Presidential politics ran on two tracks this week. Barack Obama roaming the world to widespread applause and great pictures. And John McCain and his campaign griping about it all.
For Thursday, McCain, a noted gambler, thought he had an ace in the hole to counter Obama's big Berlin speech. He would chopper out from Louisiana to an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Which would do two things. Remind everyone he was a naval aviator. And push his big new theme that more offshore oil drilling is the way to bring down sky-high gas prices. (The existence of which he blames on Obama, curiously, in his latest TV ad, ignoring that gas prices have tripled under President Bush.) All with really cool pix.
But his campaign had to cancel late Wednesday, officially because of the threat of inclement weather from nearby Hurricane Dolly. Which might have been a tip right there that the whole offshore drilling thing is, as putative panaceas go, pretty problematic.
McCain reportedly bemoaned the lost opportunity all yesterday.
It's somewhat surprising he's upset it didn't happen, as I think it would have been a real debacle.
Here are six reasons he is very fortunate he ended up at Schmidt's Sausage Haus -- no relation to campaign director Steve Schmidt -- in Ohio yesterday, rather than on a pitching oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico:
1. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, all offshore oil drilling opponents, were all scheduled to be in New Orleans to promote their national infrastructure project the same day as McCain's fandango off the coast of Louisiana. One, Schwarzenegger, is one of McCain's most famous backers, who has several times already derided the offshore drilling scheme. Another, Bloomberg, is a rumored running mate. As it happens, Schwarzenegger had to cancel Wednesday afternoon, on account of the state's ongoing budget crisis. But he would have been asked about it again had the stunt occurred. And Bloomberg and Rendell were in Louisiana, also at the ready to criticize McCain's move.
2. McCain would have had to answer questions about his evidently false statement attributing a $10 a barrel drop in oil prices to Bush's executive order on offshore drilling. It was after he made this gaffe that he exited a town hall meeting without doing his constant press avail.
3. He would have had to answer overall questions about offshore drilling as a false way to bring down current gas prices, since it would take a very long time for it to impact prices. McCain reversed his long-held position against offshore oil drilling, and attacks Obama in his new ad for continuing his opposition to offshore drilling, thus, somehow, causing high gasoline prices. However, the federal government's own energy information agency noted just last year that it would probably take some 22 years before new offshore drilling would have a significant impact on prices at the pump.
4. Then there is the matter of Hurricane Dolly. If it's a problem for the would-be next President of the United States to take a helicopter out to the rig because of a hurricane in the vicinity, isn't that a problem for his new energy policy?
5. There was also a big oil spill in the Mississippi River flowing into the Gulf. Very awkward timing, to say the least. And bad pictures. Over 400,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil spilled into the Mississippi River after a collision between a tanker and a barge, creating a picturesque 12-mile oil spill.
6. Finally, there is the matter of McCain's constant efforts to cut into Obama's media from abroad. He and the campaign were actually quite nasty about this, with a lot of personal denigration of Obama from staff and not one but two web videos deriding the press. And McCain himself practically called Obama a traitor, declaring that the freshman Illinois senator "would rather lose a war than lose a campaign."
Stunt choppering out to an oil rig to try to cut into the news flow wouldn't have looked too good.
As one top Republican consultant said, "Mac should have gone on vacation this week. This looks bad." Or maybe just done his thing campaigning intensively in a big swing state.
Instead of griping about missing his big opportunity on that Gulf oil rig, McCain should be thanking his lucky stars he didn't make it out there to face a raft of embarrassing questions and about 200,000 fewer people than were cheering on Obama and waving American flags in Berlin.
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"mccain should have gone on vacation this week. this looks bad." this quote is from a Repub.
Nuff said
Indeed. He is wrecking his image.
Already wrecked.
Wry & enjoyable read - !!
Thanks!
7. It would have focused attention on the more than one million dollars in donations that McCain has received from oil company employees and executives since he reversed his off shore drilling policy.
Information available after this column was published.
McCain took in a lot of oil money. More yesterday in Bakersfield.
Did we just find that out?
And here I was thinking Mac just didn't want to get wet for fear of melting! Silly me.
He's not a school child.
He's a 72-year old school child.
His climate's changing.
Perhaps.
Hurricane Dolly, eh? No, I don't think so. Dolly was tracking westerly away from New Orleans.
Actually, the reason for the postponement of McNumbskull's Great Oil-Rig Adventure, was that huge 12 mile long oil slick that was created when one tanker hit another and spewed over 400,000 gallons of thick tar-like crude into the water that the people down there drink. Oh, and it also closed the Mississippi River until further notice. (http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=8719946&nav=EyAzMphL)
So I'm sure that they didn't want a lot of cameras rolling -- clearly showing all the negative impacts that can come about from oil spills caused not by "acts of nature," but by us error-prone humans. And to have those visuals fresh in people's minds when he starts yammering about how "safe" and "uneventful" the process of off-shore oil drilling can be.
By Thursday, yes.
But there were still high winds dangerous for helo traffic.
If he can't brave the sidewinds of a hurricane, who the hell is he kidding about offshore drilling?
Well you people in here need to face the facts, if we can't run our cars on Oil, we're going to have to find a substitute fast or our economy will grind to a total halt. So what do you suggest? We can't run cars or fly planes for that matter on solar or wind. Electric cars are feasible, but you need to generate electricity to run them on and I doubt there's enough wind power in the country to run our cars on. Or solar for that matter. I read in the Der Spiegal online edition that they're going to be building a lot more nuclear plants in Japan, the place where the Kyoto Protocol eminated from. Japan would be using solar or wind if they thought it would generate enough electricity for them. They are building nuclear power plants all around the world. We have to face facts and build lots more nuclear power plants in the U.S. also, in addition to renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Also, they had a leak from one of their nuclear plants in Japan due to an earthquake or something and they don't care, they are still going to build nuclear power plants. They are going to build nuclear power plants in China also. One other thing, we need to drill for natural gas also to heat our homes as well as potentially to fuel more vehicles, where do you think natural gas comes from?
If McCain hadn't voted against all fuel efficiency bills, our cars would need half the gas they use to run. Do the math.
"Well you people in here need to face the facts, if we can't run our cars on Oil, we're going to have to find a substitute fast or our economy will grind to a total halt.
So what do you suggest?"
I suggest we all (as I've done) make adjustments, slow down a bit, stop & smell the roses, walk, ride a bike when possible, use alternative means of transportation, use a car more sparingly.
It's going to take alternative lifestyles to make us all come to our senses about how spoiled & indulgent we've become.
The article says it.
< 4. Then there is the matter of Hurricane Dolly. If it's a problem for the would-be next President of the United States to take a helicopter out to the rig because of a hurricane in the vicinity, isn't that a problem for his new energy policy?
5. There was also a big oil spill in the Mississippi River flowing into the Gulf. Very awkward timing, to say the least. And bad pictures. Over 400,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil spilled into the Mississippi River after a collision between a tanker and a barge, creating a picturesque 12-mile oil spill.
I can't remember the name of the republican pundit, but a few days ago on the situation rm, opposite Donna Brazile, his closing statement was that 'perception will always trump the facts'. Very blatant and very smug, and of course very typical.
The salient difference between the Republicans Vs the Democrats is just that. Perception Vs Reality.
Was it Tucker Carlson?
It was not Tucker Carlson. He's on MSNBC.
How could the McCain campaign appear any more inept? It almost reads like a comedy.
And yet, both national and state polls show the race is still close, within the margin of error nationally and in a lot of states.
Scary
There are underlying dynamics in the Republican Party that make this very complex.
Do you really think the polls are accurate?
I have been kicked off several polls because
I DON"T FIT THEIR DESIRED DEMIGRAPHIC!
Many polls are not accurate.
Obama is ahead.
Theire demigraphic?
> How could the McCain campaign appear any more inept?
I guess they're just trying harder.
No, you're wrong.
< How could the McCain campaign appear any more inept? It almost reads like a comedy.
And yet, both national and state polls show the race is still close, within the margin of error nationally and in a lot of states.
Posted July 25, 2008 | 06:45 PM (EST)