WILL MCCAIN GET AWAY WITH IT?: Ezra asks whether backing the escalation surge in the Iraq War will hurt McCain now that it is really happening. He says it depends on whether "the press let[s] him weasel away from his advocacy role in the strategy." I'm not sure I entirely agree with the premise; I think the public may turn against pro-war politicians regardless of how the press spins it. Also, I'm not sure that McCain will try too hard to weasel his way out of responsibilty for it. Until now McCain's approach to Iraq has been to stand by the losing strategy. The mainstream press, and the American swing voter, who both suffer from a characterological obsession with politicians, especially presidential candidates, reward that position with plaudits. They may disagree with him, but they respect his conviction and so forth. So, if I were McCain's adviser I might ask him not to draw down his mainstream media support by using it to weasel out of this. They may go along with it, but once they do, they'll view him as just another politician. Instead, I'd say hold firm and they'll keep you on your pedestal. That said, the short answer to Ezra's question is that McCain gets better treatment from the media than anyone else in politics--don't say Barack Obama, remember how the media portrayed his spat with McCain--so whatever strategy he chooses for this, if it's well-executed, will get the best possible treatment from the media. Interesting sidenote: It's the mainstream press, not the rightwingers, that give McCain such fawning coverage. Why is it that conservative pundits on FOX News and talk radio, who are so quick to use support for the president and his Iraq policy as the sole measure of patriotism and virtue, are not big McCainiacs? My answer is that rightwing pundits don't really care about Iraq. Obeissance to their corporate and Christianist interest group politics is all that really matters to them, and Iraq is just a convenient cudgel to use against their opponents on those issues.
--Ben Adler
