The dearth of ‘new big ideas’

August 18, 2008

I have to assume the McCain campaign helps prepare its surrogates before they appear on the talking-head shows. And yet, it’s amazing how unprepared they are.

For those who can’t watch clips online, NBC’s David Gregory, guest-hosting “Meet the Press,” asked Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), “You’ve talked about the crisis within the Republican Party, that it lost its way, that it used to be the party of big ideas. And now you back Senator McCain. What’s the big idea Senator McCain is campaigning on?” Jindal responded, “I think there’s several,” and proceeded to talk about McCain’s energy policy.

Gregory added, “But those were Bush-Cheney big ideas in 2000. Where are the new big ideas of the Republican Party that John McCain is, is championing?” Jindal was sharp enough to keep talking, but never even tried to answer the question.

Under the circumstances, I’m sympathetic to Jindal’s problem — McCain isn’t offering any “new big ideas”; he’s offering more of the old ones. Now, one could make the argument that McCain doesn’t need new ideas, because he’ll do such a good job following through on the Bush/Cheney agenda. In fact, I’d be delighted to hear campaign surrogates make this point.

But Jindal said McCain has “several” new big ideas, but couldn’t actually name any. And if Jindal, a potential McCain running mate, can’t think of one, it’s probably safe to say voters won’t be able to

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, either.

I’d just add that Jindal’s awkward response keeps up an impressive streak of McCain surrogates struggling with basic questions.

A couple of weeks ago, Mitt Romney was asked to name a single bill John McCain has produced in 26 years on energy independence. Romney drew a blank, adding, “I’m not a historian.”

A month ago, Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) was asked to identify differences between McCain and Bush on the economy. Sanford hemmed and hawed for quite a while. “Yes. I mean, for instance, take, you know — take, for instance, the issue of — I’m drawing a blank, and I hate it when I do that, particularly on television,” he said.

In June, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was asked to name a difference between McCain and Bush on domestic policy, and couldn’t think of anything.

In May, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the second highest-ranking Republican in the House, was asked to name a difference between McCain and Bush on economic policy, and he couldn’t come up with one.

It’s quite a team they’ve assembled.

McCain has excellent ideas, actually. Two weeks back it was ‘drill here, and drill here now’, just like JG Wentworth’s commercial ‘It’s my money, and I want it now’.
Last week it was ‘Russia, pull back.’ Then back into his cocoon.
Let’s see what topic comes up this week.

  • In May, Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the second highest-ranking Republican in the House, was asked to name a difference between McCain and Bush on economic policy, and he couldn’t come up with one.

    Now I don’t like Blunt. But this is an unfair trick question. The reason he couldn’t answer it was because there is no Answer. Bush and McCain are the SAME.

    I’m gonna have to give Blunt a pass here.

  • Somewhere in history, an evil cave-dweller decided to try an experiment. He built an extraordinarily-stupid wooden puppet, and taught it to pull the strings and do the voices of all the other wooden puppets.

    Bobby Jindal is merely one of those other wooden puppets—and it’s time to start chopping firewood….

  • I thought the McCain campaign had the big idea that Obama is a celebrity. Then there was some big idea about tire gauges. The barbecue for members of the press, now there’s a big idea!

  • The Repubs only had two “big” “ideas.” Both of them bearing their rotten fruit as we type.

    1) Deregulate EVERYTHING. Let big bidiz regul8 itself! So, now we end up in a toxic brew of environmental problems, credit problems, job losses and low corporate tax revenue.

    2) Tax Cuts for the rich. Record deficits. Lower government revenue. Owes China big money and the devaluing of the US dollar.

    Just be thankful the Repubs don’t have any more “brilliant” “ideas.”

  • Maybe someone should put together all of those clips of hemming and hawing into a really, really effective ad?

    If Democratic operatives were as smart as Republican ones, they already would have.

  • Sorry to be off point but if you need any better example of how the Democrats destroy their ability to win the Presidency, you have no better example than the NT Times. Kristol is a cheerleader for McCain. Krugman beats the crap out of Obama. I don’t like being a pessimist, but the Democratic party’s ability to eat its own is depressing. McCain gets a pass and Democrats pick at Obama. This is a receipe for another Republican victory in November. Sorry to digress, but things are not looking good.

  • Over at the Times, your favourite nut William Kristol is claiming McCain’s contention that he’ll follow bin Laden all the way to the Gates of Hell (not a real place) if that’s what it takes to get him is a big idea – that (surprise!!) libs are soft and liverish when it comes to evil.

    It’s funny, speaking of ideas; but Kristol seems to have the idea in his head (God knows there’s plenty of room) that John McCain is REAL while Obama is ephemeral and hard to define. I guess Kristol doesn’t read Frank Rich. Anyway, he seems perfectly willing to take McCain at his word when he says, “I’ll do this, and then I’ll do that”. Where has he been, in a time capsule? NO politicians ever do all the things they say they’re going to do, so you focus on which politician’s goals are actually achievable. McCain claims he’s going to give consumers relief at the pump by drilling America until it looks like Swiss cheese. Is that achievable? NO!!! He’s also going to pay down the deficit while keeping people’s taxes low and hoping that, while doing so, everyone will become rich. Is that achievable? NO!!! The only thing missing is ponies all around.

    Try and stay with the tour, Bill.

  • Andrea Mitchell political Journalist of MSNBC has got to be the handiest tool. Being charismatic, rich in trillion dollar behind the scenes deals. But happening more often is offering cheap shots and one especially at McCain. On Meet the Press, Andrea Mitchell says McCain “looked prepared” set off a fire storm on hate radio channels. This is funny, here we have Andrea wife to Allen Greenspan, and Mr. Connecto to trillion dollar deals is prepared and coached for some thing, but boxes McCain in to claim McCain came across well prepared implying McCain knew what the questions would be in the Forum at Saddleback on cable television the other night. My goodness we have some cheating going on here.

    Any way, being the wife of former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Allen Greenspan. Who is observed for and given as the primary causes of the Mortgage melt down. Or, chief architect of today’s wild uncertainty in America’s economy is under attack for ineptness or lack of empowerment that should have taken place to give balance in the market place. Allen Greenspan, is for all practical purposes a stupendous economic lunk head. Or complicit to this MSNBC news agencies connections to massive profiteering, or betting in a so called black market of Derivative Investment strategies.

    Considered by some as a money play ground valued at 516 trillion dollars loaded with doubt, and wild uncertainty like a monopoly game and or perhaps illegal transactions totally buried in CMSNBC money channel. Here, no way could tax payers bail this stuff out, and it is the real flavor of the best in an evil definition that is happening in America via Bush and Company, profiteering in trillion dollar Black Markets secretly. Bush and company doing what they do best.

  • Just before the clip ends Gov. Jindal is segueing into the ‘gridlock is the problem’ meme. So, aside from the blunderbuss energy policy (which, under Bush/Cheney turned into more of the same, less of the new), Hon. Sen. McCain is also resurrecting the “I’m a uniter, not a divider” thingy, which turned out to be: ‘I’m a decider, not a uniter.’

  • Hey, Scott; I guess we were submitting comments at about the same time. I didn’t think Krugman was particularly hard on Obama, although he made no secret of his dislike during the primaries, and was a strong advocate for Hillary Clinton. He gave Obama some useful tips, and it’s sound advice. Americans don’t understand nuance and innuendo. They’re not looking for it, and don’t want to hear it. McCain is direct, and blames Obama for national shortcomings that are in no way his fault. Obama paints grand visions, and refuses to tie McCain to two horrible Bush terms using simple, direct language. Krugman is absolutely right that Obama needs to draw the line between A and B for the voters. John McCain is fudging the line all over the place, but he’s gaining backers who are never upset at being lied to after the election’s over. The time to fight the campaign on ideals is after the campaign is over.

  • Jindal was on message for McCain during the interview–he repeated the same lies about Obama’s tax policies which McCain has been spreading. The lies were not corrected on the show. If people are conned into believing this line, it will do far more harm to Obama than Jindal’s inability to name big ideas will do to McCain.

    http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=3928

  • Mark- Point well taken, and the Obama campaign certainly is in need of critique, but it is Krugman’s (and other’s) tepid embrace of Obama that stops momentum in its tracks. Your last point is exactly my point (more artfully stated by you). Let’s fight over ideology and nuance after November, now is the time to push our guy over the goal line. Obama is already taking it on the chin from the Right; I worry about our ability to reach out to independents when when he is getting criticism from his own “base.” Krugman should spend more time attacking the party whose responsible for the economic mess we are in rather than the candidate for the party that will change it. Tim Kaine was pretty effective in making this exact point yesterday, and we need a steady stream of this critique from all quarters, until it gathers some momentum.

  • Republican’ts don’t do ideas, they hold beliefs.

    Ideas lead to the Government (big, bad) doing things. And things are bad, very bad, hmm (like Mr. Makey on South Park).

    Beliefs lead to undoing Government (that’s good, hmm.) Beliefs lead to deregulation and abandoning policies and ignoring laws (like workforce enforcement).

    So it is unfair to ask a Republican’t for an idea. Ask him for his beliefs.

  • I really don’t understand this contrived “party of big ideas” reputation. How did this nonsense get started? What ideas? Their only idea was articulated by Reagan, that government is the root of all evil, except for the war machine and its power to drive American capitalism throughout the world. It’s the only idea they’ve ever had, and it doesn’t work. And it’s not really an idea, is it?

    Capitalism is fine, as long as there is government around to keep it in check, and to push it in the right direction when problems arise that can’t be solved at the consumer level – like climate change or fossil fuel depletion.

    Modern Republicans are the party of no ideas, and have been for a long time. Okay, one other idea – to sabotage government itself, as the Bush administration has done. Don’t just rule, run the government into the ground, stamp it out, bankrupt it, crush it, drown it in . . . whoops, Norquist already had that idea. I take that back. The party of no ideas at all.

  • So where is the MoveOn ad where they ask the question “What do we know about John McCain? What would he do as president?”

    “Let’s ask his most vocal supporters…”

    [Show clips of stumped surrogates]

    “John McCain: What is his message?”

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