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Note to McCain: it’s too late for the ‘original maverick’

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John McCain has been pursuing a risky campaign strategy of late, going relentlessly negative and attacking Barack Obama’s character. This has offered a short-term benefit — McCain has made real gains in the polls — but has created a long-term threat, by seriously undermining his “brand.” McCain had developed a reputation for “straight talk” and substance, and he decided to flush it down the toilet.

Today, in an effort to rehabilitate his former persona, McCain’s campaign unveiled a new ad that doesn’t go after Obama at all. (via Greg Sargent)

The voice-over in this 30-second spot tells the viewer, “Washington’s broken; John McCain knows it. We’re worse off than we were four years ago. Only McCain has taken on big tobacco, drug companies, fought corruption in both parties. He’ll reform Wall Street, battle Big Oil, make America prosper again.”

The ad continues, “He’s the original maverick. One is ready to lead — McCain.” The ad ends of course, with the obligatory, “I’m John McCain and I approved this message.”

It’s a nice effort, I suppose, but it’s way too late for the McCain campaign to restore an image that McCain has already thrown away. Indeed, the specifics of the claims only help reinforce the fact that McCain is a shadow of his former self.

Let’s unpack this a bit.

“Washington’s broken; John McCain knows it.” — There’s simply no way to run as a Washington outsider after three decades of being a Washington insider.

“We’re worse off than we were four years ago.” — Really. Is that so. For one thing, McCain was campaigning for (and hugging) the guy who won four years ago. For another, McCain’s been telling voters for a while that Americans are better off than we were before Bush took office.

“McCain has taken on big tobacco.” — Actually, he used to take on big tobacco, and then he shamelessly reversed course on the issue.

“[McCain has taken] on drug companies.” — Actually, he used to take on the drug companies, and took an active role in support drug re-importation. This McCain, however, hasn’t mentioned the issue in years.

“[McCain has] fought corruption in both parties.” — Actually, McCain was part of the corruption in one of the parties.

But my single favorite line in the entire ad is the claim that McCain will “battle Big Oil.” Um, senator? Your energy policy was written by Big Oil, and your campaign is being financed by Big Oil. Unless you’re prepared to change the meaning of the word “battle,” this is crazy.

Obama campaign spokesperson Bill Burton said in a statement:

“Senator McCain wants Americans to forget that during the Republican primary, he said that Americans were better off than we were eight years ago, and that he thinks we’ve made ‘great progress economically.’ He wants us to forget that he’s fully embraced the Bush policies he once opposed, and bragged about supporting those policies ‘more than 90 percent of time.’ The truth is, being a maverick isn’t practicing the same kind of politics we have seen from Washington for decades, it isn’t having a campaign run by Washington lobbyists, and it’s certainly not promoting the same policies that have led America down the wrong path these past eight years.”

Yep.

Comments

  • JS

    says:

    Right – I can tell he is battling the oil companies right now, all the time he is taking the bribes from them.

  • Davis X. Machina

    says:

    Without a saturation buy, an ad is just a bid for meta-coverage & free media from the traditional press.

    “The McCain add is true — it was on television, and someone on television later told me it was true.”

    “The Obama response ad was on television, but it isn’t true, but someone on television later told me it wasn’t true”.

    Only something that runs a bajillion times will burn through the screeners. We won’t see that till September, or even October.

  • Leo

    says:

    I am so happy to see the real McCain shine through after his campaign was hijacked against his will by evil Rove proteges. What a noble struggle he fights against the people he hired.

  • beans

    says:

    The truth doesn’t matter and very few realize that the media is feeding them poop. I’m afraid many will (want to) believe it and it will help him in the end. Until people find new ways to get the truth and avoid the traditional media, we are going to have a frustrating campaign season. The Republicans run around with gasoline, matches, air pressure gauges, lies, and they just go. It’s criminal, but there is no control any more. When is the last time we’ve heard there were any risks with slander or libel? It happens so frequently anymore that we’re moving on to the next 100 instances, while pointing to the last million examples. Even in the day of YouTube, we can’t seem to get the truth out.

  • CrazyRidesRockets

    says:

    I thought James Garner was the original maverick. But he’s way too young to be president.

  • zeitgeist

    says:

    MsJoanne, you beat me to it.

    This ad is worse than a waste of money by McCain. It is actually good for Obama.

    1) McCain admits we are worse off than 4 years ago. All we have to do now is remind people that the reason is having a Republican President – so why vote for another one? [insert photo of The Hug]

    2) After their juvenile branding of Obama as “The One,” they now spend money to tell the world that [The] One is Ready to Lead. Yep, Obama sure it. Thanks!

    3) Talk about your bad timing – running this ad which is countered directly by the ad Obama put out today (and yesterday as well) about oil money. Finally, Obama was out in front for a cycle!

  • CrazyRidesRockets

    says:

    “McCain had developed a reputation for “straight talk” had substance, and he decided to flush it down the toilet.”

    Um, when exactly did that happen? From most news accounts I’ve seen, that’s still is reputation with the media. If McCain does it and our press corps(e) doesn’t notice, did it really happen?

  • SHI

    says:

    Okay – let’s see Obama’s campaign respond by using the very quote from Bill Burton – it would be an easy ad to run. Obama is making the same mistake Kerry made four years ago. He’s letting McCain define him (Obama) by silly little snippets of what Obama says (re: tire pressure answer for energy problems) and, because it’s repeated unendingly by the Rethugs, people believe it. Obama gives the average American way too much credit when it comes to digging for the truth. We are too lazy! I think McCain is winning the ad war…bad and as untruthful as it is.

  • JoeW

    says:

    The Maverick Marionette is trying to have it both ways again.

    We’re worse off than we were four years ago.

    From this, we’re left to believe that the last 4 years of the Bush regime were bad. This would be during the surge. But the first (non-surge) 4 years? Those were good? I guess this means the Maverick Marionette was for Bush before he was against him. Or something.

  • Karl Rove

    says:

    Let’s unpack this shit!
    No one reads your thoughtful commentary except friggin liberals who won’t vote for McCain. there are two memes going in this election right now.

    1) McCain is a maverick; a different kind of Republican who is ready to lead.

    2) Obama is a celebrity empty suit. He’s different from you and me and too risky to elect.

    The Democrats are doing little to nothing to counter these two memes. They think that just because the past eight years have been a disaster under a Republican President and that their policy positions poll best they can win this election. They think that just because OIbama gives articulate speeches he can win things over. George W. Bush is an inarticulate c-student and he won twice against two highly educated articulate a-students.

    In November 1999, after seeing a (fair and balanced) Fox News Report that he had lost the election Gore called W to concede. To think that he would give up so easily. We stood in our hotel room and gaped at one another. And of course we kicked his, and the Democrat party’s ass in the following months. Virtually every accomplishment of W over the past eight years has been accomplished with the acquiescence or active support of congressional Democrats.

    Chortle away liberals-but you have one huge problem, it’s historic and it’s repeating itself in this election. Republicans fight, Democrats roll over.

  • thorin-1

    says:

    “We’re worse off than we were four years ago.” — Really. Is that so. For one thing, McCain was campaigning for (and hugging) the guy who won four years ago. For another, McCain’s been telling voters for a while that Americans are better off than we were before Bush took office.

    Is McCain now acknowledging that that the Bush Adminstration has done a BAD job? Seriously? He’s going to explicitly accept that things have gotten worse with the Republican’s in charge.

    This needs to be hit hard. Every statement McCain’s made praising the record of the Bush adminstration needs to be placed next to this quote.

  • Diogenes

    says:

    McCain has a cunning plan, you see. By leaching away their profits, in the form of campaign contributions, he hopes to shrink Big Oil to the size where it can be drown in a bathtub.

  • Karl Rove

    says:

    @9

    Um, when exactly did that happen? From most news accounts I’ve seen, that’s still is reputation with the media. If McCain does it and our press corps(e) doesn’t notice, did it really happen?

    Exactly! And even when the press notices, who is reading it? Is it on the TeeVee? Is it on Fax News?

    You liberals give the American people too much credit. This isn’t an election in which voters thoughtfully consider who is best to lead their country. This is the selling of a consumer product.

  • pfgr

    says:

    I don’t know if the McCain people have thought of this, but there are a lot of people like me who voted for Hillary in the primaries and are very luke warm in their attraction to Obama, who seems, to me at least to be very formless in his principles and very vague in his specific proposals.

    On the other hand, we are not going to vote for a yahoo who promises trillions in tax cuts that will lead to further debt, pushes for unsound energy policies like offshore oil drilling, and promises more extreme partisan judicial appointees like Scalia and Alito.

    All well and good, I’d never vote for the current version of McCain (the 2000 version was the exact opposite on all the above issues.) But, one thing he’s accomplished with the Britney/Paris ads, the phony invocation of the race card, the tire guages, the relentless negativity and straw man arguments, is to make me mad at him.

    Now, I am going to contribute to Obama’s campaign. I was not going to do so before. Congratulations, Mr. Schmidt, your ad campaing succeeded.

  • Karl Rove

    says:

    @14

    This needs to be hit hard.

    LOL. Hit hard by whom? The spineless Democrats?

    And how? Like Kerry went after the swiftboaters? Like Obama has been doing the past couple weeks? LOL

  • Wayne

    says:

    Too late….give me a break.
    It’s part of the strategy when the media gives you a pass on the way you operate. Just when Obama starts to do some critical ads, McCain goes opposite. Obama will now get criticized for going negative and McCain praised for taking the “high road”.
    Expect this cycle to continue. I expect 3 more cycles of this before the election.

  • Davis X. Machina

    says:

    Obama…who seems, to me at least to be very formless in his principles and very vague in his specific proposals.

    I call ‘Bullshit’..

    You want or need this to be so, or have been told this is so, or have no internet access.

    As the angel; told St. Jerome: “Tolle, lege”. (Pick it up and read.)

  • Karl Rove

    says:

    @19

    Cindy McCain’s story is a story of redemption. I’ll stand her all American blond ass up next to Obama’s baby mama who hates America and we’ll see what happens.

    You want to get down and dirty with Republicans in our own sand box-bring it on!

    Or, you want to keep nice and clean while we get down and dirty-even better. You see how well that’s worked for celebrity Obama the past couple weeks.

  • SHI

    says:

    OMG – I agree with…oh no…for once I have to…(cringe, gag) agree with everything Karl Rove has said! Goodbye cruel world, it’s time to cash in my chips!!! EGADS….

  • james k. sayre

    says:

    Actually, the ever-lyin’ ole McTireGauge has been very supportive of both Wall Street and Big Oil for the last two-and-a-half decades. His best bud, Phil Gramm, helped create the real estate speculation bubble, which recently burst, and the oil price bubble, which has yet to burst. John McCain was Phil Gramm’s campaign manager when he ran for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1996. McCain, Gramm, Bush and other Republican advocates for financial markets deregulation have allowed oil futures speculators to double the price of crude oil and gasoline in the past year.

    We’re being ENRONed again: this time by oil futures contracts speculators who are unnecessarily and very profitably driving up the price of crude oil and hence retail gasoline prices. Curious as to why you are suddenly paying over four dollars a gallon for gasoline? No, it’s not due to “supply-and-demand,” no, it’s not due to “OPEC,” nor is it due to “peak oil.” It’s due to totally unregulated electronic oil futures trading in world markets. Check out the very lucid article that explains the unseen financial machinations in oil futures markets written by F. W. Engdahl on May 2, 2008, entitled, “Perhaps 60% of Today’s Oil Price is Pure Speculation.” It may be viewed at .
    http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/engdahl/2008/0502.html

    In a nutshell, he suggests that the Bush Administration dropped the ball in January 2006, when they allowed totally unregulated electronic trading of oil futures contracts in New York. Previously these electronic trades had been made at the London Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Futures Market. With that decision by the Bush Administration, all of the world’s oil prices were then opened to upward pressure from speculative futures contracts. In essence, oil futures contracts made by speculators, banks, hedge funds and pension funds all competed with real demand on the spot markets and had the effect of driving up both wholesale oil prices and retail gasoline prices. Speculators have made billions of dollars on their trading of oil futures contracts. All of their profits come right out of our pockets.

    Even with a stable oil supply, there is a slow worldwide increase in demand for oil, which creates a long-term upward pressure on oil prices. However, with the relentless saber-rattling and war-mongering by Bush and Cheney in the last several years, and the more recent war talks by McCain and the Israelis, the oil futures markets are rife with speculation and paranoia. This war talk keeps ratcheting up the prices on the oil futures contracts and hence the wholesale spot market prices. It is an endless spiral of greed and paranoia.

    As long as there is no tough and effective oversight of the electronic oil futures markets by the Bush Administration, the oil prices will climb endlessly. These oil prices will be quickly followed by hikes in the retail gasoline prices at the pump. The 60% speculation share of the $4.25/gallon gasoline price, is about $2.55/gallon, which is what we consumers are paying to these oil speculators as a “service fee.” Not a bad “fee,” since the speculators produce no usable goods or services…Just a few large greedy oil futures traders helping themselves to your gas money.
    Without this added-on oil futures “service fee,” you would be paying about $1.75/gallon for gasoline. Write, call or smoke-signal your Representatives and Senators today and suggest that they read the June 2006 report by The U. S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations entitled, “The Role of Market Speculation in Rising Oil and Gas Prices.” Then demand that they investigate and then force the Bush Administration to firmly regulate the computerized oil futures contracts trading in New York, London and Dubai.

    This electronic oil price futures scandal is costing US drivers about $969,000,000.00 per day! That number is based on 60% speculation fee of a gasoline price of $4.25/gallon and on US 2004 consumption of 380,000,000 gallons/day. Tell you Senators and Congresspersons to simply shut down this unregulated electronic oil futures contract trading market. Then the price of gasoline will slowly drop to about $1.75/gallon…The only way that oil price futures contracts make money is if the price of oil goes up in the future, say, 30, 60 or 90 days later. This futures market serves no social need. It is just for corporate greed. The corporate speculators are probably also gaming/ENRONing the wheat and corn futures markets the same way.

  • William

    says:

    John McCain knows that Washington is broken because he helped to break it. Nothing new here, move along John, your trollop awaits!

  • The Other Ed

    says:

    Amazing, keep the Republicans in power and somehow now they’ll be able to do the things right that they somehow couldn’t do before.

    Or in the words of Albert Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

  • Lance

    says:

    A Maverick is a herd animal that has been running free and unbranded by any herdsman.

    Once you are branded, you’re not a Maverick anymore.

    Obama just has to show the brand(s) on JSMcC*nt.

  • Racer X

    says:

    “McCain has taken on big tobacco.” — Actually, he used to take on big tobacco, and then he shamelessly reversed course on the issue.

    Isn’t his senior campaign advisor Charlie Black a tobacco lobbyist, who used to do lobbying while on board the “straight talk express”?

    http://firedoglake.com/2008/03/26/mccain-and-charlie-blackand-big-tobacco/

    And what about the fact that during the Republican convention of 2004 the chief executive of the Republican convention was another tobacco lobbyist!

    http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/2165.html

    Yeah, people are going to believe that McCain and the Republicans will fight the tobacco lobby. And pigs will fly!

  • K Ashford

    says:

    Now wiat a second —

    “We’re worse off than we were four years ago.”

    Yet, McCain has also said that Americans are better off than when Bush took office.

    These two statements *are* reconcilable. We can be worse off than we were four years ago BUT STILL be better off than we were 8 years ago.

    Of course, to believe that, you would have to believe that things were really extra special good from 2001 to 2004.

    I wonder what happened in Bush’s first term that John thinks was so overwhelming positive for Americans? Was it 9/11? Soldiers going off to war? Hmmmmm….

  • Doctor Biobrain

    says:

    This is like Walmart trying to rebrand itself as a Mom & Pop store that only sells top quality American goods. One of the secrets of good marketing is knowing how to make the product you’ve got sound like the thing that people want, but it doesn’t work if you’re trying to sell a completely different product. The product still has to match the sales pitch.

  • ~Blue Girl

    says:

    Maybe someone should clue him in to the original meaning of the term “Maverick” –

    In the mid-1800’s a New England lawyer named Samuel Maverick decided to try his hand at ranching in the San Antonio River Valley, but he was something of a stubborn sumbitch who thought he knew better than everyone else, and refused to brand his cattle. In less than a year, he discovered that his avaricious neighbors and outright rustlers had made off with his stock, so in spite of having good land and plentiful water, he was out of business in a year because he neglected the basics.

    Soon the Texans of that era and area were applying the term derisively, to mean a person who was too stubborn or stupid to attend to business and ended up losing their shirt.

  • low-tech cyclist

    says:

    I thought James Garner was the original maverick.

    Me too!

    “Riverboat, ring your bell,
    Fare thee well, Annabel.
    Luck is the lady that he loves the best.
    Natchez to New Orleans
    Livin on jacks and queens
    Maverick is a legend of the west.”

  • Maria

    says:

    Sorry to say I think this ad will be very effective, simply because the average voter won’t begin to unpack it.

    The “worse off than four years ago” line may spark some vague protest in people minds: “Hey, but you voted with Bush most of the time.” The bits about big oil, drug companies, corruption and tobacco won’t be examined either by voters, almost none of whom have any earthly idea what McCain’s voting record looks like, or by the media, most of which has a lot invested in preserving the maverick mythology.

  • Mick

    says:

    This is like Walmart trying to rebrand itself as a Mom & Pop store that only sells top quality American goods. One of the secrets of good marketing is knowing how to make the product you’ve got sound like the thing that people want, but it doesn’t work if you’re trying to sell a completely different product. The product still has to match the sales pitch.

    If they buyer doesn’t open the package until after the election and the sale is made, then the sales pitch did its job exceptionally well. The smarmy salesman knows that a quick sale can be made by manipulating compulsion/feeling even if they know they are selling a lemon.

  • Bruno

    says:

    “McCain has taken on big tobacco.” — Actually, he used to take on big tobacco, and then he shamelessly reversed course on the issue.

    Isn’t his senior campaign advisor Charlie Black a tobacco lobbyist, who used to do lobbying while on board the “straight talk express”?

    That’s proof that McCain is battling big tobacco, because he’s battling them on his own campaign bus. That proves the narrative from the media.

  • Bernard HP Gilroy

    says:

    How do we fight it? Don’t dignify it with a response… undignify it. Make McCain a joke, or rather, expose him for the joke he is.

    Why isn’t anyone in the Obama campaign watching The Daily Show and taking notes? One thing the Republican attack machine cannot handle is being made fun of. They are humorless and vulnerable to humor. You can;t run as Big Strong Daddy if everyone’s laughing at your pants around your ankles.

    (Ironically, since the Democrats have been laughable for a generation or more, thery are nigh invulnerable. Roll with the jabs thrown our way; dish out humor until MccAin’s famous temper erupts.)

  • libra

    says:

    Why isn’t anyone in the Obama campaign watching The Daily Show and taking notes? One thing the Republican attack machine cannot handle is being made fun of. They are humorless […] — Bernard HP Gilroy, @40

    Unfortunately, so is the majority of people surrounding Obama. He himself seems to have a good — if subtle — sense of humour , which, unfortunately has to be kept on short rein, lest it be misunderstood (accidentally on purpose). But his acolytes? Spare me. They remind me, *so much*, of the, mostly, young (but some not all that young) communist activists (some of my own experience, some I “saw” in films and books) — very earnest, very dedicated, very idealistic, full of energy… And very serious and full of self-importance.

    If you’re unable to see *yourself* as a butt of a joke, ever, you’re also unable to *craft* a good one; all you’re left with is a cream-pie in the face and a slip on a banana peel kind of humour. You either need to have a very good imagination (be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, mentally), or else have personal experience of pain, to be able to find a way to hit your opponent, with humour, but where it really hurts. Young people tend to be deficient in that area…

  • Barbara

    says:

    McCain is not as qualified as he is trying to make the public believe. I take variety of work experiences anyday as opposed to someone who has one job in their adult life.

  • libra

    says:

    Barbara, @42,

    But he was A POW! Not only a full-time occupation but one which provided him with all the experience he ever needed, for *any* position. And, if that’s not enough for you, he can also model as a serial seducer (two wives, a tasty lobbyist or two)

  • SickofBushMcCainLiebermann

    says:

    He’ll battle big oil by hosting a baby oil wrestling pageant at Buffalo Chip.