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McCain won’t try to highlight differences with Bush

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John McCain has struggled for a long while to explain the ways in which he’s different from George W. Bush. He wasn’t asked the question much during the Republican primaries, but in recent months, it’s been an awkward subject for him.

For a while, McCain would tell anyone who asked about the differences that he disagrees with Bush on pork-barrel spending. Then he’d argue that McCain takes global warming more seriously than Bush does.

Now, he’s decided to hardly answer the question at all, telling the Politico, “I don’t have any need to show that I’m different than President Bush.”

Actually, in an environment in which voters are desperate for some kind of change in how the government operates, McCain absolutely needs to show how he’s different from Bush. If he’s not going to try, I’m delighted to hear it.

Yglesias provides some helpful context:

[S]ure

, McCain isn’t under any moral obligation to demonstrate difference from President Bush. But if he intends to pursue substantially the same policies as President Bush

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, then he has no right to react angrily when his political opponents say he’ll pursue substantially the same policies as President Bush. But he does react angrily. But if he’s going to be indignant about the idea that he’ll pursue Bush-like policies

, then he should be able to name some policy areas in which he intends to pursue substantially different policies.

Quite right. The McCain campaign gets surprisingly testy when Dems describe him as “Bush’s third term.” At the same time

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, McCain concedes the he doesn’t “have any need to show that I’m different than President Bush.”

Look, this isn’t complicated. McCain has boasted, “[O]n the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush.” As recently as last year, he voted with Bush’s position 95% of the time. He’s offering a policy agenda, and on practically everything — foreign policy, taxes, Social Security, healthcare, energy policy, the federal judiciary — there isn’t any difference between McCain’s agenda and what we’ve seen over the last eight years.

McCain doesn’t “have any need” to show that he’s different from Bush because he isn’t different from Bush. If he’s prepared to double-down on the last eight years, I’m sure Dems everywhere will be delighted.

Comments

  • Nashville_fan

    says:

    I apologize for this being OT:

    I just had the strangest experience with censorship on the Political Punch blog.

    Jake Tapper did a post about the debates, and commented that he couldn’t believe ABC News was excluded.

    I posted at least SIX comments about how poorly they moderated the Obama Clinton debates (even using a question from SEAN HANNITY) and all of my comments were DELETED, and now I have been marked as a SPAMMER and can’t post again.

    Other similar comments have been deleted too. This has been going on all year, but I’ve never seen it THIS BAD.

    All types of horrible posts about Obama are never deleted however. And this is the blog of a MAJOR NEWS ORGANIZATION – good grief!

    http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/08/mccain-and-obam.html#comments

  • zhak

    says:

    The Republicans do not want this election to be about Bush, when his horrible record — and the potentiality of McCain being even worse (something I thought impossible until recently) — should be front & center.

    The media responds by going all Obama, all the time, like the good little doggies they are.

    Why can’t someone just say the following: “do you think you’re better off now after 8 years of Bush rule than you were before? do you agree with Bush?” If the answers are “yes” you can feel well content to vote McCain. Otherwise, you should either stay home or vote Obama.

  • Nashville_fan

    says:

    John McCain is the corporate candidate for President. Just as George Bush was simply a puppet, so to McCain.

    The corporate media is behind him.

    They have a 24 hour noise machine against Senator Obama – and still they are not sure if they can beat him.

    We the people have a chance, but we’ve got to fight for this one. This campaign is going to be won in the trenches – there are still many who get ALL THEIR NEWS from the networks.

    Sad but true.

  • majun

    says:

    Bush’s job approval rating is down in the mid-20s and dropping. You have to figure that there is a 20% (+/-) of hardcore, dead-ender support for Bush who will only consider going to the polls under two circumstances; one is to stave off a possible victory by Obama, and the other is if they think that McCain, the reformed apostate, will carry on the Bush policies that they like for whatever warped reason they like them.

    McCain is facing a situation where, at this point, having sold his soul for a shot at the WH during the primaries, he has little hope of inspiring independents the way he did in 2000, when idiots like me actually seriously contemplated voting for him. That being the case, he has to keep as much of Bush’s base intact as he can in order to have a shot at this thing. Keeping the dead-ender Bushies in line and getting them out to the polls, along with a 10% Bradley effect, will probably be his best shot at the WH.

    IMHO

  • The Answer is Orange

    says:

    Oh Steve you’re so picky. When McGrampstrike (R-Hanoi Hilton) flip-flops like a gaffed carp you make fun of him. When he lies like a rug, you make fun of him. But when he’s perfectly honest (for once), do you give the man a break?

  • Fred

    says:

    I would add that Dems tying McCain to Bush need not stop at their governing philosophies. As Jack Cafferty pointed out in a cnn.com piece a couple days back, McCain, just like W is, well, not very bright. He benefited from likely nepotism to get into the Naval Academy and graduated 894th in a class of 899th. That fits quite nicely into the narrative of a guy who “forgets” important facts and whose foreign policy consists of closing his eyes and swinging as hard as he can. McCain has no depth — not because it isn’t politically useful and not even because he’s senile (though that’s a good explanation, as well) — he has no depth because he’s an idiot. And we’ve all learned what happens to a country governed by an idiot.

  • Matt

    says:

    I think this is really the best line of attack. Tying him to the currently unpopular president, while at the same time hitting his biggest strength, his “maverick” status. Just call him John McSame, the 5% Maverick.

  • Steve

    says:

    McCain isn’t under any moral obligation to demonstrate difference from President Bush.

    I’m going to have to brandish my good friend Mr. Crowbar at Yglesias for this one. Given the utter, contemptible, disrespectful, felonious manner in which the Bush administration has governed; given its heinous policies; given the attitudes of self-righteousness and aggrandized entitlement based upon blind, fanatical loyalty and cronyism reminiscent of the sanctum sanctorum of the greatest and most dastardly of the world’s historical dictatorships, oligarchies, and imperial deifications—to insist that John McCain must demonstrate multiple, fundamental differences between himself and GWB is at the very least a moral obligation to the United States of America, its Constitution and Laws, its Institutions, and its People.

    I’m really quite surprised that Mr. Yglesias would let McCain off the hook so easily….

  • mikeyes

    says:

    Frankly I don’t think it will make any difference at all. When Stevenson ran against Eisenhower he pointed out that he was the “thinking man’s candidate.” He also pointed out that that group was a distinct minority.

    Given the present Sen. McCain’s dynamics (war hero, tough on the Russians, “right about the surge”, did I mention war hero? as he will many times), Sen. Obama has an uphill battle for now. The Iraq situation is solving itself it appears and Senator McCain (did I mention he was a war hero?) will go to the “gates of Hell” to find OBL. Not much else here to see, so move on, please.

    Sen. McCain is a Maverick who will do things right unlike the present President. Simple straight forward ideas done right will prevail, all that thinking will just rot the mind. At least that is the thought of most of those who turn up at the ballot box. Why do you think Sen. McCain is so bullet proof? It is not the support of the MSM (that helps, of course) but no one sees the flip-flops, the pandering, etc. except Democratic partisans. Right now the polls show that Sen. McCain is the most likely to solve all of our problems, mostly due to his biography. The fact that he is possibly senile doesn’t seem to have an effect on the polls.

    I am afraid that the best candidate will lose the way things are going and no one is interested in whether Senator McCain is a carbon copy of President Bush. All that will be seen is that we need a tough president in this dangerous world and Sen. McCain’s biography fits the bill. Sen. Obama may be smarter, better at everything and more thoughtful, but the electing public will not see that.

  • hark

    says:

    McCain is Bush’s third term. It’s that simple. And what’s more, it’s true. No lies, no spinning, no double talk.

    How hard can that be?

  • TR

    says:

    What the hell is it with McCain and the phrase “transcendent issue”? He says that almost as often as he mentions his POW years.

  • jhm

    says:

    As usual, it’s hard to disagree with Mr. Yglesias. A perhaps less penetrating argument for “needing” to distinguish himself from the policies of President* Bush is that he was asked the question. Why does he feel that he can decide which questions to answer and which to ignore? Does he mean to suggest that the question was inappropriate? this leads to Matt’s point.

  • chrenson

    says:

    I guess I can see McCain’s point. You don’t go into a job interview and talk about how you’re different than the guy they just fired. Especially when you’re exactly like the guy they just fired!

    Example:

    HR: Well, Chrenson, what makes you think you’re qualified for this job?

    Chrenson: Well, I don’t smoke like the guy you just fired did.

    HR: But, you’re smoking right now.

    Chrenson: That’s a transcendent issue. Also, I don’t eat meat like that guy you just fired.

    HR: I’m sorry, I couldn’t understand you with your mouth full of veal.

    Chrenson: Did you see the part on my resume about how I was a POW?

  • Prup (aka Jim Benton)

    says:

    Goddamn it, I’m an atheist and don’t have a diety to thank for this ‘manna from heaven.’

    To repeat a suggestion I made (very late) in last night’s open thread:

    Obama should use the ‘Geico model’ for his ads, short, punchy, and a LOT of different ones all over the place. Most should be positive, or humorous replies to McCain’s pathetic attacks. But about 1/3rd should be ‘negative on the issues.’ And the top line should be

    “John McCain — From the wonderful folks who brought us…” (Yes, it is a steal from Jerry della Femina — why not steal from a truly great advertising man)

    Beneath the line should be a split screen, the left hand tying McCain to Bush, to “Brownie” and Katrina, to Gonzalez, to his opposition to Veteran’s benefits, to his votes against — or declared positions when he was too lazy to vote — on different issues. Show him speaking, show C-SPAN tapes of his votes, etc. (Confirming Bush appointees in particular) And of course, “The Hug.”

    Right hand news headlines, pictures, etc. showing the results of Bush policies.

    Verbal close “My name is Barack Obama, and I approved this ad … because we can’t afford four more years like the last eight.”

  • Gridlock

    says:

    Did anyone see the CNN reports yesterday on McCain and Obama. While I think that the McCain piece when lighter on him than it should have, it did at least bring up his philandering/adultery and his ties to the Keating scandal.

    The other thing I really noticed is that it was pointed out a couple of times, after various events, that McCain has bad judgement. In fact, McCain actually admitted it in talking about his divorce. Later on in the piece, they show a headline regarding the Keating scandal with a headline that says “McCain admits to bad judgement”. It was a running theme… In flight school, he didn’t read the manual as much as “Fall of the Roman Empire”, so when his plane crashed, he didn’t know how to open the canopy…Bad Judgement.

    I’d like to see some ads produced that hit that theme over and over again. Esp. concerning Iraq and tying the Keating scandal to the current mortgage crisis.

  • OkieFromMuskogee

    says:

    Nashville @ #1 –

    Yep! They deleted my comment too.

    Looks like you can say anything you want at ABC’s blog as long as you don’t criticize ABC.

  • Nashville_fan

    says:

    OkiefromMuskogee (great name by the way!)

    I’ve seen Political Punch get 100 posts easy on the most boring of topics, and that one only has 22 last time I checked – almost all critical of Obama, hmmmmm.

    The media is tryint to manipulate perceptions to creat the impression that the tide is turning in McCain’s favor.

    Scary.

  • Hannah

    says:

    #17: chrenson’s comment is there right now, critical of ABC’s debacle, err debate moderators. Let’s see how long it stays up.

  • Hannah

    says:

    #19: in the time it took me to type that comment, chrenson’s comment was deleted. chrenson has another comment still up, however.

    chrenson: can you verify what you posted?

  • Nashville_fan

    says:

    Yes chrenson, I just Political Punch delete the post where you complained about them deleting your post – just like they did me – careful – you may already be labeled a spammer.

    And this is America – home of the free press.

  • Prup (aka Jim Benton)

    says:

    If you want to protest to ABC, don’t threaten not to watch ABC News — news shows generally have a pretty small audience anyway. Tell them you will not watch LOST, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, or — most importantly — ESPN (owned by ABC). And if you hint that you are a ‘ratings’ family….

  • Mark

    says:

    My post also was deleted. Maybe if we had a determined effort to overwhelm them with positive Obama/negative McCain posts?
    Peace!
    Mark

  • Nashville_fan

    says:

    This would be funny if it wasn’t so scary – but someone named Mark just posted on the Political Punch blog that they thought we had freedom of speech in this country – and it was deleted.

    I’ll drop it on this thread for now – but this is just the tip of the iceburg – even First Read on MSNBC where I post daily heavily controls what appears. Who knows what’s not getting through? Why the censorship?

  • Steve

    says:

    Someone should start a new blog called “Political Punch—NOT!!!” The graphic for the site could be a trashcan with the ABC logo on it, showing several hands holding upended bottles of cheap liquor (suggestively comparing ABC News to the effects of a “Hairy Buffalo Party”) or cans of generic beer, and then everyone can just cross-post to both sites.

    ABC won’t run from a few meaningless threats, but they’ll cower at the prospect of being internationally ridiculed and mocked. An entertainment conglomerate laughed at is an entertainment conglomerate with fewer viewers and fewer sponsors—and fewer investors….

  • Dee Loralei

    says:

    You guys need to start your own watchdog blog about ABC and Jake Tapper, call it something like “JakeTapper is a Tool” and link to every story he writes, Write a brief summation on your blog and let anyone who’s been deleted over there come to your site and post their dele’d comments verbatem.

    how about ” A Poop in ‘The Political Punch’ Bowl”?

    And Prup’s right, don’t boycott their news, boycott their shows or their advertisers. It’ll have more, ahem, punch, politically and economically.

    And to get back to the thread topic. YAY! John McCain won’t be running away from GeorgeW, and that will tell you he hasn’t sealed his right flank and gotten the far right behind him yet. He needs those 20% approval folks to vote for him. And he’s willing to lose the middle independants, liberal Reps and conservative Dems for them.

  • Nashville_fan

    says:

    I love the ideas about the blog calling out Jake Tapper and Political Punch on their comment deletion policy. Strange that so much of the anti-Obama stuff makes it through, though.

    I’m not very tech savvy, but I may have to learn – because this is just so blatant and ridiculous.