May 13, 2006 -- The Day that John McCain Lost the Election
Yes, it is a year for change. Yes Barack Obama knew that before most other politicians and capitalized on that with a unique and brilliant campaign that offered inspiration and principle to us in a consistent and explosive manner. We will elect him as our President tomorrow because he offers our country the best chance for the revival we desperately need.
But, May 13, 2006 is the day that John McCain lost the 2008 Presidential Election. My friend Mike Berman reminds me that that is the day he spoke at Liberty University. In my view, that day began the destruction of one of the best brands in American politics. It is the day that Senator McCain went to kiss the ring of Jerry Falwell, a right wing preacher who McCain had called "an agent of intolerance" in 2000. His visit's purpose was to court the evangelical voters and apologize for being the independent maverick he had been over the course of the last 15 years. He minimized the importance of the high visibility issues where he had broken with his party such as immigration, election reform, federal spending and the anti-gay constitutional amendment on marriage and promised that he would be a leader that the right wing could support and trust.
Earlier this year, many Democrats feared running against one candidate in this presidential Election - that candidate was John McCain. He was the one candidate in the Republican primary who everyone hoped wouldn't win. Sure the deeply unpopular Bush Presidency created an atmosphere that favored Democrats this year. But many assumed that given McCain's special brand of independence, he was the one candidate that could distinguish himself from the President.
But May 13, 2006 changed John McCain in two key fundamental ways that have poisoned his campaign and doomed his chances to ever become President. It soured the media on him and it empowered the evangelical right at a time when their overall influence in the country was dwindling.
He minimized his differences on immigration, on election reform, and changed his support in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy. He began to support every anti-gay initiative he could find. On those and so many other issues, he merged into the George Bush and right wing clone that in these closing days of the campaign have choked him beyond breath. In short, he sold his soul to gain the nomination of his party. When he chose Sarah Palin and made the ultimate sacrifice to the right wing choosing a VP candidate who would energize the evangelical base but clearly lacked his standard of quality in public policy, it cemented his changed persona forever.
Many republicans complained that the media has favored Barrack Obama in this election. In effect they are forgetting that it was John McCain who perfected media relations in his last Presidential run in 2000. Yet those same media allies soured on McCain as he became more and more of a political robot in the Republican message machine and the authenticity they had experienced with him was lost as he tumbled into a pool of right wing muck. It was unattractive for him to court those who had previously dissed him and he had rightly rejected as putting their prejudice and narrow-mindedness above a unified and prosperous country. And his campaign handlers knew that he could no longer provide the access t the media that had once been his hallmark because there was just too much to challenge him on. A once guileless politician suddenly had his true beliefs to hide.
Didn't he know that his uniqueness for his friends in the media was that he didn't fit into those stereotypes for a politician? That his original brand of maverick - rather than the empty word it has become - was exactly the kind of candidate the media would have continued to revere? Perhaps they even would have more aggressively challenged the upstart heir to the outsider brand - Barack Obama - if the original was still around?
And didn't he realize that just as he was concluding that he needed the right wing zealots to win the Presidency, the country had already started to reject their falsely premised "values based" agenda?
No, John McCain didn't understand how a trip to Lynchburg, Virginia on May 16, 2006 would doom his presidential dreams forever.
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So well said Hillary. This is exactly what happened to McCain. His best moment in his whole campaign was when he came to Obama's defense in Wisconsin when that woman said she didn't trust Obama. Hopefully the GOP will get rid of those right wing extremists & go back to their roots. They need to get back to their core values.
John didn't come to Obama's defense the woman said she didn't trust Obama; he was nodding enthusiastically then. He objected when she called him an Arab, to which he responded, "No, ma'am; he's a decent family man." (as opposed to Arabs, I suppose!)
One Day Left and I'm anxious as heck!! I remember what has happened 'twice' with Bush and my heart is in my throat when I think the same could happen with McCain and Palin.....
but please people....
Unfortunately, the majority of the military contractors in the area I live in, will be voting McCain, in the hopes of keeping the military engineering/weapons budgets high. Pretty selfish reasons- to keep the war machine going.
I'm just sad for this country.
Why would they care about millions of families who are suffering when they are making so much money in Iraq and Afghanistan? These are the people who like to stock the fear in the hearts of the Base so they can get their self-serving agenda push through by the government of their choice. Its time to stand and say no more
At least Halliburtons stock went down today,
Enough is enough!
VOTE OBAMA, VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE
Hats off to all of you standing in uncredibly long long long lines to cast your vote! :)
"Earlier this year, many Democrats feared running against one candidate in this presidential Election - that candidate was John McCain. He was the one candidate in the Republican primary who everyone hoped wouldn't win."
Your logic is deeply flawed. Remember the New York Times endorsed McCain during the primaries. Did the New York Times fear John McCain as a candidate? McCain ran a poor campaign. In a year when no Republican had any right being within 20 point of the Democratic challenger, McCain finds himself down by 2 to 6 points depending on the poll your looking at. And with a friendly press creating a tailwind. Why so close? I don't think Obama is closing the deal with many Americans. Most are not voting for Obama as much as voting against the status quo. Obama represents change. Nobody really knows what that change is. I mean he has an unimpressive record in the Illinois state house. He has an equally weak record in the Senate. If you ask most voters why they support Obama they can't come up with 2 solid reasons. So we will have change for the better or worse.
Excuse me, but I can come up with a dozen, and Obama has stated every one of them. Obama will end the war in Iraq, and get the troops out. Obama will pursue Bin Laden in Afghanistan. Obama will pursue an intelligent strategy with Pakistan, by creating the atmosphere that supports the more moderate Pakistanis and stops the current incredibly stupid policies that are helping the Taliban. Obama will move to fix the health care system in the U.S. by: setting up a competitive government run health care insurance program; providing tax benefits to small business to offer health care insurance; automate health care information to reduce costs of service; an I hope establish a national health care service offered by the federal government in competition to private health care services. Obama will reduce taxes for everyone making less than $250,000 per year. Obama will increase taxes for everyone making more than $250,000 per year. Obama will bring in advisers that have real world experience and the education to save this countries economy - for example Warren Buffet. Obama will support long term tax incentives and government expenditures to support alternative energy sources. Obama will increase taxes on oil companies. Obama will impose taxes on U.S. corporations avoiding taxes by hiding their income in Caribbean banks.
Obama is the best candidate. If you want to vote Republican, go ahead, I cant' stop you.
I ran out of space , allow me to continue. I believe Obama will move to eliminate all taxes on Social Security - a direct economic stimulus for the people who need it the most. Obama will tax the Oil companies, oops already said that one but it is worth reapting. Obama will eliminate grants for oil companies. Obama will create grants for college students based on pledges of federal service. Obama will put a moratorium on foreclosures for 90 days, Bush may beat him to this one. Obama will work to improve our public schools by insuring we have funding to hire enough qualified teachers. Hiring qualified teachers is a biggie, our school systems are failing primarily because we are starving our schools to pay for our prison system - good example is California where we actually pay more for prisons then for schools. Obama will support infrastructure projects to rebuild our roads, bridges and water systems, putting some 4 to 20 million Americans back to work. I really could go on all day but I am running out of space again.
His record in the senates is a matter of opinion.
Having said that, which would you prefer, a plodder bogged down in building himself a paper senate record, or a man with the leadership skills to motivate the nation and the world and the character and integrity to build cross-isle and international relationships, such as we have never seen before?
Brand? Are we talking about washing powder?
McCain groveled, he revealed his true character. That was the day the mask fell.
Glad to see somebody else is annoyed by the use of "brand" in relation to candidates and Party...th
You might be annoyed, but that is what it is: BRAND.
Even countries brand themselves today.
Perhaps you could give some thought to your own brand. It makes a big difference in life.
Awesome point. I, too, remember that trip. It started the long (in hindsight, too long) process of my disillusionment with John McCain. I have always disagreed with him on some issues, but I don't 100% agree with anyone. Nevertheless, I respected him and held him as a man of principle and integrity.
At the start of this election cycle, I looked at the potential Republican candidates, and really felt (and stated many times) that John McCain was the only acceptable one among them. In a candiate pool with those only too willing to - proudly - admit that they would ignore all facts before their eyes and believe in myth, he was a pragmatic fact-and-solution centered man. This is not the man I see today, and certainly not the man who put the consideration of a pregnant woman's health in quotation marks as a fictional consideration. The same man I admired in his immigration reform stance has since repudiated it.
McCain didn't just sell himself out. He sold out everyone who still believed that a pragmatic, fact-based, reasoned approach to solving problems could possibly emerge from the Republican party.
I agree - he was the only Repub that I could stand and would have considered - the Old John, not the new one. In the Chicago area today they have resurrected the disgusting Rev Wright & "ohhh - radical" commercials. How sad that he has come to this. Obama is the future, McCain is just the past.
In NC, the Republicans are running the Rev. Wright propoganda, as well as some "Goddless" propoganda against Kay Hagan by Elizabeth Dole. Apparently they believe we are electing national Preachers and not representatives of everyone - including Atheists. They even have a sound bite at the end made to appear to be Kay Hagan saying, "There is no God," but it isn't Kay Hagan speaking. These dirty tactics have to be repudiated by the American people, and I'm close to believing we are about to do it.
Forward - not backward. Together - not divided. This is how issues are solved.
Apparently the Wright ads are blanketing the country. This is their last weapon, designed to scare the undecided voters at the last minute.
...which again puts him squarely in Bush's camp.... there isn't much left of America which hasn't already been sold off... as you said, McCain let the republican party become hijacked..
good points...
Nov. 4, 2008 the day he took it back.
In about 12 hours, we will know if your conjecture has any substance .
I remember this day very well, actually. I was in college and I liked John McCain. I liked him a lot. I liked how moderate and even headed he seemed. And the reason I liked him was primarily from his appearances on The Daily Show. And after he gave the speech I didn't necessarily dislike him. I'm southern. He could have spoken there for many reasons, and not all of them were pandering.
This day was very important to the present because it is the day he lost Jon Stewart.
The day he lost Jon Stewart is the day he lost the support of enthusiastic, intelligent, politically minded youth.
He'd been courting us, and then he decided we weren't important to him.
Imagine if the John McCain I really liked in college were running today. The youth would be split. He would have their enthusiasm, their media savvy, and even if he didn't have their vote he'd at least have their respect. It might not even be so close.
Now he has neither my vote nor my respect. And when asked to reflect on the time I spent in his camp, I've decided that the John McCain we're seeing today is the REAL John McCain, and his temporary outreach to my demographic by seeming moderate, independent, and intelligent was nothing more than a cynical ploy for votes.
I couldn't have said this better myself. Excellent post.
I can't believe that there has been no mention of McCain's treatment of his first wife. This was a good indicator of how he would act on other issues which required a strong sense of decency and loyalty.
Cry Republican's cry. Even the numbers coming out to McSame events are down in the face.
My political friends and I always had the same opinion: McCain was the best general election candidate but he'd never survive the Republican primary. McCain did what he had to do to get the nomination. The problem is the Republican party. They sold themselves to the religious right and there's no way out. The general campaign has made it even worse.
But having secured the nomination, why did McCain not jog to the center? Moderate Independents and Democrats might have supported a McCain that maintained his stance on tax cuts, immigration, etc. His pick of Palin confirmed for many that he had no intention to trying to build a center coalition and would continue moving towards the base.
That's a very astute observation. The facts stay the same; it's how we interpret them that changes. McCain did not likely wake up one day and become Darth Vader. The dark side must have always been lurking beneath carefully cultivated image.
RIGHT ON PHOTOGS...
McCain allowed his ambition (to be president) to erode his integrity until only a shell of the man remained. When you consistently pander to the nuttier elements of your party, you should realize you are going to lose the moderates and independents who always provide the margin of victory in an election. I rarely, if ever, agree with Bill Kristol, but he was right when he said McCain should have fired his campaign staff long ago.
You're right. The second he started pimping himself to the neocons is when he hooked himself to the wrong wagon. I wonder how he felt about himself on that day? And what he thinks about himself today?
One suggestion, prepare yourself for long lines at the polls:
Bring a folding chair, a good book and a bunch of snacks, and try to enjoy the wait.
Go with friends, have a party! Send out for pizza. The long lines don't have to discourage voters, we just need to go prepared to wait.
You're absolutely right. I'm going to be handing out water to the folks in line at a polling place in Dallas. I was able to early vote, but I feel for all my fellow voters who weren't able to. I can do my part to keep them comfortable.
I'm on a list to take people to vote. They may not need me, but if they do, I'll be there, and yes, I already voted myself.
You are right. I remember hearing that on the radio, and feeling absolutely crestfallen.
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