Super McCain to the Rescue!!!

I confess that my unhealthy addiction to reading RedState continues unabated. Having read about McCain's absurd stunt to "suspend" his campaign so he can "fix" the financial crisis, I just had to go over there to see how this would play out with the wingnuts. Now mind you, these people used to HATE John McCain. But now...everything he touches turns to gold.

And what's funny about their analysis, including that of the commenters, is that they keep talking about how this is the "right" thing to do and how it shows that McCain is above politics. Yet, all they're talking about is politics. It's all about how "bold" McCain is being and how it puts Obama in a tight spot that he won't be able to get out of. One commenter mentions how this issue "will determine the outcome of the election," while another celebrates how this move helps McCain deal with the media, which is out to get him.

My favorite comment is this one by Spartan4Life, who writes "McCain Needs to Take Palin to DC, Too! She needs to be part of this negotiation. If she is going to reform Washington, she might as well get a good look at these gasbags up close and personal. Just a hunch, but something tells me she will know what to do on this." Yeah, I thought I had a hunch like that once, but it turned out to be gas. As for her solution to the crisis, if history is any indicator, she'll just say "Thanks, but no thanks" and relish the applause she gets. Or perhaps she'll put it on eBay or just have people shoot it from airplanes. Real solutions!

And sure, I actually read two commenters who explained what they hoped McCain would do, but it basically amounted to "not much." One was upset at the idea that we'd be helping the 1% of people who were being foreclosed on, while the other hated the bailout and expressed interest in a House GOP plan. But not one of them actually said what McCain would actually do differently than anyone else. Not one. Nor do they mention how this is just the latest of many desperate moves by McCain to pretend to have a solution to a problem he seems unable to understand.

Politics Politics Politics

Here's a bit from conservativesoldier83's post:
I personally think It was a bold move, but a good one.. McCain definitely has the upper hand now. What do you think Obama's reaction will be, and how do you think this will effect the polls?

Now, perhaps I'm mistaken and when CS83 says "upper hand" he's referring to McCain having an upper hand on the crisis. And perhaps he's referring to the effect on the polls which show people being against the bailout, and not McCain's poll numbers. But in the real world, this guy is only talking politics. And let's not forget that the use of the word "but" only makes sense if he's using the word "bold" to mean "risky." And this fits right in with McCain's Big Gamble strategy for winning this election.

Another piece of the funny came from Leon H. Wolf, who writes "But what is becoming clear right now is that we simply do not have time to wait around for all the normal partisan bickering about pointless issues that are collateral to the problem at hand (like CEO compensation) before something gets done. " What?? The issue of CEO compensation is partisan bickering?? What the hell is wrong with these people? It's like they don't even know what policy is.

Talking Ain't Doing

But again, neither of these guys really explain what McCain expects to accomplish in Washington. Wolf at least pretends to address the issue, implying that both Dems and Repubs will follow the candidates' lead if they work together, but at what? We're still back to the same bickering that we've got already, except we'd have injected politics on steroids into the mix. And this fits in with the conservative fantasy world, where there is a perfectly acceptable solution to every problem, if only Democrats would stop playing politics and do what they're told.

And it's obvious from reading these posts and comments that even McCain's supporters realize this is just a silly campaign stunt. Sure, they'll never admit to it, but it's all they can talk about. It's all about the bind that this puts Obama in and how bold the decision was. A few are smart enough to realize this could backfire, but no one really mentions what McCain is actually supposed to do. And none of them mention that this campaign "suspension" is just the latest gambit in the campaign and that nothing is being suspended.

This was yet another risky momentum shifter, which is likely to backfire. McCain's handlers realized they needed to change the discussion and stumbled into a minefield trying to create one, and the wingnuts couldn't be more pleased. Conservatives see what they want to see, and now that McCain has made the move, they can't help but declare how brilliant it is. And once it backfires, it'll all be the media's fault because they didn't play along. After the election is over, they'll bitterly denounce McCain as a loser who wasn't able to compete with the dreaded media; but until then, they can't help but be amazed at the boldness of McCain's genius.