Three things that were in New York yesterday are scheduled to implode in 2008: Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium, and John McCain. All of them are old and have outlived their usefulness The only big difference is that, after last night, McCain will be crumbling faster than any building or bridge in the Big Apple.
Not that the hardcores will ever fall out of love with their "Maverick", although personally I liked James Garner in the role much better, but independents have to be looking at John McCain a bit differently this morning.
Not only did he show poor political leadership yesterday...
...failing, as the top of his party's ticket, to wrangle the group of fiscal Republicans in the House who bolted from the Big Deal to bail out Wall Street, but he also managed to alienate a normally right-friendly talk show host, David Letterman, whose sarcasm can meaningfully sway opinion.
McCain buzzed into Washington, after "suspending" his campaign, which, according to Keith Olbermann, whose "Countdown" staff checked, none of the offices actually closed. He was late to the party, sat and smiled for the cameras with Bush, and achieved a net toal of zero: No leadership. No consensus building. He didn't even read the three page brief on the meeting.
This morning, the Republicans in the House are turning on each other over the bailout plan with hours to go before McCain walks into a debate on foreign policy that will devolve into the economy through a national security question, and the end will be nigh.
The Democrats, who obviously wanted McCain on the hook tonight, were given the gift of intra-party turmoil across the aisle. Instead of Barney Frank having to defend the Dems holding out for a better deal, he can point to the recalcitrant Republicans in the House, who have bought him 24 hours that carry through the debate. Deal gets done on Saturday or Sunday, and the Maverick is left with a big mess to talk about at the debate, if he even shows up.
How can McCain say that he lead anything when the prior day's news cycle is filled with him grandstanding and making missteps?
This is a hemhorrhage that even Karl Rove can't stem.
Dissing Dave was a big mistake as well, particularly, since his show is taped around 6:00pm, when someone from his staff noticed McCain sitting with Katie Couric on the pre-show feed. Letterman was not happy.
The snub is not short-term either. Dave will now have McCain square in his radar for the remainder of the campaign.
Instead of showing calm and resolve, the commander, who knows that he has to scramble on to the deck when the alarm sounds, has apparently ditched his political aircraft into the Atlantic.
If Obama can keep to the simple-minded homilies and catch-phrases that American journalists seem to love so much in Hillary or McCain's debate style, he can ding McCain big time tonight at the debate.
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