Surprise! McCain Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About
Posted on June 17th, 2008
by Daniel Larison |
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Peter Suderman (writing at the other TAS) notes McCain’s confusion over his own cap-and-trade policy, which is hardly surprising, since the great foreign policy “expert” has also shown that he thinks Iran is in cahoots with Al Qaeda and the great immigration policy reformer has often demonstrated an impressive lack of knowledge on the details of immigration policy and of the comprehensive “reform” legislation itself. McCain has gained his reputation for expertise in various policy areas by adopting a sanctimonious, moralising tone after striking whichever pose on them will fit the crafted persona of the outspoken truth-telling “reformer.” The blunder on cap-and-trade is typical of someone who thinks that policy positions are symbols for expressing his attitude about a particular subject: he supports cap-and-trade because he thinks it will show that he, like his hero Teddy Roosevelt, “cares” about the environment, but he doesn’t care enough to familiarise himself with the relevant details of what the legislation would actually do. But the details aren’t relevant to him and he may think they shouldn’t be relevant to you–it is what his support for the measure expresses about John McCain that matters.
As I’ve noted before, McCain has to hope that policy knowledge is not a prerequisite to becoming President (Mr. Bush’s election suggests that it is not), because compared to Obama it is he who will be playing the part of the confused naif.
Filed under: politics
6 Responses to “Surprise! McCain Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About”
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Well, McCain doesn’t operate at an abstract or conceptual level.
With him, it’s all about doing the honorable thing, which is defined as being in agreement with the good guys, which is really just being in thrall to various strong personalities….
[...] Surprise! McCain Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About 1 Benny One Six [...]
Given that this is largely true about McCain–Why would he offer to put himself in such a disadvantageous position with this “Townhall meeting” proposal of his? Or is his team really so certain that Obama won’t take the bait for some reason, and they can make hay out of his refusal to participate?
He might have been bluffing, or maybe he thinks that he performs better in town hall meetings than in other venues. It may be that he was counting on Obama to play the wonk to his portrayal of the “regular guy,” which makes it easier for people to identify with him even if he cannot demonstrate that he has any clue what he’s talking about. More likely, he’s trying to negate Obama’s fundraising advantage by creating free media occasions that the major networks will feel obliged to cover.
[...] This is very much in line with what I have been expecting for some time now. Given that McCain knows nothing, or next to nothing, about policy (including his own positions!) and his biography is what has recommended him to voters all along, this strategy was almost guaranteed from the beginning. Furthermore, this approach seems to have some chance of working. [...]
[...] He is so very much not a “details guy” that he often doesn’t know the details of his own proposals, repeatedly makes errors when discussing specific aspects of vital foreign policy questions, and makes statements that contradict his own plans. To say that he is not one for details takes for granted that he is at least competent speaking in broad terms, but this isn’t true, either. [...]