A fierce and bloodthirsty battle between two of the most driven democratic politicians in senate was predicted by some to depict divide and taint the democratic campaign however it seems that Barack Obama is currently flying from strength to strength in the run up to the presidential elections scheduled for November 4th, giving the opposing John McCain apparent concern.
According to the campaign coverage index conducted by Pew Research Centre there has been more coverage of Obama than McCain every month this year. Another major cloud which looms overhead for McCain is the pending draft agreement regarding US troops being withdrawn from Iraq fully within three years. This sees Bush siding towards Obama’s views and contradicting those of the pro Iraq invasion McCain who believes that ‘US forces should remain until Iraq is able to defend itself.’ If the agreement is finalised McCain will be forced to change his policy which will undoubtedly affect his public credibility.
This combined with the Democrat’s well crafted Denver campaign which is currently going underway and headlines such as ‘Too old to run?’ and ‘McCain, the oldest president ever’ would suggest that opinion polls would be grossly in favour of the good looking and smooth talking Mr Obama. Not so.
Recent opinion polls have showed that when winning, Obama is only ahead by one to three points. So maybe McCain isn’t so much old and passed it but more a wise political veteran who knows when to jump and how to manage his public.
McCain has so far taken full advantage of Obama’s absence when he recently took a holiday and is still milking his POW status as though it’s going out of fashion. When statistics emerged that more and more Americans were diverting their annual road trips to their sofas due to high fuel prices, McCain jumped on the wagon and began pushing his energy policies calling for new offshore drilling.
The major advantage pertaining to McCain is that ultimately, he has convention on his side; a white, politically experienced male with an all American heritage is what the public have always advocated. Voting in opposition to this suggests a change is needed and there is a vastness of proud American’s who will not be prepared to admit that.
McCain also has a lot on his side. So how can he utilise this? Talking highly of American history, his successful republican predecessors and of how America can improve on an already well paved path is a journey worth embarking on for McCain. His age is evidently not being overlooked by the media therefore a sharp veer towards the contemporary is essential. Persuading the young that he is aware of the issues that affect them is imperative to the success of his campaign.
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August 28th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
It will clearly do John McCain no harm to be compared to Churchill, and if the story from his fellow prisoner in Vietnam is accurate then John McCain sounds like a man who demonstrated great personal courage when faced with a truly dreadful situation.
I know a fair bit about Churchill having done a great deal of research for my book What Would Churchill Do?-Business advice from the man who saved the world, as I live in England my knowledge of John McCain is very limited.
The first obvious comparison is age at 71 McCain is 6 years older than Churchill was at the outbreak of war, but as Churchill said himself, one of the reasons why he was so successful at managing the war was because his experience had been EARNED, NOT LEARNED, so it could be that the knowledge and experience McCain has gained through his life could be to the advantage of the American people over a younger candidate.
The secret to Churchill’s success in the war was the fact that he got involved with everything and put his own stamp on how things should be done. Whilst people often quote how Churchill inspired Britain with his speeches and courage, which is certainly true, it was his practical decision making, tough leadership and attention to detail that made the real difference.
If John McCain has these qualities along with his proven courage and experience then he might be good for America.
September 2nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
He stands as much chance of winning as New Orleans does of having glorious sunshine over the next couple of days!