PrintMarch 30, 2008
McCain's Gauntlet Speech
McCain's recent speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council delivered many important messages. Some were aimed at the upcoming general election campaign. Others were international messages directed toward friends, foes and those in the middle.Campaign MessagesMcCain spent his first 300-plus words disclaiming an image that the MSM will eventually try to tag him with: an old, trigger-happy, fighter pilot. Far from trigger-happy - he knows the horror of war. Then he obliquely juxtaposed his self-descriptive label of realistic idealist with an implied one of naïve idealist to be applied later to whoever becomes his opponent. Why did he not apply the label to both Democrat candidates now? Because he'll make the realistic versus naïve comparison directly if Obama is the nominee, and indirectly if it's Clinton, for whom he has more respect. Premature to make it now.Assume that Obama is the nominee, as is likely. Merely labeling him a naïve idealist won't...(Read Full Article)
