Whistlestop campaigning with John McCain across America, as the grizzled Republican nominee has suggested, stands to benefit not just the candidates, but America too, by improving the quality of debate in the general election. Barack would be foolish to not take McCain up, at least partially, on his offer, not least because he stands to gain more than McCain does.
The benefits for McCain are clear. Having squandered the free campaign time given to him by the protracted Democratic nomination battle, McCain finds himself with less money than he should have, and zero media attention, as Gail Collins observes. Campaigning with Obama would let him reap the whirlwind of his competitor’s popularity, and give him a chance to put some substance to his working-across-the-aisle-moderate credentials. But those are reasons for Obama to avoid the publicity stunt: more than anything, Obama needs to avoid letting McCain claim the middle ground. Why give him the chance?
Because Obama stands to gain the same reputation, and he has a fiercer need for it. Obama is likely to be targeted and tarred as the “most liberal member of the Senate” (isn’t it funny how Kerry was the most liberal member of the Senate in 2004, and now Obama is in 2008?). The “bipartisan” label is infinitely valuable to him, in that he can use it, and his “work” with McCain, as proof that his opponents are incorrect in portraying him as uncompromisingly liberal. He doesn’t need to entirely diffuse the claim – nor would this little publicity tour be able to do that – he just needs to cast doubt on it. Obama could also stand to bask in the aura of the more experienced politician: working with McCain would give the Democratic nominee credibility, and also give him a chance to debate his policy positions more fully.
Also, Obama suffers among some voters from fairly deceitful slurs: voters think he’s a “secret Muslim,” and try to make Karl-Rove flavored political hay out his middle name (“Hussein”). Taking the stand with John McCain could, if the questions came up during a town hall meeting, give Obama the chance to force McCain to denounce these attacks. McCain has done it before – and the cooperative nature of these talks would force him to, again, renounce partisan hit-job attacks, thus hopefully drawing the sting before the general.
On the other hand, Obama would not be forced to renounce any of his most salient talking points. Instead, these town hall meetings would be the perfect places for him to continue equating John McCain with the “failed policies” of the Bush administration, and would also give Obama the perfect chance to make this case at a higher level. If done delicately, and in statesman-like fashion, that message could gain real traction fairly quickly.
The one undeniable and unmatched benefit that McCain stands to gain here is increased publicity. But that’s a field where Obama can afford to give ground, and not a field we can expect McCain to use to his benefit. After all, more publicity for bad speeches is a good thing: if McCain is pushing for this whistlestop tour to seek more exposure for himself, he could just end up casting himself and Obama in a reprise of the famous Kennedy/Nixon debates, the paragon of the future against the shell of the past.
So, I say to Obama, take McCain up on his offer… for now. It’s a winning situation for McCain, an even bigger winning situation for you, and a huge win for democracy. Even more than having a capable candidate win the White House, America needs a return to friendly politics.
