Posted on 10/03/2008 10:57:39 AM PDT by hecht
The Second Palin Bounce and the Rise of John McCut Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 10:14 AM
Sarah Palin's comeback performance last night re-energized the GOP base, reignited her anti-Manhattan-Beltway elites message and re-opened the door to John . (Don't miss Bill Dyer's write-up of the meaning of last night's debate.)
Now Senator McCain has to walk through that door.
His simple, closing message ought to be that the world is threatened by terrorism, and the global economy is threatened by rising taxes, chains on productivity, pressure on trade, and corrupt, self-dealing political elites at home and abroad.
McCain needs to declare that he's been around a long time, and he's seen all the big mistakes made and all the costs paid, and that he isn't going to stand for it now.
McCain should pledge to be John McCut from day one in the White House:
He'll cut taxes on new businesses and construction to jump start a flat economy and invigorate employment;
He'll cut federal spending to make sure we have the resources for those that need it and not those who have gotten fat off of subsidies;
He'll cut the chains that government has put on productivity, allowing builders to build and energy companies to explore and producers to make;
He'll cut every trade barrier he can find and commit to an export economy that will surge the growth in American production of the goods and services demanded around the globe;
He'll cut the corrupt culture of self-dealing that allowed Freddie and Fannie to pump hundreds of billions of bad loans to over-their-head borrowers and into the economy and thereby infect our financial system to the point of collapse;
And finally, he'll cut the MSM down to size, calling them on their ridiculous double standard that sought to impale Palin while protecting Obama from his past. McCain should demand a MSM that serves that common interest, not the interest of Beltway-Manhattan elites and which holds all elected officials, not just conservative ones, to the fire. McCain should particularly demand that big media look at Fannie and Freddie and who turned them into Frankensteins and who profited thereby.
The "mad as Hell and not going to take it anymore" tone would reflect the mood in the country after the financial tremors of the past month, and the disgust with the Pelosi-Reid Congress and increasingly an absent Obama who, even when he was to be found, spoke only in the sort of finger-in-the-wind cliches that work in seminars but not in crises and certainly not in war.
John McCain has an opportunity not just to win but to demand senators and Congressmen and women he can work with to set the economy right and continue on the path to victory in Iraq, Afghanistan and the wider war.
A country at war and on the brink of economic crisis cannot afford four years of massive tax hikes, redistributionist rhetoric, and retreat. The Obama plan is depression and defeat delivered with ironic detachment. John McCain can stop that from happening, and he ought to spend the next 33 days promising to do so.
There are three items (probably more but I wont bore you) that the McCain Camp should consider:
1.McCain Access- It appears to me that I hardly ever see Obama doing the talking. He uses surogates to provide Obama points and policy decisions...rarely, if ever, himself. All you get of Obama himself are snapshots of him on the phone, smiling, or of him leaning over to shake the hand of a voter. Never him stating a position or policy.
McCain should emulate this tactic. John, for all tense and purpose, is not a good orator. He is typically too eager to stick his face in and provide answers to policy or campaign questions. The viewer then attributes his answers or actions directly to him. Allowing surrogates to provide the information screens (insulates)McCain from mistaken positions, policy, whatever. I didnt say that...Mr. XXX from my campaign said that and its erroneous..blah...blah...blah
2. It is apparent to me that this whole financial mess has taken a toll on the campaign. Now that it is over, the BUSH BIPARTISAN BILL can take whatever shape it wants and it colors both camps. McCains strength is foreign policy. CHANGE THE CONVERSATION BACK TO FOREIGN POLICY AND GET AWAY FROM DOMESTIC ISSUES. You may want to consider an emergency trip to Georgia or Pakistan where global new coverage is present. Meet some foreign dignitaries while youre at it..Silvio Berlesconi, Nicolas Sarkosy, Gul, etc.. Take Palin along for the whirlwind. Make it last at least or close to 1 week.
3. If youre planning an October surprise, allow enough time for the issue to be SLIGHTLY debated..1 week at most. With all that has happened in the recent month, voters need time to digest the information and to arrive at reasonable doubt as to Obama/Biden. This doubt will be carried into the voting booth.
Thanks....M
Well, that’s an interesting theory.
Hope it’s true.
Remember that this time last year we all said McCain had committed political suicide with his amnesty stance. He couldnt run for dog catcher, we all said. But he laid low, waited for opportunities to strike, , and all of a sudden he's back on top. That wasnt dumb luck and it wasn't an accident. For instance, some say he conspired with Huckabee to undermine Romney, winning where he was supposed to have lost. One thing is certain, McCain doesnt give up readily, and I doubt that he has now. So if he isnt fighting, one has to wonder why and I argue that he's waiting for the momentum to be back with him. With Palin's performance last night and the bailout issue sort of sidelined with the bill passing, I'm guess that he will lay low while he lets Palin jab at Obama and then come out with gloves off at Tuesday's debate, seemingly from nowhere.
now you are the type of newbie we just love....WELCOME!
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