The Political Blame-Game

As Phil Gramm said so eloquently, "We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness." He was referring to the financial crisis that finally came to a head in the last few weeks, but he could have been referring to the McCain campaign, which has resorted to blame-games and whining in order to explain why Obama seems to be leading in the polls lately. However, it seems to me that McCain and his campaign is trying to stay away from the issues that Republicans constantly have trouble discussing in debate and interview, mostly because right now, with the economy and the war and the general distrust with Republican, conservative, trickle-down philosophy, McCain's opinions on these issues are unattractive to voters.

I was intrigued by a post on DailyKos. To summarize, the New York Times wrote an article about McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, who was paid vast sums of money by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in order to "provide access to John McCain in the event he became president." The crux of the post was a quote from political strategist, Steve Schmidt.

Whatever the New York Times once was, it is not today by any standard a journalistic organization," Schmidt said. "It is a pro-Obama organization that every day attacks Senator McCain, attacks Governor Palin, and excuses Senator Obama.

That made me think about the kind of access Obama has to the media. And there is no doubt that he is a dynamic candidate. He is a vivacious speaker and intelligent politician, and with a slogan of "Change," what newspaper wouldn't want access to him, the first African-American nominee of a major party for president?

However, just to throw it out there for discussion, should he be handed this Holy Grail of election-time tools? There was one point during the summer where Obama was in Germany speaking to a crowd of 200,000 people, and the eyes of every major news organization was fixated on him. Meanwhile, McCain was campaigning quietly in the Mid-West, visiting unsuspecting customers at a local grocery store. Some radio announcer claimed that McCain simply isn't doing anything worth the media's coverage. I happened to agree at the time, but now it seems a bit unfair to a man who has stormed back from the dairy aisle in Wichita to the shadowy spotlight of American politics. Does anyone else think that candidates deserve at least some equality of access to the media? I think I'm an optimist...

But just listen to the tactics that the McCain camp has been forced to use! This was posted on Atrios. Obviously, the whining baby automatically draws the comparison. However, this incessant whining can't be flattering for the party or McCain himself, a man who prides himself on being steadfast and strong as a leader. Kevin Drum also picked up on a slogan that the Republicans have picked up to explain the Obama-crazy media.

That isn't country first, that's Obama first.

This seems like the kind of slogan that works against Republicans. Putting the words "Obama" and "First" next to each other doesn't deter people from larning that Obama is in first in the polls. This mystifies me.

In conclusion, I leave you with an excerpt from Political Animal, which hit the nail on the head with Steve Benen's post.

I wrote a piece a couple of months ago comparing the McCain campaign to a blindfolded child swinging a stick at a pinata. McCain and his team seem disoriented, swinging wildly in every direction, hoping to connect (and pick up the electoral votes that come pouring out). There's no coherent thought or theme, just an angry campaign with a bat.

A bat, yes. And a loud, obnoxious, whiny voice.