Have you ever been to a child’s birthday party in which there’s a pinata? It’s a pretty straightforward exercise — the birthday boy\/girl gets blindfolded, is handed a big stick, is spun around to cause minor disorientation, and is then encouraged to swing the stick wildly in every direction, in the hopes of hitting a target and getting a prize.<\/p>\n
John McCain’s campaign has been operating under a similar framework for quite a while now. Under McCain’s version of Pinata Politics, the senator and his team swing wildly in every direction, hoping to hit Barack Obama. There’s no real consistency to the attacks, and there’s even less honesty and integrity backing up the attacks. But McCain appears to be blindfolded, allowing Karl Rove’s operation to spin him in circles.<\/p>\n
There’s at least some evidence the party isn’t impressed<\/a>.<\/p>\n One GOP strategist with close ties to McCain’s campaign said the new line of attack reflected the operation’s “schizophrenic” nature. He said that tendency was also on display last week, as McCain spoke at length about media coverage of Obama rather than sticking with his plan to focus on the economy.<\/p>\n “They couldn’t help themselves,” the strategist said, adding that the ad over the hospital visit is “churlish and unlike McCain, and hardly will resonate with the swing voters who are going to decide this election.” The strategist continued: “They’re doing it because the candidate, and the campaign, is not happy with where they are and they’re lashing out.”<\/p>\n If McCain hopes to win the election, the strategist added, “he needs to be a happy warrior.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I think it’s a little late for that tack, isn’t it? Following up on a previous item<\/a>, since McCain brought in Rove’s team to run the campaign operation, his brand of Pinata Politics have led him to take swings in all kinds of directions:<\/p>\n * McCain said Obama is responsible for high gas prices. (He’s not<\/a>.)<\/p>\n * McCain said Obama blew off wounded troops to go to the gym. (He didn’t<\/a>.)<\/p>\n * McCain said Obama wants to raise middle-class taxes. (He doesn’t<\/a>.)<\/p>\n * McCain said Obama healthcare plan is socialized medicine. (It’s not<\/a>.)<\/p>\n * McCain suggested Obama might be a “socialist.” (He’s not<\/a>.)<\/p>\n * McCain said Obama was taking Maliki’s policy endorsement out of context. (He wasn’t<\/a>.)<\/p>\n * McCain said Obama’s tax plan would hurt millions of small businesses. (It won’t<\/a>.)<\/p>\n * McCain said Obama is deliberately ignoring the successes of U.S. troops in Iraq. (He’s not<\/a>.)<\/p>\n * McCain said Obama actually might be treasonous. (He isn’t<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
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\nIn fact, McCain is clearly the opposite<\/i> of a “happy warrior” — he’s swinging for that pinata with reckless abandon, giving up the pretense that he has anything positive to offer at all. Slate’s John Dickerson last week labeled McCain the “Unhappy Warrior<\/a>,” arguing that McCain is “attacking too much and indiscriminately. The barrage undermines his brand, takes time away from telling voters what he might do for them, and looks awfully old-timey in a year when voters want a new brand.”<\/p>\n