Democrats Shouldn’t Get Too Cozy, McCain At His Best As Underdog
Grrrrrr……..
So I’m reading McCain: Myth Of A Maverick, by former war-blogger and Reason editor-in-chief Matt Welch and it’s led me to some interesting epiphanies. Welch, who would likely describe himself as a libertarian (Reason is the leading libertarian magazine), seems to be trying to convince the reader that McCain isn’t quite what he portrays himself to be, specifically, a maverick.
Last fall at the first BlogWorldExpo, I asked Matt if he were forced to vote today, would he vote for McCain and he thoughtfully paused and said “No, if I had to vote today, I’d vote for Ron Paul.” I am not sure if Mr. Welch still feels that way, but one of his reasons was McCain’s commitment to the Iraq War, and Welch’s desire to see the U.S. extract itself from that conflict. Matt made it clear McCain’s inherent war-mindedness, wasn’t exactly what the country needed.
A lot’s happened since last November. I’ll be honest, I haven’t finished the book yet, but so far, what I’ve read is superbly written, full of insight and well researched — and of course, McCain’s camp wanted nothing to do with it.
What makes Welch’s take on the man who might be our next president is his own political neutrality. That’s not to say Matt’s neutral, but his views could be construed as outside of the two-party system which dominates U.S. politics. Despite the book being written from a fairly neutral perspective, it’s obvious Welch’s research led him to portray McCain as a man who isn’t so much a maverick, as much as he is defiant and bullheaded. McCain’s also something else; he a master of coming from behind to win when all odds are stacked against him. Sort of like we are seeing right now. And this should be a warning to democrats.
McCain, a man of many contradictions, has on one hand distanced himself from his own Republican party by refusing to play partisan politics as Senator, but then as presidential candidate, he overtly pandered to the extreme right by choosing a polarizing running mate like Governor Sarah Palin. The over-arching theme to McCain’s life is his ability to find himself in losing situations and relish in it. McCain’s real nickname should be “Underdog” or “Back Against The Wall” or “Against All Odds” McCain, not “Maverick,” or even such salty names as his paternal heroes like “Good G*ddamn McCain” and my favorite, “McNasty” as Welch reports.
McCain’s apparently at his best when he’s facing defeat, and is at his worst when he’s on top. A couple examples of this come to mind. First and foremost is of course his POW experience. By now, we ALL know, Senator McCain’s a war hero (it’s sort of become his single defining characteristic on the campaign trail) and Welch masterfully explains how the McCain’s soldier instincts were honed by a long distinguished line of military forefathers and how took this paternal history took root in McCain’s formative years.
McCain’s life of highs and lows come at the worst times in his life, where like the mythic Phoenix, he rises from the ashes to reign again. The obvious example is his POW story.
Prior to being shot down during the Vietnam War and captured by angry villagers (McCain broke both arms and a knee during the crash) he was a jaded, cocky guy who didn’t seem to grasp the grave nature of the war, especially for those in the trenches. It wasn’t until he was broken, both physically and morally (he was beaten into giving a “confession” by his captures) that McCain found “himself,” and as we’ve all now heard throughout the McCain campaign this is when he “fell in love” with his country. It was this experience which led him to put “country first” and was a guiding force in his life.
We also saw McCain overcome defeat when his campaign fell apart after running out of money and being deserted by essentially his entire staff in July of ‘07. Look where that got him, the lead candidate on his party’s ticket. What might destroy any other man’s will to succeed, seems to be the recipe for success for McCranky (that’s what I like to call him).
Fast forward to right now, and we have McCain’s latest crash, burn and possible resurrection. Enter Sarah “Caribou Barbie” Palin, whose crazy train has come to screeching halt. In the days after her spirited RNC speech, news on Palin was sunshine, rainbows and unicorns in the mainstream media (except for those intellectual snobs at the NYT ;).
Palin, who was given a free pass because she successfully fired up the McCain ticket, is now being scrutinized down to her favorite moose jerky recipe (she’s likes it spicy!). Is this fair? Probably not, but that’s how the modern media does it. Pendulums swing this way, pendulums swing that way. Rarely do we get to hear the old “fair and balanced” news we so desperately need.
As McCain begins to lose ground in the polls, I hear the Democrats getting cocky and self-assured. Which really isn’t wise with this much time still left in the election process. Tonight’s debate between the two VP candidates will be mostly pomp and circumstance, simply because the expectations for both candidates have been set so low. All Biden has to do is follow the time limits for his responses and not look directly AT Sarah Palin and he’s golden (the man is known for being a “windbag” and has been cautioned not to beat the crap out of her because she’s a “dainty pitbull in lipstick) and for Sarah Palin, all she needs to do is not writhe on the floor and start speaking in tongues and predicting the apocalypse and she will be seen as a winner. Hey, don’t missunderestimate (a Bushism) her, she’s a whiz at glittering generalities and double-speak. Plus, she’s so darned CUTE!
Despite what some people think, this election is NOT in the bag for Obama and the Dems, this is when it starts getting tough and McCain will come out fighting. If people want Obama to win, they better do as the man does: slow and steady wins the race. The time for spiking in the end-zone comes in January, not October.
Oh, and it doesn’t help that the Dems historically have been known to throw the whole race away all Cleveland Indians style: with a lead in the bottom of the 9th and their best closer on the mound. Hey, what’s substance without style!
(McCain/Palin illustration crafted by artist Victor Juhasz for Rolling Stone’s Oct. 2nd issue. Don’t shoot the messenger, we just “borrow” the images, we don’t create them.)
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