Flipping Out in Times of Crisis

So facing a sharp drop in his poll numbers and after struggling on the economy for the past week, John McCain has decided to suspend his campaign and return to Washington - despite him not having voted for a bill in Washington since April. One thing is clear from McCain's latest campaign stunt, when confronted with bad news McCain's first instinct is to react hysterically.

His leadership of his campaign has been anything but stable. From his choice of a first term Alaskan governor who he didn't even vet, to the total collapse of his campaign in 2007, and to his complete stonewalling of the press, McCain has demonstrated that he is completely unsteady. But it his reaction to international events which really scares me. Pat Barry presciently wrote yesterday:

John McCain sees crises just about everywhere.  He's a bit like the boy who cried wolf, in the sense that he is constantly shooting his mouth off without regard for the severity or the sensitivity of a given issue...McCain's tendency for hysterics is not just an issue of exaggeration.  It's also about prioritization...  Based on how many times expressions like "biggest crisis since" and "a greater crisis than"  pass through McCain's lips, it's far from clear which, of the crises he identifies, will be at the top of his list.

This all fits a pattern. After 9-11 McCain advocated attacking Iraq, Syria and Iran. In the run-up to the Iraq war McCain said Saddam was a "threat to civilization"

itself [Washington Times, 2/14/03]. On Russia, on North Korea, on Iran, each one has been elevated to level of a clock-stopping crisis. This is not to say that these are not serious challenges. But McCain's tendency to reach for the dramatic, combined with his knee-jerk willingness for confrontational action should make us all very very worried. As I wrote last month,

The big concern with a McCain presidency...is that the U.S. will lurch from crisis to crisis, confrontation to confrontation, whether it be with Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, etc. The danger is that McCain's pundit-like rhetoric will entrap the U.S. in descending spiral of foreign policy brinksmanship. Just think about the very likely scenario of McCain giving Iran/Russia a rhetorical ultimatum and Iran/Russia ignoring it. Now we are stuck - either we lose face by not following through on our threats or we follow through and go to war.  We can't afford such a reckless approach after the last eight years. For the next eight we need a president not a pundit.   

If McCain's elected, hold on to your hats because things could get crazy.

Comments

[XME]

What this proves to me is that if McCain is elected, we'll be in for at least four more years of OUR issues being turned into games for political ambitions...at our expense.



ENOUGH!!!!

[dnels14]

This POW cannot take a beating- McCain suspends campaign

[lwaxanatroi]

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

[bayside]

You say he sees crisis everywhere, he is a off with everyone heads, kinda guy..doesnt matter who it is..

[JohnFromColorado]

Is John McCain a thrill seeker? My first reaction to this and his VP choice was that he and his campaign were panicking. I assumed they had internal numbers that we did not know and saw he was on his way to defeat.

I would like to been in meeting where this last decision was being discussed. I assume they went over the plus's and minus's. I think there must be something in their polling or focus group that said something had to change.

Do you get the impression that John McCain does not know who he is? His campaign looks very unstable. No long term view, just "what do I do to get ahead in the polls."

Do you want an administration that behaves this way? I thought all the talk about attacking Iran was pretty far fetched. Now I am not so sure if McCain gets in power. What off the wall act will he do if the economy continues to fall and he does not have any options that will improve it? War?

[RepugsOut08]

It's scary when Palin is starting to look like the stable one.

[Biffmeister]

The timing of the phone calls between McCain and Obama add a sordid twist to McCain's campaign suspension. It appears McCain knew he was going to do the grandstanding "suspension of campaign" thing, yet spoke to Obama as though the joint statement agreement was still in play. McCain says he will reach across the aisle, but apparently it would be for the purpose of backstabbing. McCain used to pride himself in honor, but his conduct has become anything but honorable. That he tried this stunt at all is unbelievable, but the way he went about it is pathetic.

[oldfart1]

This pattern is not just the crazy pattern of an old man. It's not just the crazy pattern of an heroic but traumatized ex-POW. This is the crazy pattern of someone who got into Annapolis because his father was an Admiral, and who graduated in the bottom 1% of his class.

John McCain is not someone who wanted to be all he could be, he is someone who always wanted to be what his father was, but he wasn't. I'm sorry, John, it's a sad story, but it'll get a lot sadder if you inflict yourself on America as President.

There are a lot of Americans who sympathize with John McCain - people with dreams they couldn't fulfill. But do they really want John McCain as President? Would they really want to be President themselves? In their hearts of hearts, they know he is the wrong person for this job.

[Anastasia]

Well said.

He may be somewhat bipolar, which would account for the wild mood swings and grandiosity.

Whatever the cause of his behavior, the most disturbing thing, is how someone could get this close to being elected president, all the while being labeled as a lovable "maverick" rather than what he is; a loose cannon.

[AntonioGramsci]

So, literally, this situation is so insane that, with George W. Bush STILL as our President, you're saying, "If McCain's elected, hold on to your hats because *things could get crazy.*"

Um, no thank you. No. No way. They're not crazy now. But they could get crazy?

"O Canada...Our next door neighboUr land..."

[RobinLandseadel]

Canada doesn't want any more of us stinky Americans. I checked.

[MsCanadian]

LOL! Certainly not those who would vote Republican.

[Heartlight3]

I checked, too. They don't want us unless we already have a job in Canada.

[darker]

McCain's Repub. handlers definitely do not want a McCain debate with Obama on the economy Friday. Imagine some of the questions that McCain would have to answer.

MCCAIN wants to CUT & RUN: Cowardly.
MCCain USES the WashDC economic problems debate as a FIG LEAF to avoid debate with Obama.

TIME OUT is for TODDLERS, not for responsible adults.
MCCAIN needs time out to change his Depends diaper? yikes.

The MCCAIN Repub. manipulators and HANDLERS want any buffer they can use to avoid McCane exposed as a fraud.
They have McCain DODGE as much as possible

McCain and his VP pick are constantly shielded from saying anything much to media for fear they'll screw up. That's not leadership---That's abominable!
I've had it with that circus sideshow.

My vote will be for
common sense & competence: Obama-Biden.

[boomer1949]

"handlers" has such an evil ring to -- very malfesceant.

[Siryn]

He is defining himself as a "man of action" even if the action is wrong. Many Americans have the knee-jerk "do something" and respect someone that acts decisively, even if thoughtlessly. It's a sad thing, but that's the truth.

[JBryan]

McCain’s approach seems quite clear:

When in trouble or in doubt, run in circles scream and shout.

[LeftRight]

I think it's more along the lines of:

when the fire starts to burn
there's a lesson you must learn
something
something
then you see
you'll avoid catastrophe

But anyways, I like your Heinlein quote!

[DavidNOE]

The version (more alliterative) I know is "When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream, and shout." Think I read it in a Heinlein novel.

[LeftRight]

It was either in Time Enough for Love or To Sail Beyond the Sunset. I can't remember which one offhand...

[RobinLandseadel]

He also also reminds me of an old Warren Zevon Song:

"Send Lawyers,Guns & Money, the s#!% has hit the fan. . . ."

[schatsie]

Bush is setting this up so McCain can look presidential and decisive... If Barack is listening to Rubin we are in trouble because he is a long time Wall Streeter....ON the other hand, Robert Reich is hitting the nail on the head.... The issue is that working class people cannot pay the outrageous interest charges on their credit cards or cars or houses.... and then they offshore the jobs and the bankrupcies and foreclosures go up.....If the DEBT PAYER cannot pay, then this situation will just continue to deteriorate.... We need a Main Street bailout not a Wall Street payout...

Wall Street made out like a bandit for the last 6 years and now - after sucking as much in profits, bonuses, salaries and expenses out of the people paying off their debts, they want to dump the debts on the taxpayers... THIS IS THE REVERSE OF THE REVOLVING DOOR SYNDROME... The poor cannot pay the debt because of a multitude of things, but now they are still going to have the debts to pay off, but now they will pay Wall Street again and will have to pay the taxes for this..

REVERSE the tax breaks for the rich, collect all taxes no more deferrals and give the working class some REAL TAX BREAKS.... In 1923 after the GREAT WAR, only the top 10% paid any taxes at all and it was up well over 50%...

[LeftRight]

Obama should show up for the debate, and keep his campaign running! Let's see how long mcbush can keep this going!

[notb observer]

Yes, Obama should show up for the debate, and if McCain doesn't, then I think they should get the Muppet Show to lend them one of the grumpy old men from the balcony to stand in for McCain. Also, if they put lipstick on Miss Piggy, she would be a reasonable stand-in for Palin ;)