In 1987 comedian Robert Townsend wrote, directed and starred in a film called Hollywood Shuffle, portraying a struggling black actor trying to make his way in Hollywood. In one of the film's best scenes, Townsend goes to audition for a stereotypical gangster role, where the casting directors tell the aspiring actors, "What we're looking for is an Eddie Murphy-type."
Within a few seconds, the room is filled with a succession of Buckwheatimpressions, Mr. Robinson wannabes and actors attempting that famous Eddie Murphy guffaw. None of them, of course, resembles Murphy in the slightest.
I am reminded of this scene as I watch a succession of Democrats throw theirhats into the 2004 presidential ring. No matter what his individual characteristics-- liberal or moderate, northerner or southerner -- each politician, it seems, is beingtold the same thing by his handlers: What we're looking for is a John McCain-type.
In a Jan. 14 Washington Post column, E.J. Dionne referred to Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) as "The Democrats' John McCain," noting Lieberman's moderation and pro-military record. In a December New Yorker profile, Joe Klein wrote that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) wants to emulate McCain by emphasizing his own Vietnam service and attempting to gain a reputation as a "straight talker." A July article in The New Republic said that then-Gov. Howard Dean's (D-Vt.) "penchant for blunt honesty has evoked more than one comparison to another politician who ran an outsider's campaign for president: John McCain." Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), meanwhile, frequently cites McCain when attacking lobbyists and burnishing his reformist credentials. Pretty much the only Democratic hopeful who isn't trying to be McCain is the Rev. Al Sharpton.
To be sure, it makes some sense for 2004's would-be nominees to seek the McCain mantle. McCain's 2000 candidacy stirred in many young voters a sense that politics really could be a force forpositive change. He brazenly rejected the idea that candidates had to bescripted to the very last word. And to his credit, McCain stoked a fire that usuallypowers candidates of the far left and right but rarely those ofthe center: idealism.
Copying the McCain charisma is the most important goal of the McCain wannabes,but reigniting idealism in those young voters and independents comes in aclose second. Remember, many states where McCain performed best were statesthat allow independent voters to choose in which party primary they vote. With President Bush likely facing no competition for the Republican nomination,the independent voters who were so important to McCain's 2000 campaign willprobably vote in Democratic primaries in 2004. These independentsare up for grabs, and they are looking for someone who shares McCain'sauthenticity.
But that authenticity is what makes the whole search for "the DemocraticMcCain" so odd. McCain became McCain, so to speak, by refusing to emulate anybodyelse. Now, independents are stuck watching candidates fall all over themselves inan attempt to convince voters that they are "more McCain" than the other guy -- andit's all starting to look a bit silly. At this point, you would think that everyDemocratic presidential hopeful just happens to moonlight as John McCain'sbest friend on the other side of the aisle.
Perhaps the best way for Democrats to catch that McCain lightning is for them to just to be themselves, no matter what the casting directors say. Each manmust get out of the Republican's shadow and emphasize what makes him, not JohnMcCain, the best candidate for the job. After all, remember what happened tothe guy who spent his whole career trying to ride Eddie Murphy's coattails: He became Joe Piscopo.
Aaron Schatz is a writer and former McCain voter living in Boston.