McCain: A Dukakis-in-a-tank moment?
Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 9:26 AM by Mark Murray
The New York Times' Maureen Dowd points out a visual contrast this week that's going to be remembered for some time. "The image of John McCain in a golf cart with Bush 41 in Kennebunkport — with Poppy charmingly admitting that they were ‘a little jealous’ of all the Obama odyssey coverage — was not a good advertisement for the future, especially contrasted with the shots of Gen. David Petraeus and Obama smiling at each other companionably in a helicopter surveying Iraq. (Asked by a Democratic lawmaker a while back why there weren’t more Democrats in the military, General Petraeus smiled slyly and said ‘there are more than you think.’)"
In a separate piece, the New York Times’ Stanley also writes on the visual contrasts. "It wasn’t a television blackout of John McCain; it was worse: split-screen contrasts that at times made it seem as if Barack Obama was on a state visit while back home his opponent chafed at the perks and privileges of an incumbent commander in chief."
More: “While Mr. Obama was shown striding across military tarmacs and inspecting troops standing at attention, Mr. McCain on Monday was seen being driven around in a golf cart by former President George Bush in the resort town of Kennebunkport, Me. Later, the two men spoke to reporters side by side at a waterfront, and they looked more like fellow members of a Past Presidents’ Club than a party elder passing the torch to his political heir.”
VIDEO: A Race for the White House panel discusses whether attacking the media is a smart political move for John McCain.
And: “Mr. McCain’s surrogates complained bitterly about the Obama news blitz; on Tuesday the McCain campaign put out a Web video mocking reporters’ doting coverage with a montage of anchors’ gauzy looks and glowing praise set to the tune of the Frankie Valli hit ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.’ But it’s not pro-Obama bias in the news media that’s driving the effusion of coverage, it’s the news: Mr. Obama’s weeklong tour of war zones and foreign capitals is noteworthy because it is so unusual to see a presidential candidate act so presidential overseas. Mr. Obama looks supremely confident and at home talking to generals and heads of state, so much so that some viewers may find the pose presumptuous — as if Mr. Obama believes that not only is his official nomination at the Democratic convention in August a mere formality, so is the November election."
Asked by CBS’s Katie Couric whether he believes he’d had unfair media coverage, McCain replied: “I don't think so. I think … it is what it is. I'm a big boy. And I'm enjoying every minute of the campaigning. And I'm certainly not complaining. And, in fact, I think it’s fun to watch."
Couric then asked: “Do you think your campaign simply isn't as adept as Senator Obama's when it comes to facilitating media coverage?”
McCain replied: “No, I think my campaign's doing fine. We're two or three points behind. We're doing fine. I'm very happy with where we are. Sen. Obama has run a very successful campaign, gaining the nomination of his party, and attracting the attention of many people. I'm happy. We're putting one foot ahead of the other. I'm happy with where we are. I relish the underdog. And I'm confident we're gonna be victorious. I'm very happy with my campaign. I'm very happy with where we are. Love the town hall meetings and I love the kind of campaigning we're doing.”
The Washington Post's Kurtz tackles the age issue through the prism of how the media's dealing with it. McCain "has been making a series of verbal slips -- invariably described as ‘gaffes’ -- that are starting to ricochet from liberal blogs to the mainstream media. And fairly or not, some critics are suggesting the 71-year-old Republican candidate is showing his age."
The Wall Street Journal looks at the message makeover the campaign has received from Steve Schmidt.
On a less busy news day or even a news week or news month, the story of this GOP donor named Craig Berkman, who swindled folks out of millions in business deals, could be a bigger story.
