Sixty days for McCain to sell himself as a reformer
James Forsyth 12:36pm
John McCain’s speech (video below) last night did him no harm. That might seem like an absurdly low bar for a convention speech but McCain is not, as Fraser notes, a natural orator and the comparison to Barack Obama, the best speechmaker in a generation, was never going to do him any favours.
McCain was right to eschew harsh partisan rhetoric. The base is fired up thanks to the Palin pick—the McCain campaign had a fivefold increase in the numbers of volunteers working for it the weekend after her pick—and McCain can now reach out to the centre without fear of losing touch with his right flank. Between now and election day, he should try and portray himself as the national leader in this race.
But the speech did not provide McCain with a message that can carry him to victory. He was right to criticise Republican excesses, the rather stony reception this received in the hall reminded you how much of an alliance of convenience the marriage between McCain and the Republican establishment is, but he needs more of a domestic message. His polices on education and energy are good, reformist stuff but they need to be matched by equally appealing and understandable ones on healthcare and tax.
The polling average as of this morning puts Obama 4.4 points ahead, far from a decisive lead. Over the next sixty days, McCain has to show that he is a reformer, unafraid of breaking with his party when necessary. He must demonstrate that he doesn’t want the presidency as the capstone to a life of service but to bring about a specific set of changes.
In an awful year for Republicans, McCain is still in with a chance. The state of the race makes all four debates this autumn all the more important. McCain and Palin must have a sharpened message to deploy in those debates.
PS The peroration of McCain’s speech was something that he got just right. By talking through the applause in the hall, he made it all the more powerful a TV moment.
Fight with me.
Fight for what's right for our country.
Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.
Fight for our children's future.
Fight for justice and opportunity for all.
Stand up to defend our country from its enemies.
Stand up for each other; for beautiful, blessed, bountiful America.
Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight.
Nothing is inevitable here.
We're Americans, and we never give up.
We never quit.
We never hide from history. We make history.
NO S A
September 5th, 2008 4:04pm Report this commentJames, That this ending pap moves you shows that you are just a silly jingo--and a jingo for another country too
Verity
September 5th, 2008 7:54pm Report this commentNo S A - the word you are looking for is "jingoist".
Rallying speeches are supposed to be emotive. That is their point. Duh.
Ian C
September 5th, 2008 8:00pm Report this commentThis was a good speech with a below average ending and delivery. But he did what he had to do.
He made the differences between him and Obama clear and he displayed a humility and willingness for non-partisanship that Obama cannot. He contratsed himself well - especially on tax and big versus small government.
As said above he has shored up his base and they have come round to him. He has made the choice clear - if not as eloquently as others might have done. He is a good man who can be relied on to do the right things. That is in evident contrast to Obama who says he's a good man who will do things differently from Bush. A very different message because McCAin has a record of doing that and he and Palin need to hit this theme, again and again using the various context of the various policy areas in the run-up to the election.
The choice is now clear - which will America go for? I know which I would, but that has no significance in answering the question.
Dave B
September 5th, 2008 9:17pm Report this commentJay Cost gives Mr McCain's speech a big thumbs up.
"Obviously, McCain is not an eloquent speaker. He's a plain speaker with a blunt, flat delivery. The speech was written for a man with that kind of style, which made it extremely direct. So, everybody got the gist of the McCain candidacy last night. That's a very good thing for any candidate: his message got across."
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2008/09/thoughts_on_mccains_speech.html
Craig Strachan
September 5th, 2008 9:58pm Report this commentJames: "John McCain’s speech last night did him no harm."
Well, there is one wrinkle that might turn out to be quite harmful.
Evidently the green background that suddenly changed blue mid-speech was a stretch of lawn in a large picture of Walter Reed Middle School, North Hollywood, CA, which was projected behind McCain as he started to speak.
The speculation is that this was put up in error. What was supposed to go up was a pic of the Walter Reed veterans hospital in the DC area.
It seems that the McCain campaign, for all its identification with veterans and the military, may be unable to identify one of the the nation's major veterans hospitals.
Augustus
September 6th, 2008 12:22pm Report this commentI can never quite get enough of the McCain Story. The plot: Wisdom through experience is the equal of a Grecian Odyssey. I am sure that there will be a large number of American voters who would like him to complete the journey from the Hanoi Hilton to the White House, and be proud to offer their bit in helping him make it.
Craig Strachan
September 6th, 2008 4:57pm Report this commentAugustus:"I can never quite get enough of the McCain Story."
Neither can he.
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