His numbers down, his message failing, John McCain decides he does not want to debate, so he cancels his scheduled debate with Governor George W. Bush. Oh did you think I was talking about the upcoming debate with Obama?? According to this Article from the San Francisco Chronicle dated Monday Feb. 28, 2000
“With new polls showing his campaign dead in the water among California Republicans, Arizona Sen. John McCain has pulled out of a long-scheduled debate with Texas Gov. George Bush, set for Thursday in Los Angeles.
McCain campaign officials tried desperately yesterday to put the best face on their withdrawal, even as a new Field Poll showed Bush far ahead among likely Republican voters in the winner-take-all race for the state's 162 GOP delegates.
Top campaign officials attributed McCain's decision to Bush's earlier reluctance to appear at the debate.
``We had agreed to do this debate a long time ago, and Gov. Bush said he wasn't going to do it,'' McCain spokesman Howard Opinsky said yesterday. ``We aren't going to hold our schedule together forever.''
But Opinsky said McCain will debate Bush on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' Sunday, a national TV show that will reach millions of Americans.
Still, just last week, the McCain campaign was openly derisive of Bush's reluctance to commit to a California debate -- and promised its own candidate would be there. “
8 years ago when John “The Maverick” McCain was running against then Governor George Herbert Walker Bush for the republican nomination, he cut and ran. Here we are again, McCain is down in the polls, losing the precious numbers he gained at the convention, and trying to backpedal from last weeks assurance that are economy is strong, Senator McCain has decided to lead by calling a time out.
I am not sure that his big gesture is sending the message of leadership and bipartisanship that he intended to send. It seems more like an old man that can only deal with one crisis at a time and with all the troubles are country seems to be going thru at this time we need a leader who can multi-task.
As someone who has built his campaign base on being the all American hero, The P.O.W. that would not say die, the changer and reformer, this story begins to paint a very different picture. Check any history book in the last 8 years and you will see that this particular tactic didn’t work 8 years ago and if everyone is paying attention it will not work today. While it is documented that he is less than proficient with “The Google” it seems that he is very familiar with the “Pause” button.
This article originally published over at GBM news where I am a contributor.
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