Senator McCain’s Split Personalitites; The Maverick vs. The Nominee
October 13, 2008 at 1:19 pm
by: Rob Obringer
If you think back to the 2000 Presidential election, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) had a real buzz about him as a different kind of Republican. He was one of the first politicians to realize that there is a middle ground in America. He tried to play himself as the person who could cross party lines and appeal to Americans that didn’t see themselves as strictly Republicans or Democrats. As a registered Independent, I even thought of voting for him for those reasons. It didn’t get there, as the Governor Bush and the Republican base pushed Senator McCain out of the primary. However, Senator McCain had something going, and he was the political “rockstar” of the moment back in 2000 because of his new way of looking at traditional party politics.
So we get to 2008, and Senator McCain wins the Republican party nomination. In some part I believe he wins the nomination because he is not a traditional party Republican. Then he selects Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) as his VP. I listened to all of the pundits say that he needed to pick someone like her to “satisfy the Republican base”. My question back to the pundits through the TV was, “Why does he have to pander to them, who else would they vote for?”. Was he not Republican enough for them that they wouldn’t show up on November 4th to vote? Why isn’t he picking someone to appeal to independents?
In the end, I think Senator McCain’s role of the dice on Governor Palin will result in him losing out, and it could be a big loss at that. His campaign changed and his image has changed since the selection. Senator McCain’s campaign has turned so ugly that even the candidate seems uncomfortable at his own rallies! We saw over the weekend that Senator McCain was correcting his supporters on their opinions of Senator Obama (D-IL), and telling them that they should not be scared if Senator Obama were elected President. The only time Senator McCain seems like the person I once considered voting for was when he was correcting his angry supporters. He seems frustrated with the kind of politics he is forced to be playing right now, and you can tell that he is not himself and may not even believe in the state of his current campaign.
Maybe it’s the “Bush Operatives” that are running parts of his campaign, maybe it is Governor Palin’s bulldog influence. Whatever it is, it isn’t working. The supporters at the Senator McCain rallies show that they are more angry at the prospect of Senator Obama than anything else. They should really be angry at the past 8 years. Senator McCain should be angry at the past 8 years, and he should be showing us that. Maybe it is all a political ploy to get the Republican base so angry, fired up, and scared of Senator Obama that they will surely show up and vote Senator McCain.
I think the tone has turned off a lot of Independent voters. Not only that, but Senator McCain’s fusion with the base of the Republican party at a time when the financial crisis caused a perfect storm to point fingers at the party currently in office. Bad move. I believe SenatorMcCain was on to something in 2000 when he made himself into the ultimate open minded politician in terms of crossing the aisle and getting things done. I think he is more comfortable as that kind of politician.
We’re three weeks away and the “Maverick” Senator from Arizona says he’s ready for a comeback. I wonder which version of himself we are going to see now?
October 13th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I too would have voted for McCain in 2000, had we been given the chance. Hard to believe that now.
Though, I still don’t understand the whole “shoring up” the republican base with Sarah Palin thing. For as anti-woman as the far right republican fundamentalists are, I’m confused by their love affair with Palin.
And frankly, McCain ought to be embarrassed by not only Palin’s ignorance, but her ridiculous “rabble-rousing.” But, at this point, it’s fair to say that none of them have so much as a salt speck of shame.
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October 14th, 2008 at 7:54 am
I truly believe McCain saw how excited people were about Hillary Clinton being in the race, thus thought Palin would pull the same reaction. For the majority of the sheep in this country, she pulls even more of a positive reaction than Clinton did. The lovefest exists because, whether we want to admit it or not, the ruling powers in this country want someone who is willing to destroy any environment (i.e. natural, economies, etc.) for personal gain while they praise the Lord and excise our demons.
I digress… The whole reason I commented was because this post reminds me of the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlJ3-KPDkFo
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October 14th, 2008 at 11:32 am
I think McCain, even now, is the best Republican candidate since Goldwater or Eisenhower … But I think Obama is much, much more than just a great Democratic candidate–I’m no blind enthusiast, but I do think Obama could signal a makeover for US politics in general. McCain certainly misfired with Palin, and, though firmly on the left on practically every issue, I take no glee in his selling out to the conventional wisdom. He seems to be a good man who could have made a great president … eight years ago.
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