From the Wall Street Journal, "What McCain Should Do Next" by Karl Rove
Quoth the Architect:
"Then there's character. Mr. McCain is the most private person to run for president since Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s. He needs to share (or allow others to share) more about him, especially his faith. The McCain and Obama campaigns are mirror opposites. Mr. McCain offers little biography, while Mr. Obama is nothing but."
McCain's a private person? Really?
You know how you can tell really private people? They spend 26 years in public life as a politician. They also do things like host Saturday Night Live where they sing Streisand tunes before a national TV audience.
As regards the biography issue, biography has been the central issue of the McCain campaign. Indeed, the campaign has too often acted as if the presidency is some reward the electorate bestows on its most worthy citizen. What's more, Obama has not been so foolish as to run on his biography. He's run on his persona, which is quite a different thing.
I won't even bother saying anything regarding Rove's concluding banality ("Mr. McCain must both educate voters to his opponent's weaknesses and persuade them that he has a vision for the coming four years") other than to implore the Architect to do better. Hint: A column on how McCain and Schmidt should do those things from a guy who has actually done such things might be interesting.
