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One of the parts of the speech I didn't get to last night was a quietly high-minded, and potentially dangerous, section that came towards the end:
But what I will not do is suggest that [Senator McCain] takes his positions for political purposes. Because one of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other's character and patriotism.This closed off a powerful line of attack against McCain. Indeed, it closed off a line of attack that many at Barack Obama's own convention had pursued, some with much apparent success.Mark Schmitt, however, understands this correctly: There are two possible lines of attack on McCain and the one protects him from the other. You can say he's wrong, or you can say he's insincere. But to say he's insincere and wrong is to say he's insincere about being wrong. This, indeed, is the protective lining around the McCain campaign. Since most believe his opportunism resides in his swing to the right, it is his most controversial and politically lethal positions that see their edges blur. In Mark's read, Obama is blocking off this avenue of escape: John McCain is, as he would be the first to tell you, far too decent a man to lie during a presidential campaign, and as such, we must take him at his word.Logically, arguing that McCain is simply wrong makes the most sense. And it's certainly true that his positions are less popular than his character. Arguing that he's a decent man who's out of touch and unfortunately wedded to stale ideas is a clean shot. Breaking down the eight-year mythology built around his character is far harder. On the other hand, attacks that strike to a core of a politician, rather than simply to the core of his policy papers, tend to be more effective. So it's simple to imagine the easy path doing McCain insufficient damage: He's conservative, yes, and maybe even wrong, but such a public-spirited guy, and such a well-known maverick, that he'll come around. The trick will be whether in ignoring the frailty of McCain's reputation as a maverick you can simultaneously yoke him to his current set of policies. Not necessarily an easy charge, but then, elections aren't easy.
