Posted by
David Zublick on Sunday, October 26, 2008 3:17:51 PM
As we approach the home stretch of this 2008 presidential election,
several things have occurred to make me believe that John McCain's
campaign is self-destructing.
First and foremost, there appears to be some dissension in the ranks of the McCain-
Palin camp.
Palin's
handlers have restrained her from appearing on any more of the major
news programs. She will not be visiting any of the Sunday morning
talking head shows, and her appearances have been limited to campaign
rallies. Rumors are flying that there are many in McCain's inner circle
who have turned against
Palin, now believing that she is not qualified to be a heartbeat away from
the presidency.
Secondly, many in McCain's camp are suffering from a
defeatist
attitude with a little more than a week left before the big day. McCain
has reportedly read the riot act to his staff, making clear that they
must fight with him all out to win the election. McCain has made it
clear that he will not tolerate the "blame game" that many of his
advisers are engaging in, as Barack Obama retains a comfortable lead in national and swing state polls.
Morale
is said to be very low among McCain's troops, calling his campaign
lackluster. Some have even begun talking about what they will do after
the election, as far as employment is concerned. It's as though they've
thrown in the towel, and are just waiting out the clock.
Most
polls show Obama with a comfortable lead heading into the final week.
An Associated Press poll and an Investor's Business Daily poll show the
race a lot closer, and the
IBD poll in 2004 most accurately reflected voters' attitudes. This should encourage McCain's people, but apparently it has not.
With
time running out, it seems clear that McCain has a very steep hill to
climb. Obama is already measuring the drapes in the White House, and
barring a miracle, we must face the real possibility that he will be
our next president.
But McCain is right to chastise his staff. As Sarah
Palin has said, it's not over until it's over. McCain could still do some things to turn it around.
He
must continue to pound home the fact that what Obama offers in terms of
tax policy is socialism, even Marxism. He must hammer away at the fact
that an Obama presidency, combined with a Democrat controlled congress,
would take this country so far to the left that our founding fathers
would not recognize the nation they created.
McCain must also
lay the blame for the economic crisis and bailout fiasco squarely at
the foot of the Democrats, and indicate that he as a maverick will go
after those responsible for the Fannie Mae - Freddie Mac meltdown. He
should name names, and trot out Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney as two
cabinet members he will appoint to bring justice to the American
people. McCain can then point to Obama and ask who Obama would appoint
to do the same thing. Harry Reid? Nancy
Pelosi? Barney Frank?
Why
McCain has failed to do these things up until now boggles the mind. But
there is still a window of opportunity, albeit a small one.
Barring
getting this message across or an October surprise so powerful that it
rocks the very foundation of the Obama campaign, this election is lost.
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