Guest post by Scott Hopkins
Apparently John got the message.
Just when my last ounce of respect for McCain was about to fly out the window, we see this yesterday. After openly pushing the “who is the real Barack Obama” stuff for days, giving a wink and a nod to the most despicable and dangerous of accusations against his opponent, we have this abrupt turnaround. Of course, many in the crowd didn’t like it, but it should be noted that many of them applauded. It’s a start.
Whatever the reasons, be they purely political, some second thoughts about his legacy following a defeat in November, or simply an honest-to-goodness change of heart, his defense of Barack Obama against these baseless allegations is to be commended. Hopefully, everyone in his campaign will get the hint, as well as his many surrogates (though don’t hold your breath just yet).
Personally, it seems to me that he’s finally realized that the likelihood of a victory is remote, and that dividing the country in an extremely damaging way for a very slight chance at eeking out a win may not be the best route. You can see in his responses an impatience with such questions (particularly the last one), and his answers seem downright apologetic and resigned. Keep in mind that he most likely knew there would be rough news out of Alaska later in the day that would make his odds even worse.
Raising doubts about Obama was the last winning card in their deck, as the campaign itself said that it cannot win on the issue – the economy. So was Friday the day that John McCain came to terms with the idea that Barack Obama would be the next president…and that going out with some honor was the best option?
Comments are closed.