That's an argument the Obama campaign seems to be winning at the
moment. A new Gallup poll finds that about two-thirds of
voters are at least somewhat concerned that McCain "would pursue
policies that are too similar to what George W. Bush has pursued,"
with 49 percent "very concerned."
I think for McCain to win this argument, he can't focus on
pointing to policy differences with President Bush, because in
order to keep conservatives in the tent he's naturally going to
have to support enough of Bush's polices for the Obama campaign to
point to as evidence that he would represent a continuation of
Bush's two terms in office.
A lot of the negative feelings for Bush go beyond his policies
and to his personal bio -- somebody who never had to sacrifice for
his country, who only got to where he is based on his last name,
who wasn't a hands on leader when it came to maintaining a failed
strategy, somebody who is ignorant of foreign affairs, etc.
Although it's tricky, a better way for McCain to contrast with
Bush is how he would differ as a leader. Much of what a president
does goes beyond pure policy. As 9/11 demonstrated rather
dramatically, something completely unexpected can happen that
changes everything in an instant, and challenges a president to
respond. The set of experiences that McCain would bring to the
table in such crises are completely different than what Bush
brought to the table.
The fact that Bush wouldn't increase troop levels in Iraq while
McCain advocated a surge-type strategy was a policy difference, but
more significantly, it was a policy difference that reflected
different leadership styles. McCain was unsatisfied with the
situation in Iraq, made repeated visits there, met with leaders on
the ground, studied the complexities of the conflict, dipped into
his decades of military and foreign policy experience, and came to
the conclusion that the conflict was winnable with a new strategy.
That is very un-Bush like. If McCain can shift the debate toward
leadership attributes, I think he'll have a much easier time
distancing himself from Bush.
topics:
Foreign Policy, Military, Iraq
