Comments on: McCain’s Political Style

By: conradg

conradg — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 03:33:08 +0000

It’s certainly true that many Obama supporters, like most voters altogether, don’t have a full grasp of all his policy positions. The issue of character, however, tends to fill in many of those blanks, in the sense that most of Obama’s supporters have a sense that he has the intelligence, the judgment, the prudence, and the openness to come to generally right conclusions about most policy issues. THe issue of trust here is what really counts, and it is why many Obama supporters are very enthusiastic about him. Voters can’t all be policy wonks, they have to develop a sense of trust in the candidate to work through the issues and come to intelligent, workable solutions that will bring about positive outcomes. In Obama, they see someone with the right character and qualities to work through these issues for them, because most voters simply can’t do that, even if Obama did write thorough policy papers. The general take on Obama is that he really does know how to listen to and make use of expert opinion and research, rather than simply imposing his own ideas onto everything in the political landscape, and it is this quality that gives people a sense of “hope”. It isn’t a blind hope, in that it’s based on an assessment of his character, but it’s not a highly informed hope based on extensive analysis of his policy positions, at least not for 90% of his supporters.

It’s worth saying that in some sense the same applies to McCain’s supporters, except that they think the Presidency requires a different kind of character to come to the right decisions. It’s not the kind of character I approve of, however, which becomes evident, I think, in both the way he approaches decision-making and the actual decisions he comes to.

By: Elvis Elvisberg

Elvis Elvisberg — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:50:23 +0000

Obama could have dissertation-length policy papers and that wouldnâ€™t be why 90-95% of his supporters back him.

Accepting that for the sake of argument, I wonder if it says more about Obama’s appeal, the way the media covers politics, or the intelligence of the electorate.

By: rawshark

rawshark — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 23:22:30 +0000

‘So, I think you can argue ‘

I see your point but just to make clear I’m not arguing anything. I’m on a fact finding mission. I don’t know much at all about campaign financing.

‘I will again make the point that Obama could have dissertation-length policy papers and that wouldnâ€™t be why 90-95% of his supporters back him. ‘

I think the percentages are a touch high but I mostly agree. In my case I’m a registered republican voting for the letter D as president. Normally I just reach for the lever with an R near it but lately I’ve come to the conclusion that’s really stupid. I also want to keep free market supply siders out of the oval for a spell. Regulated supply siding I can handle, it’s the removing of the oversight or just the appointment of blind mice to head regulatory agencies that I need a break from. Um…I mean from which I need a break. No more Michael Browns either.

By: Daniel Larison

Daniel Larison — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:33:00 +0000

I will again make the point that Obama could have dissertation-length policy papers and that wouldn’t be why 90-95% of his supporters back him. Biography and character (including his judgement) are central to Obama’s candidacy, perhaps second only to McCain’s virtually substance-free campaign.

By: Adam01

Adam01 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:43:32 +0000

rawshark,

McCain did accept public funding. He can not raise any money for himself from the GOP convention through election day, although he can raise money for a “hybrid fund” essentially a joint partnership between his campaign and the RNC. There is not a huge amount of difference, though he will not to have to spend much in the way of face time between now and Nov. doing fundraisers. The $84 he has received in federal funds is probably pretty close to his upper limit in fund-raising potential anyway.

By: Elvis Elvisberg

Elvis Elvisberg — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:06:36 +0000

Well, rawshark, Obama pledged to work with the GOP nominee to enable both of them to do public financing. McCain did take public financing, but indicated that he wasn't going to curb the third party attack ads (as in, Swift Boaters and 527s, not Greens or Libertarians). So, I think you can argue that Obama didn't work as hard as he could have to come to an agreement, but it's not a transparent flip-flop like, say, McCain on immigration or tax cuts, or Obama on FISA. I will again make the point that Obama has much more detailed and developed policy proposals than McCain, who is running 100% on Honor Patriotism Glory biography. As Josh Marshall put it a while back, McCain is always certain that he is right, and that only the corrupt and self-interested oppose him. The problem is, there's no way to predict what he'll think next month, as what he thinks now doesn't have much to do with what he thought last month.

By: rawshark

rawshark — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:23:11 +0000

‘including the violation of his campaign pledge to accept public financing. ‘

Correct me if I’m wrong but Obama said he would public funding if the republican candidate agreed to also. McCain didn’t, right?

By: el_longhorn

el_longhorn — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:22:35 +0000

McCain set himself up for all of this. When you profess to be the straight talker, then it is hard to complain when the press holds you to that standard.