The desperation of John McCain

It's almost over for poor ol' John, the man who sold his soul to become president of the United States; the man who will go down in history as one of those sad characters who never lived up to what he imagined himself to be; the man who caved when it counted; the man who traded integrity and responsibility for opportunity and bigotry.

But, in these waning moments of his long battle against his own demons, John McCain, desperate now, continues to operate in a discredited attack mode, and from the shadows of his campaign, throws darts of derision at his opponent, which, as has happened more often than not, boomerang to strike and illuminate the inner core of the man he is.


John's latest and newest television ad, is essentially the same as his first and oldest television ad. It aired two days ago. You may have seen it. Here's what it said:

The narrator: "Behind the fancy speeches, grand promises and TV special lies the truth. With crises at home and abroad, Barack Obama lacks the experience America needs. And it shows. His response to our economic crisis is to spend and tax our economy deeper into recession. The fact is, Barack Obama's not ready yet."


Notice the note of jealousy in the first sentence. It must drive the old man up the wall to learn that over 23 million people tuned in to Barack's "infomercial," and that thousands upon thousands of people, some of which come from far distances, show up to hear Barack Obama describe his message of hope with concrete proposals for change. It must drive the old man further up the wall when Obama fails to even mention his name, as if he doesn't count, as if it's all over, as if McCain's candidacy is of so little value that it does rate so much as a sneer.

It must further drive the old man up the wall when leaders of the Republican Party, his own Party, denounce his character attacks on Senator Obama; when they express full-throated disdain with regard to his vice presidential pick; when they say that he's the one who's not ready; when they quote statistics that show that it's McCain's economic proposals which are likely to deepend the recession; when they reject McCain's response to our economic crisis and our crises abroad. He's the "warrior," for Christ's sake!


We've previously mentioned two Obama rallies at which some 100 thousand people showed up. Other rallies have been almost as impressive, with 75,000 in attendance at one in Missouri. In Pennsylvania, Obama had the "gall" to stand in the rain and present his message to thousands of supporters who came and huddled under umbrellas, while McCain cancelled his rally due to "inclement" weather! (Better inclement weather than lack of interest!).

Then, on Wednesday night, in Kissimmee, Florida: People began lining up early in the morning for an event that wouldn't begin until 11:00 P.M. By the time Barack Obama and Bill Clinton made their way to the stage, some 35,000 to 40,000 people crowded around to listen to their messages of hope. Some people had been waiting for 14-15 hours!

Compare that to another McCain rally which boasted 6,000 in attendance. That was mediocre in itself, but became embarrassing when we learned that 4,000 of those were school children who were brought to McCain's rally in school buses.


It appears quite likely that McCain's desperation and McCain's pain (Palin?) will be over on Tuesday night.