John McCain embraces the role he relishes -- and predicted he would be in

It was just four weeks ago that a nip-and-tuck presidential campaign seemed to pivot in the Democratic direction -- in part because of a John McCain miscue.

After a weekend that drove home the fragile state of several leading financial institutions, McCain at a rally in Florida insisted the U.S. economy was fundamentally sound -- a claim that since then has been called into serious question.

Today, at a rally in Virginia, McCain sized up the state of the race, freely acknowledged being behind in the polls, anointed Barack Obama as a front-runner who is "measuring the drapes" at the White House -- and eagerly proclaimed, "My friends, we've got them just where we want them."

The Times' Maeve Reston was at the event and has more from McCain, including the arguments it appears the Republican will focus on during the campaign's remaining three weeks (in summary: Obama is a tax-and-spend liberal who will bend over backwards to help unions and "concede defeat" in Iraq).

As McCain -- with a smile -- cast himself in a beleaguered position and eagerly accepted the challenge, it rang a bell with us. And here's a quote he provided reporters in late June:

I'm the underdog in this race.... I'm behind. I've got to catch up and get ahead. And I expect to do that about 48 hours before the general election.

So partisans on both sides of the battle can take heed -- by his own lights, McCain has plenty of time for a stretch run.

-- Don Frederick

Photo credit: Associated Press

Comments

[Gail]

Wow. For once, I'm speechless - depressed, but speechless.

[Dave]

Here in Wisconsin all we're seeing from McCain are ads calling Obama's character into question. At least Obama is running a few ads talking about what he intends to do, and one responding to the smear campaign. McCain isn't winning any points, he's just trying to make Obama lose them.

I've decided I don't want that kind of politician in the Whitehouse. Leave Wisconsin, John, we don't like your smell.

[The one]

Why do you think the mainstream media does not discuss Barrack Obama’s New Party ties when he ran for State Senate? (the New Party is a Marxist political coalition whose objective was to endorse and elect leftist public officials—most often Democrats. The New Party’s short-term objective was to move the Democratic Party leftward, thereby setting the stage for the eventual rise of new Marxist third party.)

What about Barrack’s Ties to Dr Khalid al-Mansour? In an Interview of Manhattan Borough Chairman Percy Sutton, he named Dr Khalid al-Mansour as having aided Barrack Obama financially and helped Barrack get into Harvard Law School. Here is the links to the interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8npeYfKI_ns( This is scary)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTx5fZmgwIk (the original cut)

Is anybody concerned that the Nation of Islam leader calls Barrack Obama the Messiah?
I am, that is a little too much power. Here is the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq-tZ4y0NP8 (you should be scared of this)

How many radical ties need to be discovered in order for America to wake up and say no to the media and no thanks to Barrack Obama and his mentor?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZHTICEpMFw (twenty years, but never heard a thing).

Please spread the word to your friends, Neighbors, and family. If you do not trust this email, then check for yourself. I believe the truth lies in the middle of the left and the right, so please read both sides.

[Gary]

Good Luck George...I mean John. Maybe you should try handing out $100 bills in that last 48 hours, you know "to stimulate the economy".

[Beto Clark]

I don't believe there's enough racists in the country to give him that stretch and run 48 hour thing.

[Angelou]

WHAT IS MCCAIN SAYING? That two days before election day he is going to start spreading more smears about Obama? I thought he was already doing that?

By the way, I think he can still drop the CORRUPT Palin and get a better VP.

[Joe]

Looks like Obama is Teflon. No matter what McCain does, it doesn’t seem to take. I really think that McCain ought to get rid of his advisors and just be plain ole McCain. Two of the best political speeches I’ve ever heard were done by McCain. One was on why America should never torture people and the other was what good in the world America could have done with the money it spent on the Iraq war. Both speeches showed a man in touch with reality and a man who was not a “me tooer” for the party apparatchik. Both speeches showed a man worthy of being president of the USA. I’m sure he has many, many more such speeches in him that show why he is the best choice and that destroy the myth that he is the same as Bush. Why he is keeping them secret from the American people is beyond me.

Of course, even if he does this, he still has the problem of Palin. That was simply a disastrous choice. She very well may be able to handle the job of President but has never been tested on any large scale. She ought to go back to Alaska, govern some more and mount her own campaign in 2012. True enough, four of the past five presidents were governors but all four demonstrated their organizational, leadership, and executive abilities by establishing a national campaign to get their party’s nomination then another national campaign to win the presidential election. Even Obama, who has little national experience, has shown the ability to stand the heat and mount two such apparently successful, national campaigns.

One thing, no matter who wins, it will be the first time since Kennedy that a sitting US senator was elected president. However, it also looks like one trend will continue, the man with the least national experience will be president. This has been true since Carter defeated Ford; with the only exception being maybe Bush I.

Oh well, the elections will be soon and then the news media will need to find something else to do for a while. I’m sure the economy will still be there for them. Hopefully the news will be better than now.

[Political Handicapper]

I still think the experience will outweigh intangibles as the election approaches. Look for the underdog to pull it out.

[Bud]

He does love the underdog thing, he plays it well. It ain't over, those of us on the side of HOPE can't let up. Get folks registered, get them to the polls - - - keep a sharp eye out for voter-machine fraud - you know that's how they roll.

MICHELLE 2016

[Caitlin]

Americans love the underdog. It's a joke though, he's playing a role. Just because Obama supporters are vocal doesn't mean McCain is the underdog- the underdog wouldn't have support of the person who currently holds the job position they are vying for (President). Lacking in the polls? Polls don't mean anything- otherwise the last two presidential elections would have ended differently. He's changed dramatically in the past years and has become a puppet for the same people who puppeteer Bush and Co. Anything good I had to say about him was before his campaign came into gear and he chose a pawn to be VP. It's disappointing.

You're willingly ignorant if you vote for this man knowing his record unless you were under a rock the last 8 years.

[tashekor]

How romantic. Imagine running a country with such a pull-it-out-at-the-last-minute belief in yourself...I guess it's never too late -- we can fall in love again.

[andy]

Comments by Conservative Columnist Bill Kristol:

John McCain’s campaign isn’t working, and if he’s smart, he’ll “junk the whole thing and start over,” William Kristol writes in the New York Times. McCain’s current “combination of strategic incoherence and operational incompetence has become toxic,” the high-profile conservative argues. McCain should pull all of his attack ads. He should go back to being a "cheerful and open" candidate.

“The American people have by no means turned decisively against McCain and Sarah Palin”, Kristol contends. He then added “Their attacks on Barack Obama and McCain's “gimmicky” economic proposals have failed and are worsening his chances. McCain needs to make his case, and do so as a serious but cheerful candidate for times that need a serious but upbeat leader."

[Jim Sponson]

McCain's playing the "sympathy card"? Sorry, Johnny. It's too late. You could cut off your feet and roll around the stage on one of those little floor dollies and the crowd would just laugh harder. As Bugs would say, "What a maroon!"

[larry clifton]

Barack and the Dimocrats, led by pelosi and reid, now have the lid off the cookie jar. Only problem, they are tossing in IOUs instead of taking out cookies. Remember what the said about Social Security? They never fixed that either. Everything is free in the pelosidom and barack is a communist.
It will be your children and granchildren who pay for it all.
That is where we are today....

[Nadeem Z]

Everything is fine but lynch mobs at his rally are not. The US economy is unlikely to be fixed in one go and its fundamentals are NOT definitely sound. But at least Senator McCain is on the same page (economy, economy, economy) as the people are.

[Bronty]

I don't know what McCain's talking about. That could be my problem, but really I think that's the problem with him.

[Robert Garner]

Win or lose, McCain has lost the respect of this Independent voter, thanks to his dishonest campaign tactics. I can never support him again.

[EMANUEL SFAELOS]

IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT ALL YOU PUNDITS REUSE TO TELL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THE TRUTH. WHETHER YOU ARE A DEMOCRAT OR A REPUBLICAN, IT IS A SAD COMMENTARY ON THE STATE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP TO PRESENT AS A CANDIDATE SUCH AS OBAMA. WITH ALL THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN AND GOVERNORS YOU PICK AN EMPTY SUIT TO RUN FOR THE HIGHEST OFFICE. GOD FORGIVE YOU AND THE KENNEDYS' WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE.
THE EGO OF THE KENNEDYS' AND THEIR FEAR OF LOSING THE MANTLE OF DEMOCRATIC ICONS TO THE CLINTONS CAUSED THEM TO SUPPORT OBAMA THE MISFIT. MIKE DOUKAKIS WOULD HAVE SERVED US BETTER.
SHAME ON YOU TED AND YOUR EGOTISTICAL CLAN.

[Tom Burnett]

This reminds me of those cartoons where you see the over-matched character about to get his butt whipped in a fight state "now I've gotcha right where I want ya!" shortly after follows a cloud of smoke and sounds of clanking bells and punching bags. After the smoke clears, there's the would-be contender piled in a heap. It makes for good slap stick comedy, but bad politics.

[Germantown, MD]

People want the candidates to stick to the issues. One more thing McCain needs to do to turn this race around: Ditch Palin. Replace her with someone qualified and who isn't such an extremist.

[winemaster2]

McCain/ Palin, as is the usual bona fide of these conservative republicans are whipping up racism, fomenting hate, fear, once again introducing the propaganda of terror hype and republican patriotic feeding frenzy to control the hearts and minds of a misled and gullible nation.

The 72 year old pitbull, with four bouts of cancer and one foot in the grave all warped up in the flag and farting patriotism is doing nothing more then polarizing the country and inciting mobs. just as the Nazis did in Germany under similar economic conditions and circumstances.

[Brianna Shackelford]

i think that obama should win he is a true candidate..

[C.Yee]

Thanks for the warning. As an Obama supporter, I'll pay heed to this impending sprint. (I've circled Nov 2-3 on my calendar just to remind me)

[John in MT]

Over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! … And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough... the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!

[Annie]

In all the previous "incarnations" of his campaign, Senator McCain has not shown he has the stuff to catch up, much less to reverse Obama's momentum. Changing the tone of his campaign will do nothing but reinforce the message of the Obama campaign: John McCain is an erratic leader.