McCain's Opening

If you are a political junkie, right now is your crack rock. The Democrats are in a heated battle that will likely last all the way to the election. McCain is beginning his own general campaign and in the meantime everything from warrantless wiretapping to earmarks is being decided. The best part is that no one knows what the outcome of any of it is, least of all the Democratic primary and what it will all mean.

There are several schools of thought on whether or not this long drawn out process on the Democratic end helps or hurts McCain. The conventional wisdom has infighting in the other party being good for McCain. On the other hand, astute political observer Karl Rove thinks it is just as likely that McCain will fade away and the Democratic primary will take up all the oxygen. I believe that whether or not this helps McCain depends entirely on McCain and his ability, along with his advisors, to be an astute and adept politician.

Dick Morris once said that political attacks hurt the recipient most and then the attacker second most. This logic helps McCain because the next several months will be nothing but attacks on both ends. Furthermore, these attacks will likely be personal. That's because on policy there is little substantive difference between the two candidates.

Now, we saw these attacks start already and already we have seen how they will benefit McCain more than anyone. We are all now very familiar with 3 am ad by Hillary Clinton. Here is the response from Obama advisor Susan Rice...

They're both not ready to have that 3 a.m. phone call

She is essentially right, and more than that, if you are choosing a candidat that is ready for the call then overwhelmingly that candidate is McCain. That ad it is said helped Hillary get Texas and Ohio, but in the end it will help McCain more than anyone. In fact, just today Obama advisor, Greg Craig, penned this piece entitled Hillary's Foreign policy experience is exaggerated. If the two Dems want to debate who is least qualified to be Commander in Chief, that is a debate McCain should welcome and stand out of the way. His own credentials aren't questioned with regards to being ready.

The other side of it is this. In order for Hillary to win, she must get the glow removed from Obama. As long as Obama is known as the great orator he wins. Hillary knows this so she must drag him into the mud. Obama, on the other hand, has a dicey conundrum. If he doesn't counter, he looks weak. If he counters too much, he turns into just the typical politician he claims he isn't. Once again, this sort of back and forth should be welcomed by McCain and all he needs to do is step out of the way.

What McCain needs to do is criticize each on the policy differences he has with both of them: free trade, taxes, the size and role of government, Iraq, GWOT, and the social issues. This is no easy task either. If all he does is criticize then he looks like the typical politician rather than the principled, courageous maverick that has become his reputation. The way he needs to do it is by drawing distinctions. He can't merely be a critic. He has to give the public a choice. He can't just criticize their tax policy but rather provide his own vision.

McCain has a great opportunity. Because Hillary and Obama are roughly the same on the issues, neither has defined the other on the issues. The old saying is either you define yourself or you are defined by your enemies. On the issues, McCain has an opportunity to define each of them on the issues: tax and spend liberals, dovish, and radical on social issues, but he has to do it in the context of defining his own agenda.

Finally, McCain must will his way onto the platform if there is no oxygen. He needs to grab the microphone and demand oxygen. He needs to make policy statements on taxes, health care, Iraq, GWOT, and judges.. He has the bully pulpit of the Presidential candidate and he must will his way into oxygen. There is plenty of policy that he must define for himself and the best way is through speeches setting up his agenda. On this issue he can also get back into the good graces of the Conservatives. If I were McCain, I would speak in front of the national chamber of commerce on fiscal conservatism. I would go to the Naval academy to make a major policy speech on Iraq and the GWOT. I would show up at the Federalist Society to make a policy speech on his judicial philosophy. The fact is that there are plenty of groups that McCain can speak in front of that would not only give him oxygen, but that represent his positions and the positions of Conservatives.

This will not be easy but if he does it adeptly, McCain can take advantage of the opening left by the continued battle in the Dems' side, and use it to propel him to the Presidency.