September 17, 2008--Who's "Fighting" For Me?
Yesterday morning, when tuning in to CNN and MSNBC to check to see if there was any money left in my 401K, I saw side-by-side live snippets of both Barack Obama and John McCain on the stump talking about the meltdown on Wall Street.
Paying only half attention it was obvious that Obama had the much better take on what is going on, how we got to this point, and what he would do about it.
However, however, McCain's speech was politically much more effective. You can imagine my surprise--both were reading from teleprompters, something in itself that should have provided Obama with a considerable advantage; but, what can I say, McCain, again politically, won the day.
While McCain said over and over that he would fight for us--that's the word he used relentlessly--Obama felt more theoretical than personal. This wasn't helped by the fact that McCain managed at times to look straight ahead into the camera whereas Obama not once looked us in the eye, so to speak.
The current state of the financial markets and the trickle up havoc, to quote Obama, that this is causing "ordinary" people should be an ideal opportunity for Obama to cast appropriate blame on the Bush administration and the Republicans in Congress--McCain front and center--while putting on display his much better assessment of what has to be done. But, and this is a big "but," unless he can also look right at us and show us that he not only understands but also feels our pain, McCain, as phony and hypocritical as he is, will win the political argument.
Yesterday, McCain, and not Obama, felt to me like much more the man of the people that voters in their frustrated and frequently deluded ways go for on Election Day.
This in spite of the fact that McCain, who clearly doesn’t get it, continued to assert that the “fundamentals” of the economy are strong. He is losing the argument but, as the polls now show, convincing voters, who should know better, that he is better able to handle the economy than Obama. Palin has incomprehensibly helped with that but it’s also because McCain is doing a good job of coming across as the one who is angry about Wall Street greed and will fight for us.
Like it or not, and I don’t, we thus need to take a cold look at how things might be appearing to undecided voters who are truly not sure who they will support in November. On the basis of yesterday’s comparative stump speeches, I’m concerned.
Paying only half attention it was obvious that Obama had the much better take on what is going on, how we got to this point, and what he would do about it.
However, however, McCain's speech was politically much more effective. You can imagine my surprise--both were reading from teleprompters, something in itself that should have provided Obama with a considerable advantage; but, what can I say, McCain, again politically, won the day.
While McCain said over and over that he would fight for us--that's the word he used relentlessly--Obama felt more theoretical than personal. This wasn't helped by the fact that McCain managed at times to look straight ahead into the camera whereas Obama not once looked us in the eye, so to speak.
The current state of the financial markets and the trickle up havoc, to quote Obama, that this is causing "ordinary" people should be an ideal opportunity for Obama to cast appropriate blame on the Bush administration and the Republicans in Congress--McCain front and center--while putting on display his much better assessment of what has to be done. But, and this is a big "but," unless he can also look right at us and show us that he not only understands but also feels our pain, McCain, as phony and hypocritical as he is, will win the political argument.
Yesterday, McCain, and not Obama, felt to me like much more the man of the people that voters in their frustrated and frequently deluded ways go for on Election Day.
This in spite of the fact that McCain, who clearly doesn’t get it, continued to assert that the “fundamentals” of the economy are strong. He is losing the argument but, as the polls now show, convincing voters, who should know better, that he is better able to handle the economy than Obama. Palin has incomprehensibly helped with that but it’s also because McCain is doing a good job of coming across as the one who is angry about Wall Street greed and will fight for us.
Like it or not, and I don’t, we thus need to take a cold look at how things might be appearing to undecided voters who are truly not sure who they will support in November. On the basis of yesterday’s comparative stump speeches, I’m concerned.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
7:15 AM
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