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McCain’s Losing Strategy: Arguing Obama is Like Bush |
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It’s generally a bad sign when one presidential candidate accepts the other’s terms of engagement. But that’s exactly what the supposedly re-tooled McCain campaign is doing, as they have suddenly decided to argue that Obama, not McCain, is like Bush.Â
During the primaries, when Hillary Clinton tried to paint herself as the agent of change, you knew Obama had won at least half the battle. It is similarly revealing when McCain tries to argue, he not Obama, is the real agent of change–even worse when McCain’s campaign bizarrely tries to argue that Obama is the Bush clone.
John McCain now has the same position as Bush on every key issue–the war in Iraq, the economy, tax cuts, health care, offshore drilling (in some cases, McCain changed his positions to match Bush’s–he once opposed the Bush tax cuts, but now supports them). McCain campaigned for Bush’s re-election in 2004, he accepted Bush’s endorsement this year, and don’t forget about the famous McCain-Bush hug photo. Bush is, of course, wildly unpopular, and a potential millstone around McCain’s neck.
If this election is about which candidate represents a change from Bush, Obama will win. The fact that McCain is engaging Obama on his own terms suggests desperation.   Given the current political climate, McCain is right to be worried.
