I actually agree with George Will, who begins his op-ed today with:
"Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama."
And closes with:
"It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?"
OUCH. That's gonna leave a mark.
Full op-ed here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/22/AR2008092202583.html
4 comments:
That is deeply damning. Does anyone have a feel as to how influential Will is these days? Is he widely syndicated? My guess is that he is still widely syndicated and somewhat influential--but i don't really follow the right-wing punditocracy that closely.
I agree that this is big. The Wall Street Journal article cited by Will's article is pretty damning as well. These articles suggest that McCain is losing the faith of the fiscally conservative, who, first, would like the market to be largely free, but, second, want a President who is predictable. While Obama goes and confers with an all-star cast in Larry Summers, Bob Rubin, Paul Volcker, Warren Buffett, Laura Tyson, and others, McCain again shows himself to be reckless and erratic in his deliberation and actions. Add the 15% chance of McCain dying in office (according to the actuary tables), and there's a lot of uncertainty with the Republican ticket.
The only thing that keeps me from getting super excited about this development is that I think Will's readers will vote McCain anyway. Say our candidate were a crazier version of Frank Lautenberg and his running mate was a the first term mayor of a small, liberal college town (say, Oberlin, Ohio). That wouldn't keep us from the polls, nor would it lead us to vote McCain.
i'm with george wu. i was listening to david brooks on npr the other day and he said basically the same thing george will did. if there's one thing the Rs worry about, it's their money. and they perceive obama's financial advisors to be top-notch and moderate. we could definitely pick up some repugs through this debacle. on the other hand, evangelical/religious Rs have parked their vote and aren't moving it.
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