The McCain-isms that Lost the Debate, If Not the Election

In presidential elections, winning and losing results less from the facts presented, than the keywords and key phrases repeated.  At no time was this more true than last night's debate in Tennessee.

Second Debate Turns McCain-isms into Major Problem for Republican Chances
More than clarifying John McCain's policy positions, the second Presidential debate showcased the Arizona senator's idiosyncratic tendency to repeat (and repeat, and repeat) certain peculiar phrases while speaking to voters.  Over the course of 90 minutes,  these oft-repeated 'McCain-isms' not only sank any chance the Republican candidate might have had at winning the debate, but decreased significantly his chances of winning the election.

Without question, Obama appeared much more comfortable in the circular open stage of the Town Hall setting than McCain.  Despite having called for more Town Hall debates, McCain seemed physically lost at times in the format.  At one point, McCain walked backward while delivering an answer, creating an unmistakable image of anxiousness.

But beyond the staging, there were three phrases that McCain repeated, thereby binding himself over and over with the unfavorable trappings of an earnest, but ultimately untrustworthy politician.

McCain-ism #1: "My Friends" - The Neurotic
Last night, John McCain repeated the phrase 'my friends' 19 times:

1. MY FRIENDS, until we stabilize home values in America, we're never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy
2. I know how the do that, MY FRIENDS
3. MY FRIENDS, do we need to spend that kind of money?
4. MY FRIENDS, we are not going to be able to provide the same benefit for present-day workers that we are going -- that present-day retirees have today
5. MY FRIENDS, some of this $700 billion ends up in the hands of terrorist organizations
6. MY FRIENDS, the last president to raise taxes during tough economic times was Herbert Hoover
7. So let's not raise anybody's taxes, MY FRIENDS
8. We know what the problems are, MY FRIENDS, and we know what the fixes are
9. MY FRIENDS, what we have to do with Medicare is have a commission, have the smartest people in America come together, come up with recommendations
10. Let's look at our records, MY FRIENDS
11. That's the good news, MY FRIENDS
12. MY FRIENDS, I know you grow a little weary with this back-and-forth
13. I vote against them, MY FRIENDS. I vote against them
14. We've got to drill offshore, MY FRIENDS, and we've got to do it now
15. MY FRIENDS, we have gone to all four corners of the Earth and shed American blood in defense
16. We don't have time for on-the-job training, MY FRIENDS
17. Well, let me just follow up, MY FRIENDS
18. There was a lot at stake there, MY FRIENDS
19. I'll get Osama bin Laden, MY FRIENDS

If there was any phrase that defined John McCain in last night's debate, it was not a phrase about foreign policy or the economy or the military.  It was the phrase  'my friends.'  So what does it say about McCain when he repeats this over and over--how does this quintessential McCain-ism ring in the ears of American voters?

In a word: neurotic.

I spoke to about a dozen people after the debate last night, and listened to about as many pundits. Almost everybody noticed McCain's repetition of the phrase 'my friends,' but not one person said that the McCain-ism made them feel positive about the candidate.  Instead, people said that 'my friends' gave McCain an air of nervousness, phoniness--strangeness.  Rather than connecting 'my friends' to some positive quality of McCain, debate observers used the phrase as a starting point for attempts at explaining what was 'wrong' with McCain in this debate and in general.  Several voters voiced some version of thought in response to hearing 'my friends' from McCain:

McCain said 'my friends' so many times!  But it's not like he actually is my friend.  He sounds phony when he says that so much.  Annoying. 

One has to guess that McCain uses the phrase 'my friends' as part of a rhetorical strategy to connect with the audience, but the effect is the opposite.  The phrase has a grating result on people, pushing them a way from McCain and towards a conversation about 'what is wrong' with the candidate and why a candidate would repeat such a phrase so often.

McCain-ism #2: "My Hero" - The Sycophant
Last night,  McCain repeated the phrase 'my hero' only twice, but he impact was noticeable:

1. President Reagan, MY HERO
2. MY HERO is a guy named Teddy Roosevelt

For some reason, McCain peppers his campaign speech with references to 'my hero,' most often citing  Ronald Reagan.  In some instances, he calls someone 'my hero' in order to demonstrate that he bucked authority, while in other cases he is simply expressing admiration.  But in both cases, the end result is very bad for McCain's candidacy.

The dictionary defines 'sycophant' as:

a person who acts obsequiously toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer.

Perhaps Reagan and Roosevelt are McCain's 'heros,' perhaps not.  Nobody can truly know what is in another person's heart.  But what comes across to voters when McCain describes famous politicians as 'my hero' is a gut feeling that he is doing so to gain advantage--servile flattery.

No matter how old or young a voter may be, no matter where they were born, no matter what their ideological leanings may be, wealthy or poor, man or woman--we have all encountered a sycophant in or lives.  And nobody--I mean absolutely nobody--observes a person engaged in servile flattery and thinks, 'Gosh, I really like this person.'  We think instead, 'Yuck. Gross. Pathetic.'

Americans do not look kindly on people who flatter the boss to get ahead.  Sycophants are ridiculed in thousands of movies and books because Americans believe that if you work  hard you get ahead and that people who get ahead by calling the boss 'my hero,' are not really qualified or deserving of the job they landed.

McCain-ism #3: "I Know How To" - The Know-It-All
Over the course of last night's debate, Sen. McCain repeated the phrase 'I know how to' seven times:

1. I KNOW HOW TO do that, my friends
2. I KNOW HOW TO get America working again
3. I KNOW HOW TO fix this economy
4. I KNOW HOW TO do that
5. I KNOW HOW TO handle these crises
6. I KNOW HOW TO get him
7. I KNOW HOW TO do it

The funny thing about a 'know-it-all,' as any kid in grade school can already explain:  they rarely know what it is they claim to know.  Constantly telling someone 'I know how to' says less about one's skills than about one's deep need  to be seen as skillful. 

This was the impression McCain gave to voters each time he repeated 'I know how to':  insecurity.

Why would someone who claims to be an expert in foreign policy, who claims to be an expert in military policy, who claims to be an expert in energy policy, who claims to be an expert in backroom politics--why would McCain be insecure?  Because despite all his supposed skills, the 2008 presidential campaign has brought to light very little actual accomplishment in the record of John McCain.  Despite all the accusations from the McCain campaign that Barack Obama 'has no experience,' the McCain campaign has offered virtually nothing as evidence of John McCain's accomplishment.  McCain has a decorated record as a war veteran, no question, but as a man who claims 'I know how to,' he has nothing to show for having done much.

What Americans hear when McCain repeats 'I know how to,' is not a man with actual skill, but a man who wants to be at the center, at the top more than he knows what to do if he should get there.  Ultimately, the know-it-all becomes the least trusted person in the room because with each claim of expertise, we grow less and less convinced of anything but their egotism.

McCain-ism:  The Neurotic, The Sycophant, and The Know-It-All
If anything lost the debate for McCain it was the repetition of these three key phrases, each of which gave the impression that he was an insecure politician rather than a confident leader.

Above all else, Americans in Presidential elections look for a candidate to project an image of confidence. In his performance last night, McCain did just the opposite.  And the weight of those phrases, repeated on the stage and amplified in countless stories throughout the media, will likely sink his poll numbers even further.

In an age of internet politics, policy arguments are the stuff of campaign websites. In the debates, voters get a chance to hear what the candidates repeat.  And last night, what we heard over and over from John McCain was not the stuff of a candidate who claims victory in November.

(cross posted from Frameshop)

Comments

[piper1233]

Why wont McCain put the Country First and tell everyone how we can Capture Bin Laden, fix the Economy, keep America safe from Terrorism, get America working again, and all of the other things that he says that he Knows how to do. I'm a ardent suppoter of Obama and the Democratic Party, But if McCain can plausably tell me how he would accomplish these feets i would have no problem switching my vote and support. Instead he leaves these claims floating in the wind and continues to attach Obama with error filled statements.

[Likipedia]

Please do not play drinking games during the debate!
How many innocent lives have to be lost ?
If you did a shot every time McCain says "my friends" you would be in the hospital, if not outright dead....
And I pray that it all doesn't come down to the "hillbilly" vote like the past 2 elections.
And who are these remaining 20% or so that still think the country is going in the right direction?
It's absolutely mind-boggling!

[D Right One]

I thought it odd that he said "my friends" too much as well. It really sits in the back of your mind and screams "Why do you keep repeating that line!". McViagra is not going to make four years even if he is elected. Look at Clinton and Bush after eight years. Both started with near black hair. Research their look after eight years. Then we'd have Palin in the White House. Maybe every foreign head of state will come over for moose stew and go snowmobiling at her estate in Alaska.

[Tom Joad]

America has a fever. and the only cure is more Obama!

[SocialismSux]

How can a report say Palin "unlawfully" abused her power when they admit she broke NO LAW!

[kyria]

She abused her power by allowing the police Commissioner to be harrassed, but not by firing him. Go figure.

[dogged23]

My friends is out. My fellow prisoners is in!

[rasputin999]

MY FRIENDS, MY-DEAR FRIENDS AND INDEED FRIENDS OF MY DEAR FRIENDS. MY FRIENDS, I HAVE ONE GERO MY FRIENDS, AND MY FRIENDS, MY HERO IS-SUPERMAN. I KNOW HOW TO CONTACT MY HERO SUPERMAN MY FRIENDS. I KNOW HOW TO DO MOST THINGS, MY FRIENDS, BUT CONTACTING MY HERO SUPERMAN MY FRIENDS IS SOMETHING I KNOW HOW TO DO. I LIE DOWN MY FRIENDS, IN A DARKENED ROOM MY FRIENDS AND THEN MY FRIENDS, I CONTACT MY HERO SUPERMAN MY FRIENDS, BY SAYING MY FRIENDS, "SUPERMAN, MY HERO, COME TO ME" AND SUPERMAN COMES MY FRIENDS, BECAUSE SUPERMAN IS MY HERO MY FRIENDS AND WHEN IT COMES TO CONTACTING MY HERO SUPERMAN MY FRIENDS, I KNOW HOW TO DO THAT--MY FRIENDS
FRIENDS, MY NAME IS JOHN MCCAIN AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE, MY FRIENDS.

[darker]

McCAIN: YIKES!!

people, SAVE YOUR FUTURE, don't vote for more Republican corruption & failure.
No more give-aways to Republican CORPORATE WELFARE QUEENS.
We can't afford Republicans, NO MORE YEARS.

[brodiesgirl]

I always love it when McCain says he knows how to do that or he warned against - Jesus, how ineffectual can he be. If he truly put forth legislation in 2005, with a rep President and Congress, and it got shut down, how is he going to get anything done as President working with a dem Congress???

If your own party hates you and the other party hates you, then how do you plan to get things done??

His heros were not hated they were revered and worked well with others.

[Audrey704]

I think you are rigth brodiesgirl, for someone who bucked his party so much...what did he actually get done.....very little....screaming there's a problem isn't enough, one has to generate activity to get something done about it....McCain has bucked his party but other than McCain/Feingold he hasn't gotten much done at all. Some of the video of his cursing during congressional meetings is mind boggling. Palin is on the stump talking of shaking things up in Washington....is the US already not in enough trouble with the economic crisis...how about stabilizing the ship before shaking things all to heck.

[rbloom]

All right, listen up everybody: This is not over!
Not by a long shot. There are still almost four weeks left until the election.
The Democrats always win the debates -- Kerry, Gore, even Dukakis. Did anyone else stay tuned after the debate and watch the debriefings with the groups of "typical" undecided voters? These people are totally lost when discussing politics and issues. All the McCain campaign has to do is find the right shiny object to dangle in front of them (we'll pay your mortgage off for you!) or a slander that sticks (Obama was raised by cannibals!) and we're right back to everything hanging on New Hampshire and Colorado.
The Reeps definitely are floundering right now, no question. But it's way to early to say, "Ha! They're toast!" What it is time to do is redouble our efforts -- and our donations -- and work that much harder. With any luck, we'll win this thing. With a little more luck, we can bury the Reeps so deep they'll never claw their way back to the surface. But if we start congratulating ourselves early, we're asking for disaster.

[pointus]

Of course, if McDotter's numbers continue to tank, we'll probably experience another "terrorist attack"... perfect opportunity to declare martial law, cancel the election, all for "National Security." I don't think these bozos, having gained their power by illegitimate means, will surrender one ounce of that power without first trying everything in their bag of dirty tricks.

[Maygressive]

This is a great analysis of the things about him that make me very ill at ease!

[davedave]

my friends,

this is what we've had to put up with in arizona for the last 30 years...

welcome to our world!

d

[gd h]

You betcha. As another Arizonan, I can't help but wonder--since McCain enjoys having his hand in the cookie jar so much (while calling you "my friend", his hand is usually reaching for your wallet)--how has he personally profited from all the land swaps that have occurred there (here) over the last twenty years? All of the federal land north of Phoenix (now is Phx) was swapped to developers. Hmmm. Federal land. Developers. Regulators making new rules. Hmmm. Not two miles from my house is a place called Fountain Square, a decent little place with a Safeway, HiHealth, and a few other good shops...and he made over a quarter million dollars off it, with an investment with Charles Keating...you know, the guy he spent vacations with, where, in the Bahamas, after going there on his private jet?

And further...as is becoming patently obvious, I hope--this guy lives on stolen credit--as in, you do the job, he'll take credit for it and never apologize or explain. I know--I did a job, he took credit, and put me in a very bad position--and his office said to me when I called them on it--basically--"So?"

Welcome to our world indeed. Hope your learning curve is much shorter than ours was.

[skeeto]

I live in Arizona too, and have had to put up with McCain for waay to long. If McCain know how to fix everything why hasn't he fixed something? What has he been waiting for? Why has he been letting everythng go down the tubes while he stands idly by? I guess he will only impart his wisdom if he wins, and if he doesn't..."Screw you guys"

[RedKnuckles]

If he "knows how to get bin Laden" and "has a plan" he is a traitor, yes, a traitor to his country for not divulging it. Our troops are dying while he holds the nation hostage, in effect saying "If you don't elect me as president, I won't tell you how to get bin Laden." The real truth is, however, that he has no plan...just the worst kind of campaign rhetoric and promises.

[JPR47]

Didn't that other "great Republican hero", Richard Watergate Nixon have a secert plan to get us out of Vietnam if he was elected??? The secret was pull out of Vietnam,,,,

[crazyv]

if McCain knows how to get Osama Bin Laden how come he hasn't shared it with the current President, Why is waiting till he gets into office. I thought he put country first????

[bandooluLiberal]

"why is he waitin...?"...because he is a liar who has no plan, and no clue.

[alieninvader]

Like Olbermann likes to say, if he knows how to do all these things, he is committing treason by not sharing.

[Apov]

That one, McSame, is a shameless grandstander.
He is not my friend.
He is not my hero.
AND
Considering how he's been in congress for the last 26 years
his claim of "I know how to do that" is ludicrous.

Look where we are now.
We can thank McSame for his role in our economic defeat.
He certainly did know how to do that!!!

[krocklin]

Exactly. If only HE knew how to find all the solutions he would be the Great Leader in the Congress that everyone relied on and looked up to, and he is hardly that.
His argument that we DON'T KNOW SENATOR OBAMA - his current stump mantra - is undermined by the fact we DO know HIM and what he is about.
In his debates he says "my friends" and {only} "I know".
What a fraud.
Bush has gone downhill in public perception for the same reason - his unvaried stubborn insistence on his own infallibility begins to wear thin after a while.