The McCain Take-Down Strategy

Lost in the debate over today's news stories (The Washington Post had a follow-up that essentially matched the key details in the Times story) regarding John McCain's relationship with a lobbyist -- did he? didn't he? -- is the fact that during his press conference McCain handed the Democrats a weapon for the fall campaign.

McCain's public persona is based on three distinct but intertwined characterization: He's a war hero; a -- dear Lord how tiresome has this descriptive become -- "maverick" willing to go against his party's orthodoxy to stay true to his own beliefs; and a fighter against special interests with the vehemence that can only come from the born-again.

It's a powerful triple-threat for McCain and the Democrats' challenge (can we go ahead and say Obama's?) is to demolish or at least undercut those pillars.

As I note over at RobertEmmet, McCain presented the Democrats with a powerful soundbite when he told reporters today that he has many friends who are Washington lobbyists. You can expect to see that over and over again this fall in commercials questioning his ability to bring change to Washington if he's buddying around with hordes of special interest lobbyists.

This week's New Republic has a devastating Jonathan Chait cover story that lays out a roadmap to dismantling the true-to-beliefs image. From TNR:

The prevalent view of McCain is that he is a generally conservative figure with a few maverick stances and an unwavering authenticity. ... Actually, this assessment gets McCain almost totally backward. He has diverged wildly and repeatedly from conservative orthodoxy, but he has also reinvented himself so completely that it has become nearly impossible to figure out what he really believes.

It's a powerful indictment and worth a read.

Will the Democrats manage this political jujitsu (turning his perceived strength into weakness)? Time will tell. But if they do, the seeds are here.