Good News, Could Be Better
According to the Pew Research Center, when asked to describe their views of McCain in a word, the term “maverick” didn’t even come up. Nor did “reformer” or “independent.” Ruh-roh. It looks like the embrace of Bush, 100 years in Iraq and his newfound affection for Bushenomics have all done serious damage to McCain’s perceived maverickness:
John McCain once had the most powerful brand in American politics.
He was often called the country’s most popular politician and widely admired for his independent streak. It wasn’t too many years ago that “maverick” was the cliche of choice in describing him.
But that term didn’t even make the list this year when voters were asked by the Pew Research Center to sum up McCain in a single word. “Old” got the most mentions, followed by “honest,” “experienced,” “patriot,” “conservative” and a dozen more. The words “independent,” “change” or “reformer” weren’t among them.
Voters have notoriously short memories, but it could be argued that McCain cheapened his own brand.
He embraced President Bush and attempted to become, like Bush, the choice of the Republican establishment. In the process, he helped obliterate recollections of his first run for president, when he became the first Republican in a long time with strong crossover appeal to independents and Democrats.
Losing his reputation for independence could prove particularly costly this year.
It turns out that there may be a cost for flip-flopping on tax cuts for the top 1% and wanting to “bomb bomb bomb Iran.” Who would have thunk it?
(…)
John McCain may just have lost his greatest asset.
This is great news. McCain’s image as an independent agent of change is completely gone. No-one sees him as a maverick any more. Unfortunately, it sounds like lots of Americans still view him as honest, experienced, and patriotic.
Okay, I’ll give him a pass on patriotic, even if he does vote for torture and against habeas corpus, but honest and experienced? No way. I suppose he could be considered experienced in the purely literal sense, but if his experience doesn’t translate into wisdom, knowledge, or competence, what good is it? And honest? Pfft. He lies every time he claims that he’s not an extension of Dubya, which is a lot.
2 comments June 15th, 2008 at 09:09pm Posted by Eli
Entry Filed under: Elections,McCain,Politics,Polls
