More from the best political analyst on TV....
HRC just bought John McCain the time he needs to build a campaign infrastructure. Right now he's got nothing. As recently as 3 months ago his staff could fit on a single straight-talking bus. He's virtually starting from scratch. And had Obama sewn things up tonight, the general election race would have begun tomorrow. McCain would have been starting that version of the race from waaaaay behind. But with the race going on for at least another 7 weeks - assuming my wave of Supers prediction doesn't come true - McCain has time to do the very hard behind the scenes work necessary to build a national campaign infrastructure.
My thoughts...
Up until now, I've thought the hard fought campaign was good for the party. But I think Todd's right here. With McCain now turning to the general election, he will begin working to define the terms of the fall debate. That's what his speech tonight was about, and it is what his Rose Garden meeting with Bush will be about tomorrow. Assuming he can get media coverage - and given the 6 weeks between Mississippi and Pennsylvania without any elections, plus the media's endless obsession with showing "both sides" to every argument and debate, he most certainly should get serious coverage - he can pick and choose whatever messages and battles he wants. He can try different things to see what sticks. He can even make mistakes - at this point, who cares? Worse, he can watch as Obama and Hillary road test different lines of attack on one another, adopting and adapting for himself those that seem to work best. And the best part for McCain? He won't need to spend a dime to do it.
Stupid, stupid Democrats. Its as if the people in the party don't understand what is at stake here.
Subscribe to this blog's feed
