Towmhalls are supposed to be McCain's forte; his forensic forum of advantage. The economy will dominate here, which is supposed to be McCain's weakness. He needs to neutralize that weakness to have any hope of winning the election. The Republicans have somehow managed to get themselves blamed both for the financial meltdown we're experiencing, as well as for the bailout needed to pull us out of it.
As John Dickerson pointed out in Slate, Town hall Forums can go very very wrong. It was in 1992 that Ponytail Guy showed up with his odd and disquieting question that annoyed Bush but which Clinton took as an opportunity to display his empathy, compassion, and love of clean politics. The voters able to ask questions at these town halls are scrupulously vetted as non-partisans -- meaning every partisan in Tennessee has been polishing their acting skills before applying to get in on Tuesday night.
This week the GOP has been trying to play up Sen. Barack Obama's ties to unrepentant terrorist William Ayers and black nationalist former pastor Jeremiah Wright. This isn't the night when McCain would really like to see these issues stressed. There's more important things to do Tuesday night. And it would be disadvantageous for McCain to be forced into repeating his desire to disavow Wright as an issue -- because national and state committees are very likely to be bringing it up in upcoming weeks.
Only a man with experience can pull us out of the mess we're in -- that's the message. Obama's not experienced enough to handle something we've never seen before. McCain's lead over Obama on the question "Who Is A Strong Leader?" has narrowed by 19 points in the last month. Specifics will be needed -- what is McCain going to do for the average guy who is hurting, with no sympathy whatsoever shown for the Bear Stearnses of the world. Specifics, specifics, and more specifics. Obama's making massive ad buys claiming McCain has no economic plan. (And just what is McCain's economic plan anyway?) That spending freeze McCain extemporized last time out needs to be returned to the mental recesses from which it sprang. It may be that the traditional GOP message of tax cuts and economic stimulation is no longer enough.
And no grumpiness. With some questionable cases to be considered, the best predictor of presidential elections since Nixon has been the candidates' likability.
As for Obama? Needs nothing more to be cool, attack Wall Street, and avoid making a disastrous gaffe. And avoid leaving the impression that he has wild spending plans that risk turning a bad situation into an irresolvable disaster.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment