 Put McCain Out of His Misery
By Robert Shrum
(10/15/08) )
At first, Senator McCain
seemed to be resentfully respectful toward the probably presidential
Obama; I think McCain must have heard from the same Republican
operative who said to me that in this third debate, McCain had
to come across as "presidential too" -- as Obama
already did in the earlier debates and in his reaction to the financial
crisis.
This reflects a stunning
role reversal during the past month, and the dimensions
of the challenge that faced McCain tonight. He had to be
in command, steady and reassuring, but his partisans were
urging all-out war on Obama's character. When he takes that course,
and he soon did, the polls show that voters turn away. They worry
a lot more right now about paying their bills than about some guy
named Bill Ayres. (But that would come from McCain -- because that's
all he's got.) And McCain had to know Obama would be ready, not
just to answer and dismiss the attacks, but to cite them as proof
that McCain can't deal with real concerns like the economy. And he
can't: he just keeps repeating his tired falsehood about Obama raising
taxes on most Americans and the middle class, when in fact he cuts
them and Obama wins the exchange hands down.
And oh God here comes earmarks again. McCain sounded like a wind up
toy -- and Obama readily turned his metronomic attacks aside.. The
beleagured heir to Bush couldn't convincingly separate himself from
Bush economics. Instead the differences he cited were torture and
climate change. And he violated the first rule of debate -- don't
issue a challenge the other guy can meet. Obama deftly cited a range
of disagreements with his own party.
McCain also sounded like an aggrieved coot who thinks this campaign
is all about him. Obama nailed him cold when he reminded his opponent
that it's not about the hurt the candidates may feel, but the economic
hurt inflicted on the American people.
Halfway through McCain's hate emerged. He defended the extremists at
his rallies. He babbled about Bill Ayers and vindicated Obama's suggestion
that Ayers is the centerpiece of his campaign -- which reinforced
the charge that his own aides say he can't compete on the economy.
It was an ugly interlude.
It was matched by the absurdity of his incoherent defense of Sarah Palin
as a plausible vice president. One of her qualifications apparently
is that Todd Palin is some tough guy. And Sarah, well now that Americans
have some sense of her, she has some tough poll ratings.
No one could have coached McCain to be this bad.
His criticism of Obama on trade: bye, bye Ohio. His decision
to talk about how he repeals the tax deduction for health coverage:
McCain got squashed again. " Senator
Obama voted against Justice Breyer": it was in 1994 and Obama
wasn't even in the Illinois State Senate, let alone the US Senate.
And if he thinks this election is about school vochers, he really
is a nitwit.
When it isn't sad, it's sinister. McCain isn't a candidate anymore,
but a negative research dump-- a heedless purveyors of distortion
and untruth, a man who started off running on his experince, but ends
up now as a right-wing caricature stumbling toward defeat with dishonor.
For McCain, the urgent need tonight was not for
McCarthyism on Ayers or ACORN (this one will not grow into a
mighty campaign oak), but for sounding empathetic, informed and
authoritative on the economy -- a daunting objective for someone
who unforgettably, irretrievably said he doesn't know much about
economics and the "fundamentals" are
sound anyway. And when he did venture a half-understood point on this
issue, was fighting on what is now decidedly Obama's ground. His latest,
rushed policy re-invention came just a day before the debate and with
a glaring credibility gap; McCain's own staff previewed the plan as
a politically driven maneuver to appeal to senior citizen in battleground
states.s.
McCain had to be presidential but wasn't, maybe because he knows that's
now catch-up ball for him, not a game changer.
So his real choice in the final debate -- as in the final weeks -- is
between defeat with honor, or a desperate and debased resort to untrue
and irrelevant attacks that will leave him both defeated and dishonored.
This performance was embarrassing. Put McCain out of his misery -- hold
the election now.
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