The Straightaway

Whatever you may think about John McCain, you cannot say that his campaign has been run anything but brilliantly. To rise from the ashes of defeat as he has, to completely redefine your policy stances as he has, to stoke the fires of his campaign with a momentous vice presidential choice that caused the cultural divide in America to become a central issue again – all of this was brilliant. To spread carefully tailored lies about his opponent, only to have it justified by forcing his opponent to abandon the ideals of his campaign and throw dirt of his own – that was truly masterful.

John McCain’s campaign is at it again, this time with the announcement that he will suspend his campaign and refuse to debate Barack Obama for now, opting instead to return to Capitol Hill and perform his senatorial duties.

Notice that all of this masterful work is attributed to the campaign, and not McCain himself. It’s not entirely believable that all this is John McCain. The McCain of 2008 is very different from the anti-regulation, anti-religious right, no-holds-barred McCain of his 2000 campaign. This can only be explained by the notion that McCain is being handled.

Take this suspension business, for example. It’s certainly believable that returning to Washington was what McCain thought needed to be done. However, McCain could have simply returned to Capitol Hill to participate, without all the fanfare. Instead, he made a big, televised announcement out of it, putting Obama on the spot. In a statement of his own, Obama agreed that something had to be done, but noted that the theatrical McCain Goes to Washington routine wasn’t needed, that the candidates could focus on both the crisis and the campaign.

There really was no need for the theatrics. Neither McCain nor Obama are members of any committees relevant to this issue. At most, all they need to do is speak a little on the floor, and be there for votes.

This return isn’t about fixing the economy. It’s about McCain looking like a hero. It’s about getting publicity and momentum after the initial Palin enthusiasm has been replaced about growing questions about her cloistering from the media. And his campaign executed it in exactly the right way, so that those who might attack this as a publicity stunt (especially that dreaded, biased media) would look simply foolish.

Genius. If McCain’s campaign carries him all the way to the White House, let’s hope it’s the real, honest, fiesty 2000 McCain that’s carried there.