As John Kerry and Joe Lieberman dueled on Meet the Press, I had an epiphany. Many times over the past few months, people have asked me what they can do to help John McCain win the election. Often, these have been people of means. I have yet to offer any creative or even hackneyed ideas. But that all changed while watching Meet the Press yesterday. A person who really wanted to help the McCain campaign should begin a 527 whose sole purpose is making sure Obama surrogate John Kerry has absolutely unfettered access to the electorate between now and Election Day.
Kerry was absolutely awful yesterday. Right from the moment he got his first chance to speak, it was a vintage Kerry train-wreck:
MR. BROKAW: Senator Kerry, by using the language that He did, saying, "I don't look like the president on a dollar bill or a five dollar bill," wasn't He, in effect, saying, "They're picking on my because I'm black"?
SEN. KERRY: No. What He was saying is they're trying to scare you. They're trying to scare the American people. And, believe me, I'm an expert on how they do that.
Yes, Senator - it's all about you. Much to my disappointment, Kerry didn't use the term "swiftboating" once. Continuing his laser-like focus on himself, Kerry later volunteered his disapproval of offshore drilling (a stance that has the official Al Gore Self Righteous Seal of Approval), even though his position differs from Obama's new one:
MR. BROKAW: Two weeks ago on this program Vice President Al Gore, who's the godfather in the Democratic Party of energy policies, said, "No way should we drill offshore."
SEN. KERRY: I agree with Al Gore, and I don't want to. But, but Barack Obama...
MR. BROKAW: You, you--so you don't agree with Senator Obama?
SEN. KERRY: Well, I don't agree--here's, here's what I think his position is demonstrating. He still believes we should not drill offshore.
MR. BROKAW: But he's prepared to do it if necessary.
Well played, Senator Kerry! Now will someone please start this 527 soon so it can have an impact on the 2008 election?
After Lieberman and Kerry departed the set, a panel of experts held forth. Chuck Todd, Mike Murphy, Andrea Woodruff and Judy Mitchell all agreed that the Celebrity ad was awful, seemingly oblivious to the fact that talk of the ad and its substantive charge regarding Barack Obama's inexperience had dominated their show up until that point. There was also widespread agreement that the ad was juvenile. While I admit the ad lacked the somber seriousness of the Dukakis-in-the-tank or Kerry-windsurfing spots, the fact that the ad has shifted the campaign conversation since its debut should warrant some consideration. Perhaps the panel would have preferred a spot where McCain droned some platitudes about energy independence before a green jello backdrop. That wouldn't have been childish. And it would have been forgotten as quickly as every Obama ad this cycle.
On Fox News Sunday, Tom Daschle and Lindsey Graham debated Obama's ill-planned playing of the race card. In defense of Daschle, he had a very weak hand to play. But even given the weakness of the hand, he still played it horribly:
WALLACE: Senator Daschle, we are going to get to the question of debating in the next segment, but Obama says words matter, and what he said there - and it was the first time he specifically mentioned - before he'd said, "They're going to say."
For the first time, he specifically said, "John McCain and George W. Bush are going to try to scare you about the way I look, and that I don't look like other presidents."
DASCHLE: It wasn't how he looks. What he was saying, Chris, all along is that Barack Obama has a different resume, a different style, a different approach. He has brought real change to Washington, and...
WALLACE: But, Senator, let me just...
DASCHLE: ... this is status quo versus change, and...
WALLACE: ... ask you, he said, "You know, he doesn't look like all those presidents on the dollar bills."
DASCHLE: Well, he doesn't. He's younger. He's younger.
Sadly, there is no evidence that Daschle was trying to be funny. Juvenile mockery aside, there's a substantive inference to be made based on Daschle's clumsy climb-down from Obama playing the race card. Obviously, Team Barry has realized that He made an awful mistake screaming "Racism!" last week when only He and His most devoted followers could perceive as much.
So how bad were the Obama surrogates on the Sunday talk shows? Don't take it from me - take it from lefty blogger John Amato who says, "Obama's camp has to do a better job at surrogate selection."
Bring on Joe Biden!
