Senate record gets counter-balanced by this stuff. McC's leadership decisions IN THE CAMPAIGN have been woeful, IMO. Go back to the Senate, John. We could use you there.
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My suspicion, based on observation and things I've heard and read, is that McCain is extremely frustrated with the campaign and he's become really a bit player in his own campaign. I remember seeing an interview with his campaign manager who said (paraphrasing) "When we ran things above water, no paid any attention to us. The only way for us to get people to listen to our ideas is to first grab their attention by going on the attack" Hence, the negative ads.
Then you have the whole Palin situation, who by every indication was a choice forced upon him.
Finally, I think just the competitor in him is realizing that his last chance at the Presidency is slipping away. What's worse for him, I'm sure, is that some "punk kid" is going to be President. By that I mean that in his mind he's probably thinking "I served in Vietnam, I was a POW, I've served in the Senate for over 20 years, I've run for President before; and now I'm finally on the verge of being President of the United States (in my last opportunity) and this guy with hardly any experience running his first ever Presidential campaign is about to beat me?!"
All that is making him, in my mind, look almost depressed when he's out there at campaign rallies. Like he's lost complete control.
But also, his value (as you point out) might simply be as a Senator. It's like a coordinator who can excel there but doesn't have those intangible qualities to be a head coach.