The Ministry Of Truth

Well, that’s a bit more like it.  That was almost a debate.  There was almost engagement.  There were almost specific details about policies.  (Kudos to the moderator, Bob Schieffer of CBS, for asking some good, direct and succinct questions, for widening the scope from “just” the economy and Iraq and for striking the right tone throughout.)

And – listening on radio, and contrary to the immediate reaction on the main US news sites – I’m going to call the evening for McCain, albeit very narrowly.  It was by far his best performance of the three “debates”, he gave it a decent crack, and I give him credit for trying valiantly (and apparently sincerely) to defend his disastrous choice of running mate (apparently she’s qualified to be Vice President because she has an autistic child).

He certainly got in the soundbite of the night: “Senator Obama, I am not President George Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.”  As spontaneous and natural as a Scotch egg, but a nice one, nevertheless.

But it wasn’t enough by any stretch of the imagination – not least because he fell into That One’s trap, even if the Ayers Moment didn’t actually quite scale the anticipated dramatic heights.

McCain spent the 90 minutes attacking Obama on a consistently personal basis, despite him (presumably) knowing that all polling evidence has demonstrated electors’ disdain for constant personal attacks.  There were times when McCain sounded angry (I have no idea how he looked, what his body language betrayed or whether he actually managed to look That One in the eye at all this time around) and barely able to contain his contempt for his opponent.  Unless those earlier polls were wildly inaccurate, it’s hard to see how that approach will have done much but turn people off.

That One, in contrast, sounded only marginally less laid back than a Dido ballad.  For the large part when he was attacked, he did not react – he explained.  Instead of mouthing platitudes about new dawns for America “my friends”, he said that things were in a mess, problems could not be solved overnight and that public investment would be needed to start to turn things around.  (Joe The Plumber didn’t get any false assurance that his tax bill – as the earner of a mere $250,000-$280,000 a year – would fall under an Obama administration: bravo, That One.)  With the exception of a couple of fluffed lines, he was calm and rational – in short, he sounded presidential.

Further, it’s hard to see how even the dumbest of American voters can fall for McCain’s repeated, contradictory claims that (a) he will bring The Change for which Americans are apparently crying out, and (b) as a United States Senator for the past 21½ years, he has had nothing to do with the errors of recent years.

I was a little disappointed that That One didn’t have a nice soundbite ready in response to the Ayers question.

My personal choice would have been, “I was eight years old when WIlliam Ayers was engaged in deplorable acts I have always condemned.  When you were eight years old, John, Adolf Hitler was still occupying most of western Europe.  I don’t seek to claim you are culpable for World War Two.”

That may, however, explain why I’m not running for US President…

Either way, the debate was played out against 24 more hours of stock market turmoil.  There’s only one story in this election (to date), and that story has spiked every gun McCain has.

I am aware that there are probably not too many fat, middle-aged British lawyers blogging about American presidential politics at 4.30am.  I have some self-awareness.  I am not proud of myself.  I need some sleep.

Tonight is the last of the three “debates” (sic) between the candidates for the Presidency of the United States of America.

Last week, That One™ goaded Honky:

I am surprised that, you know, we’ve been seeing some pretty over-the-top attacks coming out of the McCain campaign over the last several days, that he wasn’t willing to say it to my face. But I guess we’ve got one last debate. So presumably, if he ends up feeling that he needs to, he will raise it during the debate.

Any politician with half-an-inch of brain and three millimetres of history should be able to deal with that one by leaving the issues of That One’s “links” with William Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Wright well out of tonight’s debate.

Honky apparently has neither half-an-inch of brain nor three millimetres of history:

I was astonished to hear him say that he was surprised that I didn’t have the guts” to bring up Ayers, McCain said on KMOX, a St. Louis radio station.  I think he is probably ensured that it will come up this time.

Whoopsie.  Can’t wait to hear That One’s clearly well-planned response.  (Wonder if it has anything to do with Palin’s links to a church that actively seeks to convert Jews to Christianity?)

But it’s symptomatic of McCain’s current inability to do anything other than in response to That One’s words and actions.

Last week, That One’s campaign (and, mercifully, some independent commentators) suggested that McCain might want to tone down the hateful, inflammatory, and at times racist, rhetoric being employed by some of his more rabidly unhinged supporters.

24 hours later, McCain grabbed back the microphone from one of the Angry Mob who called That One “an Arab” and the cries of the nutjobs seem to have abated for now.

On Monday, That One unveiled his 73rd economic rescue plan of the month.  24 hours later, McCain unveiled his new economic rescue plan in response.

There is a malaise of confusion within the McCain camp that has been well documented on the other side of the pond.

Several party leaders said Mr. McCain needed to settle on a single message in the final weeks of the campaign and warned that his changing day-to-day dialogue — a welter of evolving economic proposals, mixed with on-again-off-again attacks on Mr. Obama’s character — was not breaking through and was actually helping Mr. Obama in his effort to portray Mr. McCain as erratic.

“The main thing he needs to do,” said Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota, “is focus on a single message — a single, concise or clear-cut message, and stick with that over the next 30 days, regardless of what happens.

“He’s had a lot of attack lines. But it’s time to choose.”

Likewise:

Voters are looking for a leader who might help rescue them, not a reckless gambler whose lurching responses to the economic meltdown (a campaign “suspension,” a mortgage-buyout stunt that changes daily) are as unhinged as his wanderings around the debate stage.

It’s almost possible to feel sorry for McCain.  He was by a country mile the best Republican candidate in 2000 and should have beaten Dubya hands down.  It’s a genuine shame that someone so qualified for the candidacy (though not, I contend, the office itself) should have had to spend eight years kicking his heels, watching a clown in a cowboy outfit fuck it up so spectacularly, only to have to try to pick up the pieces at too advanced an age and after way too much shit has gone down.

John McCain has been aiming for the White House for a quarter of a century and it is primarily events outside his responsibility that have only fairly recently thrown him off course.  It’s only within the last few months that his own behaviour can be cited as partly responsible for the spanking he’s seemingly going to get at the polls.

Nevertheless, there is only one candidate now setting the agenda and – with any luck – tonight should see That One land the final sucker punch that Honky appears so keen to walk onto.