Fantasy, Reality

What McCain SHOULD say, following the Joseph Welch moment I beseeched of him yesterday:

1. Announce emphatically that the bill failed not only because of a failure of bipartisanship, but also because the American people rejected it — members of Congress heard overwhelming opposition.

 

2. State, therefore, that the only proper course is to make an appeal directly to the American people to rally them behind the needed reforms.

 

3. This appeal should take the form of a series of prudent, center-right proposals to address this and related crises.  Proposals designed, frankly, to unite his supporters and divide those of Obama's.  We win only if we can set forth a clear choice of conservative v. liberal.

 

4. Focus his campaigning on these proposals, so as to force Obama to take some position.  Hammer Obama on either his socialism (too liberal) or his silence (not ready to lead).

 

5. Lastly, craft this center-right platform as potentially bipartisan.  Invite ALL candidates, whether incumbents or challengers, of ALL parties, to join him, and otherwise seek, in De-Gaulle-like-fashion, to "rally the people" to these reforms.

In other words, abandon conventional "bipartisanship," run to the right, and re-seize the campaign initiative by forcing Obama out of the comfort zone, and veritable "cone of silence," that the Enemy Media have provided him and he's been smart enough to gratefully accept.

What McCain IS saying:

Once again, Sailor is speaking as a governing senator rather than a presidential candidate.  Sure, the FDIC expansion is a good idea - one that the Donks refused to allow into the compromise bailout bill they torpedoed, I might add - but I don't think I'm speaking impudently when I ask why the damn bailout legislation is necessary if Treasury already has a trillion bucks just sitting around waiting to be put toward the bailout without involving Congress at all.  Is all that cash, er, "earmarked" for some other purpose?  Could any of it be redirected without congressional authorization?  If so, why doesn't Paulson make a downpayment on the bad mortage paper now to at least temporarily stabilize financial markets?  Particularly after the criminally negligent partisan stunt Crazy Nancy pulled yesterday?

Otherwise, hey, way to go, Maverick, on reminding everybody of how you got humiliated by the Dems last week, and how you got humiliated again yesterday, and persisting in pushing a bailout the public still doesn't want, and calling for YET ANOTHER "BIPARTISAN" EFFORT to "get something done".  Oh, yes, and babbling on about fighting earmarks yesterday while your good, close, personal friend Speakerette Pelosi was wiping out a trillion dollars of private sector wealth.  I can SEE your candidacy shrinking like Mork from Ork after accidentally taking Mindy's cold medicine.

America doesn't need a "maverick reformer," it needs a CONSERVATIVE reformer.  A bitter shame it is that the GOP nominating electorate left those candidates behind last winter.  By the time we ever nominate another one, there may be little or no country left to reform.