Is John McCain Responsible for His Own Negative Campaign?

I was both bemused and annoyed the other night to watch the Hardball crowd try to separate John McCain from the wildly negative tone that his campaign has recently taken. (I'm not the only one who noticed it.)

Andrea Mitchell and company essentially said that John McCain is not responsible for his campaign because he's been fooled by (among others) that nasty old Internet and its bloggers. Seriously. If you haven't seen the video, click over to Robert Emmet, where I had some fun with the assertion.

But there's a serious aspect to this line of argument. Two actually.

The first is near and dear to me because it touches on my own peculiar area of expertise -- the relationship between a politician and their speechwriter. (My White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters was published to positive reviews in April.) There is a distinction, I argue, between authorship and ownership of a speech -- regardless of who first put words onto paper the pol who actually delivers the speech must get credit for it. That applies for both good and ill -- a pol should get credit for winning words and so can't pass off inept or failed verbiage on staffers.

The application here is: It's McCain's campaign, not Steve Schmidt's or Mark Salter's or anyone else's. We might joke otherwise, but John McCain does take credit for his bizarre ads. It's not for the press to declare he probably doesn't mean it.

Second -- what's the broader message? That McCain is an honorable dolt kept in the dark by his insidious handlers? This is their idea of a defense?

Comments

[demfriend]

I think MSM and the crowd who is the "guests" on the idiot cable shows now days fails to understand that they should also hold McCain as responsible for his campaign nutso surrogates AND what comes out of McCains own mouth as they do Obama! McCain once upon a time years ago was a hero who was a POW but he soon dissolved into a Senator with many ideas againest torture and getting the MIA's back then he failed many of us after that. As a Senator he has voted againest vets and troops and women and many times just didn't bother to show up. His reaching acros the aisle is a joke of sorts because of the hate-filled comments he has with vile nasty ads againest his opponent he says nice things about before he goes too nasty for words. MSM fails us daily by refusing to report the truth and to not clearly reporting what is really happening. Instead it's a discussion and multiple times of running the lies and then never correcting them.

[walkthewalk]

I saw this exchange on "Hardball." The media pundits are like parents who refuse to believe that their child did something wrong despite all the evidence. When McCain goes negative on Obama on a personal level, he is lauded for employing his only winning strategy and is exempt from criticism because his campaign managers made him do it. McCain retains his honor, according to said pundits, because these ads do not really reflect him.

Reallly? Take a good look. A good, hard look. Your beloved maverick today is just a common playground bully. I wouldn't elect him president of the student body, let alone President of the United States.

[rubyrubyruby]

You Obama Bots take yourselves too seriously...I mean Obama brings it on himself if you ask me...really I am waiting for him to walk on water...there is a big segment of the electorate that is getting pretty sick of the Obama love fest with the press and the late night talk show hosts....what's wrong with calling a celebrity a celebrity? How is that a negative atttack? Obama is vulnerable to being made fun of because he is so pompous.

[lvdragonlady]

Ok what article you are responding too, obviously not this one.
go to your room

[ssb752]

So making fun of or mocking some one who you view as pompous is not "negative?" Listen to your own words, 3Rubies.

[MsEngineer]

Well it seems to me the selection of the President of the United States and de facto leader of the free leader should be a serious business especially in these troubled times. I would like to see a President who is well spoken, well educated, serious, reflective and inspirational. I have had enough of clowns and jokes thank you.

[kdublya]

If you want someone to talk to, you just have to say the magic word...

[PennP]

Habitual foulups, nastiness and mental dullness and self-serving distortions of the truth--none of them hallmarks of a commando, a hero, or a person of integrity--are actually IN character for McCain. The press should be looking at him without burdening themselves with his well-established false front of "maverick nice guy," or guilt over how the troops returning from tours in Vietnam were treated, which I think is behind a lot of the reticence in calling him out. If any Viet Vet got a respectful welcome home, John McCain did. But the commentators themselves seem too immersed in the campaign to realize that by propping up the fiction of the lovable POW frat boy persona that McCain has so tirelessly promoted, they're obscuring the reality of who he is and what he's become, even from themselves.

[jethrock]

They do reflect his cruel sense of humor... or his plain old cruelty.

[MsEngineer]

What happened to "the buck stops here?" It never stops at W's desk and it looks like it doesn't stop at McCain's either.

By the way McCabe the biker rally was in South Dakota and it was the Miss Buffalo Chip Contest.

[Patrick McCabe]

You are correct MsEngineer. "My bad."

[dana94591]

Yes, ultimately, McCain is responsible for the miserable campaign he is running. He is running crazy across the election landscape! I think he is trying the "Rove" game plan as if no one knew about it. I can't believe that this guy is listening to such bad advice. Doesn't he realize HOW BAD this looks? I guess not!!!

[rflctammt]

So true!

When McCain aides basically claimed that he "didn't speak for the campaign" after his tax increase blunder on George Stephenopolis' show, it was considered hugely amusing and completely ridiculous. And now - two weeks later - after more "blunderb-s" - the media is actually promoting this as an excuse for McCain's ?!*@?!??

It is a very good question to ask - just what kind of a commander -in-chief would this man make if he cannot even be held responsible for the words he speaks?

Shudd-dder.

[Patrick McCabe]

I have never seen such reverence for John McCain by the msm as this 2008 run keeps McCain churning , gaffe after another gaffe. There was the piece that Senator McCain made a suggestion that his wife get into a wet shirt contest at a Biker's rally in Buffalo. That was a wierd comment to say in public about a presumptive first lady. . . your wife.

Ornery is John McCain's middle name. ...so he said it. Orneriness was part of his survival mechanism at the Hanoi Hilton. I get berated at times when I state he was and will always be a hero. Yet.

Whether McCain is behind the wheel with these latest barrages of negativity I would have to say:YES. The press has given John McCain mucho latitude in gaffes, but the surreal ads and obvious mis- representations are different fodder.

They are production numbers that John McCain endorses for better or worse. He seems to be enjoying the rukus. So lets call it like it is and let Senator McCain take the credit he wants. I believe this time he deserves it.

[Donnat]

Of course he's responsible. That's what leadership is. Unless, he's not fit to lead, which I can easily believe.

[darker]

DEAD RIGHT.
righwing King John McCain IS RESPONSIBLE
for his own negative SMEAR CAMPAIGN.
McCain APPROVED IT.

[Speakchic]

I hate the MSM they truly are the reason John McCain is still doing so well, b/c they flat out REFUSE to call a spade a spade. That line about McCain NOT speaking for the McCain campaign has really taken flight. And Andrea Mitchell is ALWAYS leading the pack into the delusions that McCain represent. It's so f'in annoying!