First thoughts: A missed opportunity?
Posted: Friday, September 05, 2008 9:35 AM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
First Thoughts
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro
ST. PAUL, MN -- Last night, John McCain wrapped up the final night of a two-week convention and VP rollout blitz as we now head into the 60-day sprint until Election Day. But McCain's speech seemed to be a missed opportunity. It appears the campaign decided it simply needed to get through it -- there wasn't anything new, except a longer description of his POW days. Perhaps Sarah Palin is new enough, and last night's speech was about reassurance. McCain used the word fight (or a variation of it) some 25 times, change 10 times, and experience just three. So by the numbers, McCain was trying to send the message that he was a fighting-warrior-for-change candidate that has enough experience to make it happen. That was the goal, but we'll know in a few days if that message was received. The number to look for in the polls isn't the head-to-head; it'll be whether the percentage of voters who believe McCain will follow Bush's policies closely has actually dropped.
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VIDEO: NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd weighs in on John McCain's nomination acceptance speech and looks at the road ahead for the campaign.***
It was Palin's convention: If the McCain camp was counting on one speech to move the ball forward, it didn't succeed. But thanks to the Palin pick, it has done more to re-invent McCain as a reforming change than the candidate has done on his own in the last three months. And the Alaska governor also has done more to reinvigorate McCain's candidacy than any speech he could have given. In fact, this turned out to be Sarah Palin's convention -- that was made clear when Heart’s “Barracuda” was the song that played as she joined McCain after his speech ended. But is it ever a good thing to be upstaged by your VP pick? McCain was never going to win a speech contest with Obama. But his "celebrity" attack over the past couple of months was a good way of blunting Obama's speech in Denver and lowering expectations for his own. Yet when McCain unveiled his own celebrity -- Palin, who wowed the GOP crowd on Wednesday night -- it made his speech pale in comparison....
*** Waiting for the interview: There are now about 60 days until Election Day and just three weeks until the debates. And who knows whether we'll get the first Sarah Palin serious issue interview before then. This morning on JOE, McCain manager Rick Davis wouldn't commit to putting her out to media interviews unless they saw it as helping their campaign. This Sunday is interesting in that three of the four principles are doing sunday shows, the lone holdout: Palin.
*** Obama vs. O'Reilly: If you were on the convention floor last night, you probably missed Obama’s interview with Bill O’Reilly. And if so, you missed quite a show. It was a heated -- yet respectful -- interview over the surge in Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan. One thing is for sure: Obama seems more intent on confronting his media opponents...
*** It's the economy, stupid: By the way, the latest jobs report is out, and it shows that the unemployment rate jumped to 6.1% in August and employers cut 84,000 jobs. According to the AP, it was the eighth month in a row of job losses. Thnk McCain wishes he put a little more meat on the bones in the economic portion of his speech last night?
*** Downballot watch: The AP also is reporting that the National Republican Senatorial Committee has canceled its $2.3 million TV buy in New Mexico, "an indication that it's leaving the GOP candidate there to fend for himself as the party braces for losses." Not only does that seem to mean that the GOP is giving up on a second Senate contest (the first was Virginia), but how will that impact the presidential race in that battleground state?
*** On the trail: McCain and Palin begin the day after their convention campaigning in Cedarburg, WI and then hold a rally in Sterling Heights, MI. Meanwhile, Obama and Biden are both in Pennsylvania: Obama stumps in Duryea and Biden is in Philadelphia and Langhorne.
Countdown to the first presidential debate: 21 days
Countdown to the vice presidential debate: 27 days
Countdown to the second presidential debate 32 days
Countdown to the third presidential debate: 40 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 61 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 138 days
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