On NBC’s Meet The Press yesterday Chuck Todd made a good point that the McCain campaign seems to be running on a series of tactics rather than following a comprehensive strategy. Almost every day, it seems, they throw new accusations out there, hoping to find something that sticks. The campaign talking points are driven by changing news headlines rather than a developing narrative.
A month from the election McCain is reportedly switching tactics again and now going after Senator Obama’s character:
Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama’s character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat’s judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.
. . .
“We’re going to get a little tougher,” a senior Republican operative said, indicating that a fresh batch of television ads is coming. “We’ve got to question this guy’s associations. Very soon. There’s no question that we have to change the subject here,” said the operative, who was not authorized to discuss strategy and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Change the subject from what, you may ask? The economy:
Mr. McCain’s advisers said their hope was that the issue of the economy would recede somewhat from the public consciousness, now that Congress has passed a bailout plan, and open the way to try to turn the contest back into a referendum on Mr. Obama’s credentials. They argued that given everything that had happened, Mr. McCain remained in easy distance of Mr. Obama, evidence of what they said were underlying problems with his appeal.
In a typical election year, McCain’s fall back to cultural/character issues might have resonated. But this is not a typical year. The economy is literally imploding before our eyes. We are already approaching economic malaise not experienced in America since the 1991 recession, and it’s getting worse.
Many voters are now receiving negative quarterly equity account statements, or pink slips. Good luck trying to sway their vote with William Ayers. For those voters, this Obama ad is right on target: