Arizona Senator John McCain (official)

[CookyPuss]

Originally Posted by sepia5

Seriously. I watch the news every night and ask myself if McCain is trying to lose this election. The way he's dealing w/ the economy issue is really telling. Despite the fact that he's admitted he isn't as well-versed on the economy as he ought to be, it's actually Obama that has employed a who's who among economics thinkers in America. McCain, on the other hand, turns to his best bud Phil Gram, and we all know where that has gone.

Mark Weisbrot: McCain's "Knowledge Gap": It's An Issue - Politics on The Huffington Post

Of course the Obama campaign would want to be careful and polite about criticizing McCain. Obama should not be seen as making fun of McCain for having a lesser education than a guy who was president of the Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude. Or for not being as sharp as he might have been a couple of decades ago.

Indeed, there are plenty of sharp policy wonks on the wrong side of any issue. The president doesn't have to be a master of detail. He has advisors. But he has to at least learn enough from his advisors to be able to make an informed decision. McCain doesn't seem to be able to do this, and his mistakes seem to be more about ideological blindness and political deception than a lack of education.

I'd argue it has more to do with him not caring about the issues. If it is not about military/war, pork spending, campaign finance reform, Indian affairs (casinos), or telecomm industry; then he really doesn't give a [censored]. It shouldn't be a surprise as if you go back to his history in the Naval Academy:

McCain did well in academic subjects that interested him, such as literature and history, but studied only enough to pass subjects he disliked, such as math.

John McCain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm not sure how this would play out as President. My suspicion is that it would lead to awful policy and/or neglect of many issues.

[fourteenandoh]

Phil Gramm is right BTW. We aren't in a recession and unemployment is at a level once thought unattainable. He just didn't get the memo that you can't tell the truth during an election year.

[CookyPuss]

Originally Posted by fourteenandoh

Phil Gramm is right BTW. We aren't in a recession and unemployment is at a level once thought unattainable. He just didn't get the memo that you can't tell the truth during an election year.

Gramm may be technically correct that we are not in a recession... yet. You don't call the American people "whiners" ever (even if they are).

McCain has Gramm spouting off with diarrhea of the mouth, Fiorena misrepresenting his views on women's issues, and now Sanford can't come up with a single difference between him and Bush on the economy:

YouTube - Sanford Draws Blank On Bush/McCain...

Pretty soon, McCain isn't going to have any surrogates left to send out there. The disorganization of this campaign does not bode well for running an efficient White House.

[sepia5]

Originally Posted by MuckFich06

Gramm may be technically correct that we are not in a recession... yet. You don't call the American people "whiners" ever (even if they are).

McCain has Gramm spouting off with diarrhea of the mouth, Fiorena misrepresenting his views on women's issues, and now Sanford can't come up with a single difference between him and Bush on the economy:

YouTube - Sanford Draws Blank On Bush/McCain Economic Differences

Pretty soon, McCain isn't going to have any surrogates left to send out there. The disorganization of this campaign does not bode well for running an efficient White House.

Good lord that is almost painful to watch. Wolf Blitzer just let him absolutely have it. Blitzer really is, IMO, one of the few journalists out there that just won't let a politician off the hook when he's trying to spin away from a topic.

[fourteenandoh]

yet again i ask, who is running this campaign? this is a debacle

[MaxBuck]

Originally Posted by fourteenandoh

yet again i ask, who is running this campaign? this is a debacle

To paraphrase MuckFich, how can this man run the nation if he is so incompetent at running a campaign? Obama, as liberal (gag!) as he is, has deftly handled a number of embarrassments in his campaign, and he is as powerful a fundraiser as we have seen in some time.

I am rapidly becoming a Barack supporter, if for no other reason than I am sick and tired of fecklessness in the Oval Office.

[CookyPuss]

It seems to me that McCain forgot a line in his speech today:

RealClearPolitics - Articles - McCain's Remarks on Iraq and Afghanistan

Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards. It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan. It is by applying the tried and true principles of counter-insurgency used in the surge -- which Senator Obama opposed -- that we will win in Afghanistan. With the right strategy and the right forces, we can succeed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I know how to win wars. And if I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory.

And then I'll start one with Iran... and maybe North Korea and Syria and I've still got a bone to pick with some guys in North Vietnam.

[sepia5]

Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards. It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan. It is by applying the tried and true principles of counter-insurgency used in the surge -- which Senator Obama opposed -- that we will win in Afghanistan. With the right strategy and the right forces, we can succeed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I know how to win wars. And if I'm elected President, I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory.

A couple things here. First, even if a "surge" is the way to win in Afghanistan, I'm not sure where McCain is planning on getting the troops for said surge when he wants to keep a long-term, powerful presence in Iraq. All our generals will tell him our forces are stretched to their limit as it is, so those two ends (maintaining long-term in Iraq and surging in Afghanistan) obviously do not mesh. Only Obama is calling for a gradual pull-out in Iraq so that we can get our troops home, get them some R&R, then redeploy a portion to Afghanistan.

Second, I am so sick of this ridiculous notion that McCain knows how to win wars. The guy was a fighter pilot. He wasn't calling the shots. (And even if he was, he fought in the war America lost.) As poorly conceived and delivered as his statement was, Wesley Clark was absolutely right when he said being a fighter pilot and POW does little prepare you for the position of Commander in Chief.

[fourteenandoh]

Originally Posted by MaxBuck

To paraphrase MuckFich, how can this man run the nation if he is so incompetent at running a campaign? Obama, as liberal (gag!) as he is, has deftly handled a number of embarrassments in his campaign, and he is as powerful a fundraiser as we have seen in some time.

I am rapidly becoming a Barack supporter, if for no other reason than I am sick and tired of fecklessness in the Oval Office.

there's a great reason to vote for someone. now that i think about it, maybe he could fundraise enough money to have some left over to fund the bailout of fannie and freddy!

[MaxBuck]

Because fundraising is the single most important skill a politician must possess to survive in his profession, excellence at fundraising speaks to competency. That was my key point.

[AKAKBUCK]

Originally Posted by MaxBuck

Because fundraising is the single most important skill a politician must possess to survive in his profession, excellence at fundraising speaks to competency. That was my key point.

Actually I would think winning elections is the single most important skill.

[BayBuck]

Originally Posted by sepia5

Second, I am so sick of this ridiculous notion that McCain knows how to win wars. The guy was a fighter pilot. He wasn't calling the shots. (And even if he was, he fought in the war America lost.) As poorly conceived and delivered as his statement was, Wesley Clark was absolutely right when he said being a fighter pilot and POW does little prepare you for the position of Commander in Chief.

He didn't say "I have called the shots and personally won wars", he's just reminding voters of his 20 years of military experience which surely included more time studying and practicing military strategy than Obama will ever have.

[buckeyegrad]

Originally Posted by MaxBuck

Because fundraising is the single most important skill a politician must possess to survive in his profession, excellence at fundraising speaks to competency. That was my key point.

So we are after the best politician, not the best stateman for the presidency. Our founders would be so proud.

[AKAKBUCK]

Originally Posted by buckeyegrad

So we are after the best politician, not the best stateman for the presidency. Our founders would be so proud.

Well, in that case-- if we're only concerned with fundraising, campaign management and the like, I guess there's no reason to complain that Dubya won the last 2, eh?

Say what you want about Rove, but, he was awfully good at his job.

[fourteenandoh]

any chance i am wrong about the mccain campaign? they have plenty of ammo right now, but maybe they don't want to use their bullets this far ahead of the election. man, i really hope that's the case.