Maybe the heat’s getting to John McCain and Barack Obama, but this week they made two strategic mistakes which could haunt them when the humidity makes way for the cooler climes of the fall.
This is particularly true for Obama, who today responded to Iran’s missile tests by saying:
“What this underscores is the need for a clear policy that is putting the burden on Iran to change behavior. And frankly, we just have not been able to do that the last several years, partly because we’re not engaged in direct diplomacy.”
So the potential commander-in-chief’s reaction to a major missile test by the last remaining Axis of Evil member is to call up the mullahs on an iPhone for a chat? I don’t think American voters would particularly feel safe with such a line. Now, to be clear, I largely agree with my colleague Gil Smart’s analysis of the military threat Iran poses to the United States (it would be like Delaware deciding to take on New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania at the same time). And Obama’s position may not necessarily be the wrong one strategically … if he was running for Secretary of State. Obama, though, is running to be president, the commander-in-chief, and such statements as the one above is going to raise the ghost of Prime Minister Chamberlain and force Obama (for the umpteenth time) to clarify his statements. Anyone else, by the way, notice how many times Obama has to go back in front of the cameras and “clarify” what he said in a previous statement? That’s not good. Anyway, chattin’ it up with Iran’s religious and military leaders at a time when Iran is threatening Israel and allegedly is helping Iraqi insurgents destabilize that country is the kind of weak liberal response war hawks and conservatives love to jump on.
Now, McCain. Have you seen the new ad?
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton … they’re going to drive this election, not national security (assuming we either a.) don’t go to war with Iran or b.) suffer a domestic terrorist attack), and this ad does nothing to spell out how McCain plans to fix the creaky economy. I know it’s a biographical spot meant to counter the new Obama bio ads airing now, but if you’re a voter and didn’t know McCain was a Vietnam War POW, please go back to playing Nintendo Wii for another 16 hours. According to columnist Paul Krugman, the last 7 years have seen 5 million jobs created, far behind the 22 million created during Clinton’s 8 years and too little to keep up with population growth. Yeah, oil prices have skyrocketed, but long before the pain at the gas pump we had the pain of booming health care insurance costs, which the feds have done little or nothing to address. So, explain again how another four years of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and not a $1,000 tax cuts for middle class families (as Obama has proposed) is going to turn this economy around?
Now, in plain language, the Nest honors John McCain’s service to country. But I’m curious as to when the American voters will become weary of hearing about his biography.
