McCain at Sunset

Now, with less than three weeks to the end, he comes to the country staggering toward defeat, his pride and honor certainly diminished by the incoherence of his campaign and the absurdity of the choice he agreed to when it came to picking someone who would share a national ticket charged with talking, coaxing, massaging the country through a tough and turbulent time. And as the clock winds toward the conclusion, America looks and listens to a different John McCain than the man who captured so many hearts when he first ran for president, only eight years ago.

That guy is MIA, missing in action, held captive by ideologues who dominate his strategy sessions and what is left of the Republican party. So John McCain sat there on the stage at Hofstra Wednesday night, looking and sounding like an angry old man, bitter at the lack of traction -- or belief -- in his candidacy, uncomfortable with what he has allowed himself to become: a cranky senior citizen seething with resentment over how his glory days are lost in the long shadow cast by youth and change.

It is a sad story: a proud and independent man permits a handful of advisers to take his hard-earned reputation and alter it to such an extent that the original is now hard to recognize, nearly invisible behind a curtain of cynical ads and the preposterous pronouncements of a woman whose candidacy is an insult to intelligence.

John McCain used to know that the country was larger than any crowd he could ever draw; that it was filled with ordinary people who live their lives in the middle of a political spectrum, too busy making ends meet, to be driven to extremes by the fevers and fears that consume so many of the talk-radio set. He used to be aware that in order to win, a candidate could not simply preach to the converted, snarl and run with a resentment aimed at the fringe, the mixed mobs of the curious and angry that turn out for Palin.

Now, with time running out, he has only a few days left to try and reclaim himself, to find the man he once was, the whole man who could charm a crowd with his version of the truth. He criss-crosses a country filling up with fear and debt, a land fighting two wars as it fights for a weekly paycheck, a nation where more people worry about General Motors than think about General Petraeus. Political campaigns, like much of life itself, often revolve around one universal issue: the absence of money.

So, when John McCain tosses out a name from yesterday, William Ayers, it means nothing to people who want only to be told about tomorrow. These are the people who vote, the people who have seen the distant dream of retirement crushed by the collapse of so many 401K's in -- what? -- less than a month. They have no time for spite or a candidate's smirk or snarl. They are consumed with concern for the value of their home, the stability of their job, the immediate future of their family.

Unfortunately for McCain, he did little to stop the thieves who took his honor and reputation and tossed it out like so many discarded items for a yard sale, figuring that Americans could once again -- one more time -- be fooled into voting their fears. But what they really did was take the one Republican who may have had a legitimate shot at surviving the disaster that has been the Bush administration and strip him of the basic appeal he once had for people looking for someone who could lead.

The dreary dialogue of the past few weeks has finally managed to make the man look his age, look old and tired and embarrassed to be defending Palin while awkwardly injecting the absurd -- Ayers -- into the national dialogue when nearly everyone is riveted on the obvious: the family budget.

Soon, the 'Straight Talk Express' will bank west and head for the Arizona desert and election eve. And John McCain will sit up front, staring out the window, exhausted, as the plane crosses the land he loves and the people -- millions of them -- he failed to connect with because while he was once indeed a prisoner of war, he has spent the last ten weeks letting himself become a prisoner of the past.

Comments

[MrHueyD]

Mike,
I disagree with nearly every point you make. True, candidate McCain is not the McCain we"ve always known, the McCain right wing talk radio despised. "Maverick" isn"t a slogan his staff made up, it"s how Republicans have viewed him for years, and why he"s a perennial front-runner.
Then you go astray. Sarah Palin is an "insult to intelligence" perhaps to the New England elite, but I doubt the average American thinks the problem with Washington is a lack of Harvard grads. At 44, Sarah Palin, without an Ivy League education, has risen to the governor"s office of her state. Her accomplishments there clearly exceed the slightly older Obama"s in the Senate. As for the wisdom of her selection, check the polls, it was the best decision the campaign made.
True, many don"t care about Mr. Ayers, or anything from Senator Obama"s past. He gives a good speech and promises you what you want to hear. Perhaps he means all of it, time may tell.
You almost got the 401K thing right, the reason Senator McCain is losing is the economy. Ironically, Congress writes the budget and deregulated the mortgage industry, but we blame the President and reward our own representatives; who always bring home the bacon.
It"s the economy and Congress is more to blame this year than anyone, but we"ll be giving them even more power. Remember the 70"s anyone?

[doneright]

I look at it this way: there is the McCain as he wants to be portrayed and there is the real McCain. McCain as always played the part of the maverick. Even if he were a Democrate he would be attempting to play outside the Democratic base. That is the way he learned to stand out from the croud. That clearly is how he attempted to portray himself in this election cycle. The problem is that being a maverick to the right wing is sacreligious. He tried to get the right wing back by choosing Palin. It all turned out kinda goofy looking.

McCain has good abilities but I think Barnicle was wrong in his analysis that the factions of the Republican party did him in. If you want to count him out this early I would say he had as much to do with it as any one.

[claudiam]

Thanks Mike for the article. It was nicely written. My heart is very heavy for those that have been supporting the McCain/Palin hate mongering.

[daddysboy]

Nicely written. Thanks.

[mcmiggy]

"...a proud and independent man permits a handful of advisers to take his hard-earned reputation and alter it to such an extent that the original is now hard to recognize,..."

Are you kidding me???

Barnacle -

The McCain we're seeing now IS the original.

The McCain of 8 years ago was just one in a long life of reinvented personae, coldly calculated to fit the needs of the moment. He's been doing this his whole life. He is not a victim of his current advisers; he sought out his current advisers because he needed some serious liars to help him change his story again so he could win over the republican party. Fortunately for us all, they made a lot of miscalculations that brought us closer and closer to seeing the REAL McCain, the one we DON'T want as our president.

He's a liar. He is all about either A) getting himself out of trouble or B) reaching the next level of ambitions he is not truthfully qualified for, yet thinks he is entitled to by birth.

[daddysboy]

This made me think of Madonna or Cher. Maybe mccain should dye his hair or something?

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

Well, there are at least two of us who have the same opinion.

[whit4brains]

Make that three.

[hapiguy]

John McCain is totally responsible for any and all decisions taken in this Election,,Mike has it right,,
Remember though, he can choose from seven homes...to sulk in...but the one he chooses will be a shambles when his rage is over...and DONE

[Wills46er]

Mr. Barnicle's post lays out the overlapping complexities that have led John McCain to this state of affairs. Nice point about how he must shoulder some personable responsibility in the matter. This is an instance where expediency overwhelmed any measure of sound reasoning. Sixteen more days of exposure to the incoherent babble from The Party That Wrecked America. After the election, McCain's reputation will only be identifiable through its dental records.

[dsgeorge]

I wish this were the facts Barnicle but I am afraid you are missing the McCain motive: ambition

[SyberSooz]

Do not feel sorry for John McCain; he made a concious effort to sell his soul when he met w/Jerry Falwell and decided to subvert his best instincts in a run for the presidency that was so outrageous in its blatant courting of the Republican base that he left behind any vestage of his true self. And to court the approval of George Bush, who ran two of the dirtiest political campaigns in history..one of which targeted McCain. No wonder we have trouble getting qualified people to run for office..we act like it is OK to do this..just because it is politics.
The really sad part is that McCain needn't have bothered; the base would have voted for him anyway. Does anyone really believe those people would ever have voted for an educated Black man?

[ARPhotographer]

McCain represents the corroded mess of incompetent, incoherent kleptocratic policies of the new Republican Party as recast by W and his cronies. We can only hope that the Republican Party of Eisenhower will reincarnate in its tradition of circumspect action and respect for the rule of law.

Perhaps McCain's madness is the death rattle of a party gone indelibly insane. We can only hope. There should be no place in the public conversation about the future of our country for wedge issues and bigotry, yet these seem to be the core tools of this disingenuous Orwellian crew.

We should expect character to be the common thread that runs through our body politic. Without it, we have no prospect. The case can be made that the current incarnation of the Republican Party contributes nothing, while wallowing in deceits designed only to steal power, and then treasure.

I long for the time when conservative meant reliable and honest, even in disagreement. For them, a return to these foundational beliefs would be the highest expression of their touted patriotism. Witness Colon Powell. Perhaps others will take to heart how lost the party is at this juncture.

As things stand today, the GOP is pure poison in our body politic. They will be the ruin of us all. I don't understand how any thoughtful person could ever pull the lever for a Republican based on recent history. They have left our country in ruins, and destroyed the prospect of our children.

ARP

[daddysboy]

The gay marriage issue is ONCE AGAIN on the ballot in mccain's home state of Arizona. These wedge issues are placed on as many ballots in swing states as possible to encourage angry, fascist voters to come out in droves and vote republican. It's such a suspicious coincidence that these issues are on the ballot during this time when no one is talking about them. Putting gay rights up for a vote all but INSURES a certain segment of the population will come out and vote. It is one more example of the cynical, anti-democratic, unAmerican way of politicking that the republican party has branded for themselves.

[citizenxyz]

John McCain and only John McCain is responsible for what he is doing. He is participating in this sort of campaign and he is responsible for his actions. No one else can be held responsible for the things he says and does

[USAFree1]

I am terribly afraid Mr. Barnacle that this McCain you describe is the real John McCain.

[my2cnts]

i did not know john mc cain's background until this presidential race... now i am questioning.. what do Arizonians see in john mc cain to re-elect him all these years?? i doubting the sensibilities of Arizonians..

i was thinking of retiring there in a few years.. now i wonder, what's up with that state?

[daddysboy]

The cattle ranching industry and real estate as a result of that has dominated Arizona politics for such a long time that a solid, conservative, republican base has developed around just about every commercial and business venture in the state. If you want to get anything done in Arizona you have to work with a republican. That has been slowly changing for years as more and more people move to the larger cities. The current senator from Arizona is part of that 'old guard' and his career would have already been completely wound-down if not for the recent republican party needs. The great news is that Arizona has a wonderful, effective, governor that is turning things around and she is not a member of the republican party and she has been so great that even smart republicans like her. Actually, come to think of it, she would make a SUPERB vice-president.

[akaJohnQ]

John McCain's subordinates are not responsible for the trashy nature of the McCain campaign. JOHN MCCAIN IS! McCain is heading up the Republican presidential ticket. THE BUCK STOPS AT HIM! McCain alone, is responsible for content and character of his campaign. If he feels that the robocalls and Ayers ads are beneath his dignity, than McCain should be tough enough to overrule his campaign staff and not allow them. The problem is that he desparately wants to be President, and he knows that this is his last chance. McCain is behind in the polls, time is running out, and he has become willing to do whatever it takes, including gutter politics, to win the election. McCain doesn't seem care about his dignity, his integrity, or his legacy at this point. He really has sold his soul.

[hopefulinpa]

I keep reading about where is the old JM the Maverick. I just don't ever see him as being a Maverick. He voted with Bush 90% of the time. He has consistently voted against women's issues and veterans issues. So he may have voiced his opinion a couple of times in disagreement with his party. So what. So have a lot of other Rep. and Dem. He was only special in his own mind and repeated it over and over till others started to also. In the beginning of his campaign all he did was say he was a POW over and over. They finally stopped that, people couldn't stand it any longer. He was and is no more honorable for being a POW than all the rest of the POW's that don't go around claiming as a badge of honor as McCain does, but instead have earned it and are entiteled to it as a badge of honor. The second half of JM's campaign has been lies and innuendos about Barak. JM is not an honorable man nor has he ever been more honorable than anyone else. He just seems to think so and others keep repeating it. It does not work anymore. Call him like he is.. He did not disappear he has only become more transparent.
OBAMA/BIDEN '08