Three weeks before Election Day, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday is unveiling what his aides call a more forceful new stump speech in which he portrays
himself as a scrappy fighter on the comeback trail against an opponent who's already "measuring the drapes" in the Oval Office.
"The national media has written us off.," McCain says in excerpts released by the campaign. "Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning
with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections (the fuck?),
and concede defeat in Iraq. But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them."
Allies are calling this "hitting the 'reset' button" on the campaign, with McCain reemerging after a long Sunday strategy session with a
feisty tack that uses candor and humor, at a time when his rallies have become known for raucous rage and clumsy attacks.
But it's more like hitting the panic button. McCain is appearing Monday in Virginia and North Carolina - two states that are usually safe for Republicans
in presidential races, and that he should have put away long ago. But Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is pouring visits and staff into the former Confederacy, and
he has caught McCain in many Southern polls.
Nationally, the Real Clear Politics average has Obama up 7.3 points. A Washington Post-ABC News Poll out Monday morning gives Obama a yawning 10-point lead,
while a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll shows Obama up just four points.
Let me give you the state of the race today," McCain says in his new speech. "We have 22 days to go. We're six points down. …
"What America needs in this hour is a fighter; someone who puts all his cards on the table and trusts the judgment of the American people. I come from a
long line of McCains who believed that to love America is to fight for her. I have fought for you most of my life. There are other ways to love this country,
but I've never been the kind to do it from the sidelines."
The remarks reflect the graceful cadences of Mark Salter, McCain's longtime aide and co-author, and suggest that the senator plans to fight without
personally going viciously negative in the final days. He can leave that to the television advertisements.
The reference to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is part of a new Republican effort to warn voters of the
consequences of having one party dominate all of Washington, as Democrats would if Obama won in a landslide that helped his party rack up wider congressional
margins.
The McCain campaign is beset from all sides. William Kristol, the influential conservative commentator, has a column in today's New York Times with the
headline "Fire the Campaign" and the lead: "It's time for John McCain to fire his campaign. He has nothing to lose. His campaign is t.otally
overmatched by Obama's."
Over the weekend, McCain advisers said he planned to announce new economic policies, including tax cuts designed to encourage investors to return to the
markets. But after a tense strategy meeting on Sunday, McCain had not signed off on any new announcements, to the consternation of some key supporters who said
he needs to do more to show command on the economy, the top issue on voters' minds.
The third and final presidential debate is Wednesday at Hofstra University, the largest private school on Long Island, N.Y. After that high-stakes encounter
moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News, McCain's chances of changing the dynamics diminish.
Struggling McCain debuts comeback speech
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LauritaK |
Struggling McCain debuts comeback speech |
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14513.html
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LisaChasez |
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This is what, the third or fourth economic plan he'll propose?
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LauritaK |
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Wrong About EverythingBill Kristol, back at it again today: It's time for John McCain to fire his campaign. Yes, because suspending it the last time was such a smashing success. And let McCain go back to what he's been good at in the past - running as a cheerful, open and accessible candidate. Palin should follow suit. The two of them are attractive and competent politicians. They're happy warriors and good campaigners. Set them free. Yes. It is all the campaign's fault. McCain andPalin have no say in the tone and direction of the campaign. Like every Kristol column, after reading it you have to wonder what the Times was thinking hiring this guy. I can think of a dozen folks who should have that real estate. Hell, hire Daniel Larison. BTW- Does this include the Weekly Standard's own OD (Original DungeonMaster) Michael Goldfarb, on loan from the Weekly Standard to the McCain campaign, who had some of the campaign's more bizarre and unpresidential rants? *** Update *** Nate Silver is right- this is a coordinated roll-out. Silver points to Drudge, then there is Kristol in the NY Times, and the third data point is Halperin at Time, showing that despite glimmers of sanity in the past few months, he can still be counted on as a go-to guy for a tire-swing: "McCain Resets Campaign With New Speech(!)." This is really going to help McCain fight back that "ERRATIC" narrative. And now, the Politico joins in: Three weeks before Election Day, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday is unveiling what his aides call a more forceful new stump speech in which he portrays himself as a scrappy fighter on the comeback trail against an opponent who's already "measuring the drapes" in the Oval Office. Good luck with that. |
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the lakes slave |
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LMAO, those remarks are neither feisty nor humorous.
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mshinda |
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dawn9476 |
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The reference to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is part of a new Republican effort to warn voters of the consequences of having one party dominate all of Washington, as Democrats would if Obama won in a landslide that helped his party rack up wider congressional marginsYeah because having the Republican's dominating worked out so well for us. If Amercian People don't like what the democrats do in the
next two years, they can be voted out and the GOP can take back control on congress.
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JellyRoll2 |
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Ahhh! New week, new message from McCain.
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If Amercian People don't like what the democrats do in the
next two years, they can be voted out and the GOP can take back control on congress.
