It looks like McCain has decided to draw his line in the sand over Iraq — Obama would swap Iraq war loss for election win: McCain camp. I’m not sure how this will play out, but here are some possibilities. It is possible that McCain has waited until Obama stretched himself thin before delivering his set piece. Timing is everything in war and probably in politics too. Maybe McCain is making his move now when Obama, if the polls are to be believed, is more vulnerable than he was a month ago.
That said, not every counterstroke — even well timed ones — works. Sometimes the other guy simply has too much momentum. The Left will almost certainly close ranks behind Obama and ululate. The reaction doesn’t have to be coherent, just vociferous. Enough noise can drown out anything. It’s far from clear a real scrap is starting, but if it does, may McCain will back out and apologize as he so often does for hurting BHO’s feelings. Or maybe he’ll deliberately change pace.
Who knows McCain is Senatorial and the courtliness of the chamber has left him with bad habits in an all-in scrap. By contrast BHO is a hustler and never heard of Senatorial courtliness, not likely to inasmuch as he may not even finish his Senate term before the White House. So in a scrap, BHO may out-gouge and out-scratch McCain. Still, a lot also depends on how well Obama handles a real McCain attack — if McCain is indeed finally attacking. BHO’s instincts are to dodge and weave or attack off topic, but attack. Dance away and jab. We saw him do it to Hillary. He has been able to get away with it so far. But like a fighter in the middle rounds who has relied on speed to cover his risky moves, he may have lost just enough speed to catch on the chin.
But I don’t think McCain can put him down for the count on Iraq, largely because Left and Right are so even balanced that almost no single hit can KO BHO. To get BHO McCain has to put together a combination, deliver a real flurry that ends with a haymaker that comes out of nowhere. So far John McCain has been plodding around the ring. Has been shamming? Or are the political skills simply not there? We’ll soon see.
