Time for McCain to face opponent

By The News Virginian Staff

Published: June 3, 2008

John McCain finally faces the challenge that loomed during six months of opposition party primaries: How to best a foe whose rhetorical
skills and ability to energize contrast sharply with his stoically delivered straight talk. The chasm between the Arizona senator and presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama on this point is widened by the absence of a heartbeat in the Republican base.
Like the Clinton who was president but won’t be the husband of one, McCain has endured without grace the withering vine of age, which embraces him now in the former fashion of the pundit hordes, who cherished Clinton for his feeling others’ pain and McCain as a maverick — read, liberal – within the conservative party. Now, both men wear the wan countenance of political warriors whose days in the sun have drained their images of lifeblood.
Clinton possesses the option of retiring quietly from the fight his wife has lost and he with her, though he’s likely to seek a less appealing alternative – insistently bemoaning the system that spawned him. Having gained the nomination prize that eluded him in brighter days, McCain, the war hero, must soldier on, but can he?
Assuredly, he will occupy a place in the two-man race for the presidency, but will the McCain we see on the trail be more than a facsimile of himself, a replica of Fred Thompson, who was favored by conservatives, but too dead in his sleep to notice or care? These are 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue questions, and unless he wants only to visit but never live there, McCain must set about finding answers.
He might start with presenting voters with something beyond the worn maverick’s face – which won’t do anymore given his association with President Bush and the war America hates. Who, precisely, is McCain, what drives him and why should that drive people to cast ballots on his behalf? His sharpest passions seem oriented around his famous temper, exposed frequently in the manner of an offended emperor, his wrath provoked by perceived slights and wrongs. What kindles outrage of the righteous sort? Conversely, what inspires him?
Here is where the differences between him and Obama are most distinct. Obama’s singular accomplishment in arriving at the White House precipice has been his cogent articulation of a vision for an invigorated America soaring above historic bounds, such as race and partisanship. We do not subscribe to this vision not because we quibble with it but because we consider it more campaign device than presidential plan. Still, we recognize its importance in rousing voters.
Among failings too plentiful to count in the presidency of George W. Bush has been his inability to explain with clarity the purpose of war in Iraq. Some would argue, and we would tend to agree, that the task might defy Bush and logic. But on that crucial subject and others, Bush’s quintessential want was an ability to persuade and stir the people to follow with confidence and a sense that ours was the cause of right.
Obama does this by way of cliché, but he does it convincingly – akin to the popular “Toy Story” character falling with style. McCain might lack the requisite oratorical gifts to replicate his opponent’s success on this count, and perhaps so much the better. If he could utilize substance in place of hollow rhetoric to accomplish the same, McCain might provide America something it presently lacks: A presidential candidate in whom we can truly believe.