"Imagine an American President at an international
conference with other world leaders suddenly breaking out into bristling,
scornful remarks … If McCain's campaign was a house, this last debate could be
likened to a burst water-pipe on the top-floor. And not even Joe the Plumber
could make that repair in the time left remaining.
John McCain attends one of America's
great political institutions: The 63rd Annual Alfred E. Smith Foundation
Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. During the dinner, he and Senator
Obama 'roasted' one another hilariously. Watch the entire event below.
All right. The last debate is over and things look
no better for John McCain. On the eve of Wednesday's confrontation, McCain had
announced that he was going to "kick Obama's ass," … although
he did not use the actual word ass. One was curious, then, as to whether
he would succeed in delivering a decisive blow - or kick - against his
opponent.
But the only such attempt that he made,
and which promised any chance of success, was the mention of "Joe the
Plumber." No, not Bob the Builder - but Joe the Plumber from Ohio, who
wants to purchase the shop in which he works, and who, under Obama's proposed
reform plan, might pay $1000 more in taxes per year. [As it turns out - Joe
isn’t a licensed plumber, and isn't even named Joe. He is Samuel J. Wurzelbache, who works for a contractor that does some
plumbing, some of which Sam is occasionally involved with ].
McCain tried to use him as an example,
repeating his name more than 20 times (until even the audience in the studio
snorted contemptuously) to show that Obama would destroy small U.S. companies,
omitting, however, that most Americans would have more money to spend and
therefore also spend more at Joe's "Plumbing" (according to Obama 95
percent of Americans will receive a tax cut, while independent sources cite a
figure of 81 percent).
THE ENCOUNTER: OBAMA AND 'JOE THE PLUMBER'
But try as he might, McCain couldn't
manage to get Obama to appear as a threat to the United States. For the most
part, Obama was composed and relaxed. He countered virtually every attack by
McCain, exposing some of them as completely unfounded with simple corrections
and others simply as run-of-the-mill differences between political opponents
So it went, back and forth … but above
all, back. Because McCain seemed like an attacker who, lacking any effective
means, tries again and again to topple a fortress, getting bruised by each
and every assault as the defender smiles down from the tower of his fortress.
And McCain seems to have known this. After
launching his offensive and with full fury and throwing Joe the Plumber into the
battle, McCain became ever-more aware of the fact that his attacks weren’t
shaking Obama - which really seemed to throw McCain off. This was made
particularly evident by his unprompted interjections and interruptions while
Obama spoke.
Just imagine an American President at an
international conference with other world leaders suddenly breaking out into
bristling, scornful remarks, or even interrupting other heads of state while
they explained views that differed from his. McCain offered an extremely
unflattering self-portrait that no one could actually have liked - the image of
a man who lacks self-confidence and a man who loses his cool at the most
critical moment. McCain, the old warhorse, couldn't manage to convey what the
most experienced people appreciate most: poise and wisdom.
Perhaps behaving aggressively and
fanatically - as his campaign advisers recommend - isn't really his style.
Perhaps it's because he is not only battling Obama, but increasingly the leader
of his own party, President Bush. Or it could just be that he's simply not cut
out for a job that requires a cool head and self-control, even under the most
extreme kind of stress.
The election isn't over and the final
battle hasn't been fought. But if McCain's campaign were a house, this last
debate could be likened to a burst water-pipe on the top-floor. And not even
Joe the Plumber could make that repair in the time left remaining.
