McCain Already Acting Like President

Someone should knock on the Democratic party's door and remind them that the competition is on the other side of the aisle, and right now it's on the other side of the pond for a fundraiser.

It would sound something like this, "Hello? Yes. I was wondering if you have seen Senator McCain?" No, they haven't.

Why?

Because he is in Iraq "assessing the troop surge." It can't be too bad a PR trip, with more than half the foreign-deployed US military being in Iraq. McCain is traveling under the auspice of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and the visit is his 8th in 5 years. McCain is pro-Iraq, but has criticized the Bush administration's handling of the war. Now that the troop surge McCain advocated is working, he is free to capitalize on being right, and gets the Bush stamp of approval. McCain is a popular candidate in the military demographic. While Senator McCain's official role on this trip is legitimate, there is no doubt the timing is political. Senators Clinton and Obama are tangling like angry cats, no one can hear over the din, and McCain strolls off to Iraq to start personally handling the war.

Also in McCain's palm pilot over the next week are meetings with Jordanian King Abdullah, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. While he is jaunting around the globe meeting with important world leaders and reinforcing the GOP agenda, Clinton and Obama will be busily destroying each other, nearly oblivious. The fighting between Clinton and Obama has created such a thick smoke screen that McCain doesn't even have to be in the country to campaign. The GOP and Bush are free to start a phased transition of control from Bush to McCain. As far as they are concerned, he is President-elect. I have no doubt that McCain is willing to adopt the Bush agenda in exchange for a bully pulpit endorsement.

Who's to say Clinton and Obama could not present a united front against McCain while still continuing their own campaigns? I think it is perceived as impossible at this time because of the vice-presidential bickering, which both have said is premature, but were forced to discuss it anyway. Both Democrats shied away from the VP question because they both knew that it was going to lead to trouble. But, the media and the pundits pushed the issue and they capitulated. This sparked off the latest infighting that has now escalated to name calling. See, it is so fascinating even I get distracted talking about it, and forget what I was really talking about: John McCain.

I'm going to say this every chance I get, until I'm heard: do not underestimate John McCain. In the most recent head-to-heads, all three presidential candidates are in a dead heat. But, it's sliding McCain's way against Obama, and Clinton's way against McCain. A week ago, Obama beat McCain in head-to-heads by 5 points, and Clinton was losing by 2 points. The head-to-head schematic is sliding back toward where it was in December, with Clinton the clear winner. But, it's much closer this time. As I said, it's a dead heat, less than 1 point separating any of them. That's excellent news for McCain and the GOP, and should be a dire warning to Democrats that their assumed victory in November is in jeopardy.

How do Democrats bail the ship? I think the answer is simple. Go back in time. Not literally, but back to when the Democratic race was about the issues. It didn't seem like it at the time, but it was. I'd love to hear one of Obama's inspirational speeches right now. I'd love to hear Clinton croaking on about health care and heartfelt moments with single mothers. Both campaigns are losing track of their core platforms and they need to get back to them.

I think there are signs that both want to, signaled by a willingness to participate in 2 debates, in spite of the obvious risks of what topics could come up. No doubt, there will be mutually agreed upon topics to be left alone. We need to see some "Democratic unity" between Clinton and Obama, something they have both shown when they appear together. If they are smart, and they both are, they will use their considerable media networks to author the upcoming debates to focus on the general election and the issues, not the identity of the candidates.

Democratic leadership has already indicated that the entire nominating process is going to be allowed to play out, up to and including the likelihood of the superdelegates deciding the race, with or without popular backing. What happens is going to be allowed to happen. So, for any Democratic candidacy to survive McCain's bid for the Oval Office, Clinton and Obama need to shape up. Instead of the race or gender card, it's time for someone to play the good sportsmanship card. It is possible to run a polite campaign. Classic principles of debate could and should be applied to the Democratic race right now. Clinton and Obama should bury the hatchet, shake hands, and agree to keep it clean. The GOP kept their process clean and focussed on the issues, and produced a nominee who is much stronger than anyone anticipated.

I was warning about McCain two years ago, and all of my arguments are coming true. I said McCain was a popular war hero with a long Congressional career, foreign relations expertise and a moderate image that would resonate with Independents and swing voters. Congratulating myself for predicting McCain's win is not what I want to do, and would be a hollow reward. I would much rather the attitude that Democrats are guaranteed to win in November be immediately dismissed. Fueled by Bush's deplorable image domestically and worldwide, and by the prevalent idea that Bush stole the presidency from Gore, Democrats feel a sense of entitlement to the Presidency. This is a terrible attitude to take toward actually winning.

Even though Clinton is getting slammed for being willing to do anything to win, I don't think anyone would damn her for using the same strategies against McCain. Conversely, if Rev. Wright flung a few honkey comments at McCain, probably everyone would chuckle and forget it. People delight in the humiliation of public figures, and as long as the fighting looks fair, all bets are off. There is a subtle but strong eye-for-an-eye current running in the Democratic campaign anyway. I think Dems will be willing to overlook almost anything as long as it helps secure a Blue president. America was founded on many Classical principles, and our government, a republic, was modeled after Classical and Roman deliberative bodies. I don't think party leadership even cares who the nominee is at this point, as long as one of them fairly wins the argument.