Yeah. We need to give him some rope before we hang him with it.

I think it's simply that he has no knowledge, no ideas, and no principles beyond a fuzzy-minded devotion to "national greatness". So without any actual program to sell (apart from simply being the 3rd term of GWB- not a real hot item on the current market), he can only sell himself.

Unfortunately, that's exactly the sort of vapid campaign that our brain-dead MSM both encourages and rewards.

Kevin knew he'd get in trouble for this one, which is why he tacked those laughable lies into his last sentence.

But it will not suffice, I suspect.

I don't think that Matt Yglesias was saying that it was a conscious decision on McCain's part to play a subtle identity politics game, rather that the traditional warrior aristocrat image might play particularly well among certain people given that which it is contrasted against. Assuming I read that point, correctly, I agree with it. There are always those who prefer tradition and convention to change, and McCain's biography makes it sound like he embodies those principles.

Next we'll hear about his ancestor on the Mayflower :-p

But John Kerry was not running against a black or a female candidate. So issues of race or gender were irrelevant in his campaign. Regardless, Kerry would not have issued coded race-based or gender-based messages. McCain can and will do so. I think that Matt Yglesias nails it.

If McCain would only go around campaigning in his old Navy uniform, I might have to vote for him, even though he did finish 894 out of a class of 899 at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Let's face it. There are a lot of people in this country who would be much more comfortable -- and indeed would happily surrender themselves to -- living under a strong-arm military dictatorship than an actual democracy with constitutional rights. McCain is going full-bore for their vote.

Speaking of McCain's biography, there is a photo on Drudge right now of McCain's mother, wife and daughter Meghan, and it says "Ladies at the ready." But where is McCain's other daughter, Bridget? You know, the Bangladeshi child he and his wife adopted? I don't think I have seen even one photo of her so far. I understand she is about 17 years old, so maybe they want to shield her from media attention, but it seems like McCain is attempting to hide her or something. I think this is due for some media attention.

I believe Matt was referring to McCain's appeals to a centuries-deep southern heritage, which is more imbued with racial and sexual tropes than the average New England variety of waspy heritage.

Remember all the scrutiny Theresa Heinz Kerry received in 2004? When will we start to hear more about Cindy McCain, heiress/trophy wife/homewrecker/former druggie?

Haha, Judy, that was funny. (Or anyway, one has to laugh to keep from crying...) As you know, that will happen the day after the MSM reports the fact that McCain knows sod-all about foreign policy, or pretty much anything else.

Someone needs to be following McCain around with a video cam to catch him the next time he says "gook" or "nigger". The press covers for him, so we need to utube it.

How does losing five planes and spending years as a prisoner and being tortured prepare you for being president? As far as I can tell, McCain didn't display any particular leadership qualities in the military, although he did manage to make a nimble escape from the USS Forrestal fire, where plane number 4 was lost.

The instinct for self-preservation is a valuable quality, but not a particular qualification for leading a nation to solutions for complex economic, cultural, climate and diplomatic problems.

Kevin, I'm surprised how much even people like you are so snookered by McCain's 'image' that they can't see the way this is going to go down.
The tag line from his first general campaign commercial - "The American President that American's Have Been Waiting For" - now just who do you think that is designed to target???? Yet, when Jeffery Toobin point this out on CNN, Wolf Blitzer seemed shocked! shocked! at the notion that St. McCain was going to play this dirty, calling Toobin's comments 'very provocative'. Anyone who would respond with laughter to a questionner referring to HRC as a bitch is not likely to be taking the high road. And by the way, I sure would like to hear more about the druggie homewrecker trophy wife - perhaps someone will have the stones to ask him about it in a debate - i.e., your wife got to go to 'treatment' when she was found out to be a druggie and a thief, why should young black kids go to jail for the same things?

What she (dcsusie) said.

Kevin is as usual in his bend over backwards mood. Notwithstanding what bending over backwards got us in the last 2 decades.

oh well....

This is my pretty constant indictment of Kevin and similar refrains heard on the left - but I doubt it will change. Which is why it needs the country to go so far off course to get to the mere possibility - can we say probability - of electing a halfway decent candidate. Whether we're there or not - Kevin thinks we are - I don't know. I even shudder at the thought.

-- r

All this week, Republican presidential nominee John McCain is highlighting his biography during a "Service to America" tour designed to reintroduce himself to voters. Unfortunately, with each new stop, McCain only raises disturbing new questions about his past.

For the details, see:
"John McCain's Bio Waste."

Compare John "W" McCain to Randy "Duke" Cunningham. There is no question which was the more successful "warrior". McCain got himself shot down; the Dukester was a bona fide ace and one of the orginal Top Guns. If we want a "warrior" for president, let's at least have a good one.

Maybe it's a bit racist of me to lump two old white guys together, but what the hell.

-- TP

Dangit. I just finished fighting this fire over at Oliver's.

it's counterproductive for liberals to give the appearance that we're forever on the lookout for ways to find subtle signs of racism or sexism under every rock.

Except Matt explicitly states that the McCain strategy is NOT an exploitation of racism or sexism:

it's the best way I can think of to try to take advantage of older people's potential discomfort with the idea of a woman or a black man in the White House that doesn't involve exploiting racism or sexism

In short: McCain will face an opponent who is either female or black. How can he seek voters who are uncomfortable with that (and we know they're out there) without resorting to racist or sexist appeals? By doing exactly what John McCain is doing!

It's one thing for conservative yakkers to baselessly accuse every progressive writer of "looking for subtle signs of racism or sexism." When big-name progressive writers make the same accusation, we're cooked.

"There's no way to know what's deep inside the man's heart".

Can't tell you much about his heart (other than it's just barely beating), but from what he says, there's apparently not very much deep inside his mind.

Kevin:

McCain is in love with war and the military, and that's that.

Er . . . "McCain is in love with war . . . and that's . . ." a big problem.

I don't mean to be flip, but, honestly, McCain is running essentially on the slogan, "Vote for McCain--At Least He's White--Oh, and he remembers Pearl Harbor, too."

His white and military bona fides (honor, honor, honor--never defined)--assessed in cursory fashion by your ordinary hardcore Republican or cranky/timid/lo-info independent--is enough for Mississippi. But doesn't the rest of the country deserve a coherent narrative? Details on his economic policies? Honest answers to questions honestly posed about his history of corruption?

But the really fascinating part of McCain's autobiography (as with many autobiographies) is what it omits. Who fills in the blanks for us? Few journalists dare tread there.

For the incurious voter, not looking for coherent narrative in a life story, McCain's nostalgic biographical tour will work just fine. You certainly can't fault the man, into his seventies now, for parading his "race and inheritance" story. Obama does this too, rather more successfully and transparently, and without a ghost writer

McCain manages the tale while soft-pedaling his weird legacy issues and deep-sixing the long-term effects of his ordeal as a POW. If he has PTSD, or is clinically obsessed about winning all wars, or re-fighting Vietnam, endlessly, or is psychologically fractured in some way that deeply impairs his judgment, that prevents him from practicing restraint and exercising caution, then we voters have a right to know.

Digby wrote last week, I guess it was, and I think she identifies the core attraction of McCain: It's all a big joke. Our national, whaddya call it (wink wink), discourse? It's deeply cynical, even nihilistic and reminds me of Bush the frat boy--after five years in manacles on a concrete slab.

This is where all that bonhomie on the old Straight Talk Express really pays off. He can literally say anything and the press will excuse it because they think he's their cynical, postmodern pal --- a Rorschach test for their own beliefs. When he gets "angry" at lobbyists or rightwing ministers he's telling the truth. When he cozies up to lobbyists and seeks the endorsement of rightwing ministers, it's because he *has* to, (and he really, really hates doing it.) John McCain's heart, you see, is always in the right place, and oddly enough, everyone believes it's in the same place as is their own.

I can't conceive of a greater advantage for a politician. He's almost a magical figure.

. . . . .

It isn't a skill, it's a gift, bestowed upon McCain by a press corps which can't ever seem to do its job properly. Because of his POW history and his savvy manipulation of their hero worship, they have imputed the character of the young man of integrity who stood steadfastly by his fellow prisoners forty years ago to the older sleazy, self-serving, intellectually lazy politician he became.

Quaker, I think your Oliver's link is broken. Could you put it up again, please?

Kevin is totally missing the point. McCain is what you get when you restrict your selection process to sexist racist white men. There's nothing else about McCain which would make him anybodies choice for a candidate. The entire and only appeal the man has is sexist and racist and everything else you hear is just lipstick on a pig.

serial catowner >"...There's nothing else about McCain which would make him anybodies choice for a candidate...."

I disagree.

The main characteristic that makes him the choice candidate of those that are bankrolling him is that he uses knee pads regularly and very well. Probably keeps at least one kneepad company afloat all by hisself.

"No place is so strongly fortified that money could not capture it." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

"when Kerry ran on much the same warrior-hero image as McCain nobody complained that he was engaging in identity politics that appealed to latent sexism and racism."

Kevin, in case you missed Raul's comment upstream, I'm going to echo it: John Kerry's warrior-hero image didn't spur complaints about identity politics because - hold on, this'll be tricky - Kerry was not running against a *woman*, or a *black* man.

Also, the SBVfT took care of attacking Kerry's warrior-hero image.

But hey, everyone in the media's entitled to their mysteriously durable crushes on John McCain; why should you be any different.

@paxr55: With pleasure. It'll give me an excuse to fix everything else I messed up.

Dangit. I just finished fighting this fire over at Oliver's.

it's counterproductive for liberals to give the appearance that we're forever on the lookout for ways to find subtle signs of racism or sexism under every rock.

it's the best way I can think of to try to take advantage of older people's potential discomfort with the idea of a woman or a black man in the White House that doesn't involve exploiting racism or sexism

In short: McCain will face an opponent who is either female or black. How can he seek voters who are uncomfortable with that (and we know they're out there) without resorting to racist or sexist appeals? By doing exactly what John McCain is doing!

It's one thing for conservative yakkers to baselessly accuse every progressive writer of "looking for subtle signs of racism or sexism." When big-name progressive writers make the same accusation, we're cooked.

His father was a prime player in covering up the Liberty attack, so Juan McCain has treachery in his genes. No wonder he is in favor of giving the country away to Mexicans--treachery DNA.

Crashes four planes stateside, set his carrier on fire losing plane number 5, got shot down, plane number six. Reverse Ace, John McCain. Less than 20 hours combat time.
Made propaganda films for the NVA.
Some hero.

Jeez. I'm no fan of John McCain, merlallen. But Reverse Ace is harsh. I dunno, 20 hours of combat flying? How many hours in captivity repeating his navy number?

There's a lot to deplore in the man's private life and his career in the senate, on which he's basically gotten a pass.

I myself have serious questions about his fitness to lead, his state of mind, etc., but if it's bad form in military aviation to lose an aircraft, it's really bad form to disparage a veteran's honorable wartime service--our feelings about war aside.

Oh, and... dissing Bush's nominally honorable stateside service in the Air National Guard during this same war is just fine with me.

How does losing five planes and spending years as a prisoner and being tortured prepare you for being president? As far as I can tell, McCain didn't display any particular leadership qualities in the military, although he did manage to make a nimble escape from the USS Forrestal fire, where plane number 4 was lost.

I don't think it has much to do with being president, but in terms of personal leadership qualities, McCain's refusal to accept special treatment from his captors, refusal to take the offer to go home without his men, is certainly admirable.

David Nieporent, that IS a nice quality.

However, what about what he did when his ship sank? He left his fellow sailors and flew off with the news team for some "R&R".