The initial response from the McCain campaign on the senator’s confusion about how many homes he owns was pretty weak. Put it this way, it talked about arugula and Hawaii.
A couple of hours later, though, the McCain gang went with the one response that applies to every question.
The McCain campaign is road-testing a new argument in responding to Obama’s criticism of his number-of-houses gaffe
, an approach the McCain camp has never tried before: The houses gaffe doesn’t matter because … he was a P.O.W.!
“This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years — in prison,” spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Post.
I see. When the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a close Bush ally, publicly questioned McCain’s marital infidelities
, the McCain campaign responded by highlighting McCain’s background as a prisoner of war.
When Dems attacked McCain’s healthcare plan in May, McCain responded by noting his background as a prisoner of war.
Asked by a local reporter about the first thing that comes to his mind when he thinks of Pittsburgh, McCain responded by talking about his background as a prisoner of war.
Accused of possibly having heard the questions in advance of Rick Warren’s recent candidate forum
, the McCain campaign responded by highlighting McCain’s background as a prisoner of war.
There seems to be a pattern here.
To be sure, McCain no doubt endured horrific conditions during the war, and it’s obvious that McCain’s detention as a young man in Vietnam helped shape his life. Given this, it’s not unreasonable that he’d want voters to know about his experience.
But that’s not a license to force the “P.O.W. card” into every unrelated question.
And all of this, of course, dovetails with the McCain campaign running multiple television ads talking about McCain’s background as a prisoner of war, literally including interrogation footage in the commercial.
This hard-sell wouldn’t be quite so odd if McCain didn’t go around saying that he’s reluctant to talk about his Vietnam experiences.