It’s pretty clear that John McCain was outmaneuvered domestically and abroad this week by Barack Obama.
It left McCain grasping for a way to spin Obama’s successful visit to Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe, all while trying to deflect criticism that his campaign lacks focus or a unified message.
McCain previously criticized Obama for not visiting Iraq and Afghanistan. This week he criticized Obama for visiting Iraq and Afghanistan.
He previously criticized Obama for supporting a timeline for withdrawing combat forces from Iraq. But after Iraqi Prime Minister Miliki endorsed Obama’s timeline, and after McCain himself spoke of a timeline for removing combat troops from Iraq, McCain this week was strangely silent about timelines.
Instead, his campaign wildly tossed around sought other verbal assaults on his Democratic opponent.
McCain faulted everything about Obama’s whirlwind visit across Europe. He has claimed Obama is not ready for the presidency, but also says Obama acted too presidential in his speeches and visits with heads of state.
McCain was clearly outflanked by Obama’s unprecedented visit to Germany. McCain’s response? Visiting a German sausage factory. Obama delivered a major address before a crowd of 200,000. McCain spoke in front of a supermarket cheese display case.
His campaign’s talking heads ripped Obama for canceling a visit to wounded troops at Rammstein and Landstuhl Air Force Base hospitals. In fact, the campaign rushed a new TV commercial seeking to exploit the issue by accusing Obama of slighting the wounded soldiers.
(But here’s what CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr wrote back in April 2008 about the politically delicate issue of presidential candidates appearing at military installations:
(“Candidates for office have long been prohibited from engaging in political activities at U.S. military installations or using U.S. military personnel in their political appearances. Presidential campaign staffs generally are very familiar with these military rules.
(“DoD officials have privately noted for some weeks that the whole matter of drawing the line between Senate business and campaigning is sensitive.
In TV commercials and in speeches, McCain blames the media for having a “love affair” with the Obama candidacy. Where were the network anchors, he asked, on his recent visit to Iraq?
Turns out the McCain campaign never invited the media to come along.
We ought to expect more from someone who travels aboard “the Straight Talk Express.”
July 27, 2008 at 4:42 am
“McCain faulted everything about Obama’s whirlwind visit across Europe. He has claimed Obama is not ready for the presidency, but also says Obama acted too presidential in his speeches and visits with heads of state.”
You’re kidding me, right? McCain is right on target with these comments. His speech in Berlin was extremely presumptuous at best. He isn’t the president and the comments he made criticizing the United States are best left for the REAL President to make, not a junior senator.