Arianna Huffington: John McCain's Flashback Campaign

[babylonsister]

John McCain's Flashback Campaign

Posted June 16, 2008 | 01:31 PM (EST)


"Prominent Republicans...have been for the first time openly critical" of their candidate's "floundering campaign."

The "forces of inertia, arrogance and self-denial will probably conspire to keep the Republican establishment circling the wagons" around him, but his "yawning credibility gap" will result in "a spectacular defeat in November."

"Nearly half of those who plan to vote for him in November expect him to lose."

Someone being tough on John McCain?

Actually, I wrote all of the above about Bob Dole during his 1996 presidential campaign. But it fits John McCain like a glove, right down to his "shrunken vision for the greatest nation on earth" -- as I wrote about Dole on October 7, 1996.

An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released last week asked the question, "Who do you think will win?" The answer: Barack Obama 54; John McCain 30. Obama is unlikely to win in such a landslide, which means that millions planning to vote for McCain expect him to lose -- as was the case with Dole.

An already desperate McCain tried to make news last week by comparing Barack Obama to Jimmy Carter, but McCain should be careful about forcing people to make comparisons to ill-fated campaigns of the past.

As was the case in '96, we have a Republican nominee who is a war hero wounded in sacrifice for his country, personable and engaging, with a long Senate career, who is so out of sync with the times that his campaign feels stillborn. It's Doleja vu all over again.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/john-mccains-flashback-ca_b_107372.html