What's McCain's Next Play?

[GreyICE]

Well the Dems and Reps have more or less put OBL on a pedestal and are playing directly into his stated goal for America.

And if by catastrophe you mean real change for peace, prosperity and sound economy? I agree.

No, I think he meant like Hurricane Katrina.

 

[not_so_new]

First... there is a LOT of time left in this deal. I don't count Obama as a winner until he is sworn in.

Second.... I think McCain has only one option, ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK. It is going to piss me off, lies really bother me.

The thing that scares me is the economy getting marginally better for a few weeks before tanking again.

Before anyone says it.... I DO NOT want want to see the economy tank for my guy to win.

I just don't feel any half educated person thinks this bailout is going to fix things overnight if at all. Any slightly good economic news in the next 30 or so days is just going to be a slight bump in the rocky road ahead of us for the next 2 years give or take... but we know the attention span of the average citizen.

Two weeks of positive economic news is what McCain really needs now and it could happen. The economy, even when circling the drain, has swings and if a slight upswing happens while we are in the home stretch McCain could be right back in the running again.

 

[Smackety]

Economy circling the drain? Too much TV man...

 

[not_so_new]

Economy circling the drain? Too much TV man...

Really?

You think things are going well do you? I hear Johny "The Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong" McCain is looking for a few economic advisers if you are looking for a gig.

 

[gdnp]

McCain's last move could be to phone Bush and tell him that right about then is a good time to start that war with Iran George has been itching to start. So Bush starts war declares national emergency elections get waived and lo and behold the status que gets preserved. Elections? what elections? We don't need no stinking elections!

1) Alternatively, he could call Israel. It's about the only western country where McCain is favored over Obama. Israeli air strikes on Iranian nukular facilities would certainly push foreign policy back to the front burner.

2) Leak a video to the press of Osama Bin Laden congratulating Obama on his victory. Simultaneously, point out to everyone how similar Obama 'n' Biden and Osama bin Laden sound.

3) McCain can truly display his maverick credentials and willingness to reach across the aisle by announcing that he is suspending his campaign, endorsing Obama, and has agreed to a newly created position in the Obama cabinet, secretary of earmark elimination.

 

[Wangler]

Second.... I think McCain has only one option, ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK. It is going to piss me off, lies really bother me.

Not all attack ads promulgate lies, but the bad attack ads do.

The thing that scares me is the economy getting marginally better for a few weeks before tanking again.

Before anyone says it.... I DO NOT want want to see the economy tank for my guy to win.

I just don't feel any half educated person thinks this bailout is going to fix things overnight if at all. Any slightly good economic news in the next 30 or so days is just going to be a slight bump in the rocky road ahead of us for the next 2 years give or take... but we know the attention span of the average citizen.

Two weeks of positive economic news is what McCain really needs now and it could happen. The economy, even when circling the drain, has swings and if a slight upswing happens while we are in the home stretch McCain could be right back in the running again.

Despite you saying you don't want the economy to tank, I find that hard to reconcile with your statements.

My concern is the long-term recovery and stability of the economy, and I see McCain's policies as the better choice in that regard.

 

[not_so_new]

Not all attack ads promulgate lies, but the bad attack ads do.

I agree, and I stand corrected. That is a better description for my view as well.

Despite you saying you don't want the economy to tank, I find that hard to reconcile with your statements.

My concern is the long-term recovery and stability of the economy, and I see McCain's policies as the better choice in that regard.

So you are saying I am lying because I don't believe in your viewpoint? Okay.

 

[Wangler]

So you are saying I am lying because I don't believe in your viewpoint? Okay.

No, I am saying that your statement about not wanting the economy to worsen were hard for me to reconcile with your post.

The stuff about what I think was just put in there so you would know where I was coming from.

 

[not_so_new]

No, I am saying that your statement about not wanting the economy to worsen were hard for me to reconcile with your post.

The stuff about what I think was just put in there so you would know where I was coming from.

Just wanted to make sure I was clear on what you were saying.

So......

Do you think the economy is going to get better for the long run in the next 30 days and we are out of the woods with job loss, credit shortages, bad debt and consumer confidence?

 

[MattusMaximus]

It's like I'm psychic or something...

On Friday, I posted this about McCain's next campaign move...

Yup, that and the whole William Ayers thing. Now that McCain and the GOP are obviously backed into a corner, they're going to turn the negative-ads dial all the way up to 11.

If you thought the mud-slinging in 2004 was bad, you ain't seen nothing yet.

And I sign onto my computer today to see this headline...

McCain camp: Obama is 'radical,' pals around with terrorists

Pegged to a Times story that adds nothing to the theory that Obama and Bill Ayers were particularly close, the McCain camp is focusing on that association again today, in an attempt to move the conversation beyond the economic issues on which Obama looks to spend the last month of the race.

Palin hit Obama a bit harder on this than McCain has in the past. ...

... "This is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country," Palin concluded, in the hardest shot of the statement. ...

So now, according to McCain's campaign, Obama "pals around with terrorists" - good grief. Well, I'm not surprised; in fact, I predicted this very thing in my earlier post. I need to start advertising as a psychic, it seems

The best part about this story is that when Palin was called out on her outright lies by the press, who have thoroughly check this story numerous times and found it to be false (this is a very old claim, btw), she boldly claims that it's the press who have the story wrong. Nice.

 

[chipmunk stew]

On Friday, I posted this about McCain's next campaign move...




And I sign onto my computer today to see this headline...

McCain camp: Obama is 'radical,' pals around with terrorists




So now, according to McCain's campaign, Obama "pals around with terrorists" - good grief. Well, I'm not surprised; in fact, I predicted this very thing in my earlier post. I need to start advertising as a psychic, it seems

The best part about this story is that when Palin was called out on her outright lies by the press, who have thoroughly check this story numerous times and found it to be false (this is a very old claim, btw), she boldly claims that it's the press who have the story wrong. Nice.

Well I suggested early on that if McCain really wanted to make a splash, he should pick Sarah Palin as a running mate.

The fact that the McCain camp is being run by people with political instincts on par with yours and mine should be very depressing to McCain supporters.

 

[MattusMaximus]

Well I suggested early on that if McCain really wanted to make a splash, he should pick Sarah Palin as a running mate.

The fact that the McCain camp is being run by people with political instincts on par with yours and mine should be very depressing to McCain supporters.

In addition to advertising as a psychic, apparently I could also be a highly paid consultant for the Republican Party, or at least McCain's campaign. Truth be told, I'm pretty certain there are some very politically savvy corners of the GOP who are shaking their heads in disbelief that McCain would go this particular route. At least, they're wondering why his own running mate would say something so stupid - leave such things up to the 527s, so that at least there is a chance of plausible deniability.

Recall that it was Karl Rove himself who stated a couple of weeks ago that McCain's campaign had gotten too negative with "lipstick on a pig" - Rove must be wondering what McCain's people are smoking now.

 

[This is The End]

2) Leak a video to the press of Osama Bin Laden congratulating Obama on his victory.

Is this supposed to conjure up images of the Bin Laden tape released less than a week before the 2004 election? Didn't Bush go from tied to a several point lead after that tape? Then again as far as I remember there was also a decent percentage drop in gas prices around the same time.

 

[GreyICE]

McCain camp: Obama is 'radical,' pals around with terrorists

So now, according to McCain's campaign, Obama "pals around with terrorists" - good grief. Well, I'm not surprised; in fact, I predicted this very thing in my earlier post. I need to start advertising as a psychic, it seems

I think Sylvia Brown could have seen this one coming. It's not like we haven't seen it before... 2004, 2000... when the going gets tough, the Dirty Tricks committee gets out their favorite tools. CREEP lives on.

The best part about this story is that when Palin was called out on her outright lies by the press, who have thoroughly check this story numerous times and found it to be false (this is a very old claim, btw), she boldly claims that it's the press who have the story wrong. Nice.

Of course she did. After all, the Republicans finally screwed up. They nominated a truly stupid individual. Bush, whatever else I may say about him, is not stupid. Egotistical, deluded, and more committed to his philosophy than facts, even when the two are head to head, yes. But Palin is just too STUPID (not retarded stupid. Just average American stupid). You need to hem and haw and imply that the press got the facts wrong without ever being pinned down. That takes a certain amount of speaking skill, that takes talent, and that takes thinking on your feet.

She has talking points, a can-do attitude, and lots of moose. She can't play this game. They're going to crucify her (I smell the 'liberal media' cries already).

 

[davefoc]

...

Recall that it was Karl Rove himself who stated a couple of weeks ago that McCain's campaign had gotten too negative with "lipstick on a pig" - Rove must be wondering what McCain's people are smoking now.

I wish your instincts were right on this and that going for illegitimate negative attacks was going to backfire on the McCain/Palin campaign, but I think you're wrong. I was listening to Fox News this morning and it was a steady stream of ACORN and Bill Ayers. They aren't even attempting to put it in the guise of editorial. They are just flat out working it into regular news stories for completely partisan purposes and the fact is that it works. A lot of people listen to Fox News and a lot of those people believe that Obama was palling around with terrorists and supporting their causes that wouldn't have without the Fox News propaganda machine.

The fact is that at this point in time, probably the only possible way that McCain can win is with unfair negative attacks. There is the possibility that he could ramp up the racial and Muslim concerns some way or other but that would be tricky (and it is possible that he might have ethical qualms about doing it) but I think we are going to see a steady stream of more routine unfair negative attacks from now until the election from the McCain camp.

Dealing with this will be the most interesting challenge yet for the Obama campaign staff. Truth is almost no defense against this kind of stuff. I think some combination of counter attacks that play off McCain's attacks, some unfair attacks of their own with surrogates leading the charge and quick responses with overwhelming evidence of the untruths is what he needs to do.

There is one other strategy that I think Obama should pursue. Right now there is a big chunk of voters that have bought into the standard Republcan rhetoric about how fiscally and economically responsible they are. Obama needs to pound away on the total hypocrisy of the Republican rhetoric on this. Borrowing massive amounts of cash from the Chinese to keep spending high and taxes low is not responsible or sustainable. He needs to reassure voters that he is a fiscal conservative and that he will get the country's finances back in order. On this issue, he can even carve out a little ground to the right of the Republicans and still be on safe ground with his base and still be in a position to attract some independents that fear the Democrats alleged fiscally irresponsible ways.

 

[ZenFountain]

Recall that it was Karl Rove himself who stated a couple of weeks ago that McCain's campaign had gotten too negative

Nothing is too low for Karl Rove, he only says that now because he's smart enough to know this is a tactically bad decision for McCain.

According to "Democratic surrogates", whoever they are, the Obama campaign has given them the green light to inject McCain's involvement in the Keating Five scandal into the news. Obama's affiliation with Ayers looks bad but it's not going to sink him. If McCain has go on the defensive against his affiliation with Charles Keating it's a disaster. In light of the current banking crisis and a public outrage at the perceived instigators there is no way he comes out clean from this if the news channels eat it up and run with it, and they probably will because that's what you get with a dozen 24 hour news channels.

Judging by his previous campaign moves, McCain will probably come out in a few days complaining that Obama is playing dirty and call to suspend all negative attack ads, while there's a McCain attack ad playing on a giant TV screen behind him.

 

[MattusMaximus]

I have no doubt that the "terrorists" angle will work to whip up the Fox News crowd - it's a strategy no doubt designed to do just that, especially since McCain's numbers have started to lag again with the GOP base of late.

The real question is whether or not it will alienate the very voters that McCain needs to win, namely undecideds & independents. I question whether or not it is a useful strategy for reaching those folks, and I think it is very likely that it will actually backfire and repel more undecideds from McCain than it attracts.

So far it seems that Obama's campaign is responding swiftly and strongly to this latest broadside - their "Erratic McCain" ad seems to be a very good pre-emptive counter-move. The fact that Obama is way ahead in the polls and has a strong, well-funded, and disciplined campaign is a big plus over Kerry when he got "swift-boated" in 2004. We'll see what happens.

ETA: I still maintain that, should the Dems go that route, the "Keating Five" charge against McCain will be far more damaging than this "terrorists" stuff against Obama. I say this because the average undecided voter will, I think, see the claim that Obama palls around with terrorists to be just too much of a reach. As I said, we'll see... but in the meantime, there's going to be a LOT of mud being slung around. Ugh.

 

[chipmunk stew]

If McCain brings up Ayers and Rezko during the debate, all Obama has to do is say, "John, I know you want to turn the page on the economy, and I could talk about your friendship with G. Gordon Liddy and Charles Keating, but the American people can't turn the page on the economy, so that's what I'm going to talk about." The media then reports on Liddy and Keating.

 

[MattusMaximus]

If McCain brings up Ayers and Rezko during the debate, all Obama has to do is say, "John, I know you want to turn the page on the economy, and I could talk about your friendship with G. Gordon Liddy and Charles Keating, but the American people can't turn the page on the economy, so that's what I'm going to talk about." The media then reports on Liddy and Keating.

I honestly don't think Obama will even have to say anything about that. Chances are you'll be seeing news stories tomorrow about McCain's association with both Liddy and Keating. It's already all over the blogosphere.

McCain messed up. The Dems were waiting in the wings with some big guns, and now they've clicked the safeties to "off" and are taking aim...

 

[dirtywick]

I have no doubt that the "terrorists" angle will work to whip up the Fox News crowd - it's a strategy no doubt designed to do just that, especially since McCain's numbers have started to lag again with the GOP base of late.

The real question is whether or not it will alienate the very voters that McCain needs to win, namely undecideds & independents. I question whether or not it is a useful strategy for reaching those folks, and I think it is very likely that it will actually backfire and repel more undecideds from McCain than it attracts.

So far it seems that Obama's campaign is responding swiftly and strongly to this latest broadside - their "Erratic McCain" ad seems to be a very good pre-emptive counter-move. The fact that Obama is way ahead in the polls and has a strong, well-funded, and disciplined campaign is a big plus over Kerry when he got "swift-boated" in 2004. We'll see what happens.

ETA: I still maintain that, should the Dems go that route, the "Keating Five" charge against McCain will be far more damaging than this "terrorists" stuff against Obama. I say this because the average undecided voter will, I think, see the claim that Obama palls around with terrorists to be just too much of a reach. As I said, we'll see... but in the meantime, there's going to be a LOT of mud being slung around. Ugh.

McCain needs both the base and independants. Obama doesn't really have that problem. Defeating the Republicans after eight years of Bush is enough to get his base out, the Democrat base is going to turn out pretty big this year I think after the last two elections especially. Even if you eliminate the independants I'd wager he'd be pretty well behind, and the far right doesn't even like McCain to begin with!

I don't know, McCain's been fighting an uphill battle, not doing too bad either because I didn't really think the Republicans had a shot this year at all, but he's pretty well ****ed now. He's falling further behind, Palin helped reenergize his campaign but soon, if not already, she'll be starting to hurt it.

He should try and shift focus of Palin and onto Biden. Something about how Obama will be leaning on Biden because of his lack of experience, and Biden sucks at life and will be terrible. Shift focus off Palin though is priority number one.