The murmurs came from shockingly not-insider type people. For example, they were certain Obama would join up — which sounds like McCain was making a gamble (again) that everyone loves “honor” and “doing something!” just as much as he does.
I’m just looking at it from a media cycle standpoint. The Bush speech tonight at 9 pm may not actually influence much. And this is a good chance for McCain to emphasize the differences between himself and the president. Lord knows the Obama campaign is already figuring out how to tie McCain into all this.
Speaking of which, I wouldn’t be surprised if some oppo research found its way into the laps of David Kirkpatrick and Jackie Calmes (that’s not intended to be catty). They express shock and dismay that McCain has an adviser who took money up till recently from Freddie Mac in their front page article (Obama’s campaign has similar, ah, conflicts of interest). The difference is that McCain lied, or at least misrepresented. Not quite Watergate, but hey, outrage is in this cycle. except that story won’t get any play because of the suspension.
Look, here’s the trick. McCain’s campaign is looking to plug the holes in his resume, just as Obama’s campaign is. Barack Obama went to Europe to show that he could talk to foreign people. John McCain is going to Washington to show that he can draw a guns and butter chart. Hopefully he can draw the butter half as well as he can draw the guns.
