McCain: Why Americans Think America is on the Wrong Track

I was surprised this statement by John McCain showing how out of touch he is with people who have to work for a living didn't get more notice in the media:

McCain: Out of Touch on Trade, by Seth Michaels, AFL-CIO Blog: At a speech in Florida yesterday, Sen. John McCain made a baffling pronouncement: The rising discontent in our country is not due to job losses, home foreclosures or the health care crisis, but rather the fact that we aren’t passing a bad trade deal with Colombia.

Here’s what McCain had to say at yesterday’s event:

We have made progress toward this vision by expanding the benefits of free commerce, through ... our free trade agreements... But the progress has stalled; our longstanding bipartisan commitment to hemispheric prosperity is crumbling. We see this most vividly in Barack Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s opposition to the free trade agreement with Colombia. The failure of Congress to take up and approve this agreement is a reminder why 80 percent of Americans think we are on the wrong track.

What country is he living in?

If Obama had made the same statement, his "elitist views" would have been highlighted all over the airwaves and internet, we would have heard repeatedly about how out of touch Mr. Arugula is with the working class. But McCain says it and there's hardly a stir. Why?

If I were running Obama's campaign, I would be tempted to pull a Bill Clinton and let it slip out that he sometimes sneaks out for fast food, has a secret passion for big time wrestling, dreams of driving around the track at Indie, something like that. Some foible that betrays his "true" identity.

Comments

[Ken Houghton]

Uh, oh. What are they going to do, admit he smokes?

Besides, I can't be the only one who remembers John Kerry's hunting expedition and the subsequent "he knows how to use a gun, so he must be a neophyte" press.

[oops]

he won't be able to get away with some of the dumb statements once the race hits high gear. he is going to lose with stuff like this and "i don't know much about economics". this race is obama's to lose it seems.

[jombi]

I guess he frequents digg :
http://digg.com/politics/A_conspiracy_theory_a_few_months_ago_now_its_a_fact

[Petter]

A "reminder" isn't relly "the only reason" as you seem to think around here. Here, and I don't see how it can be interpreted otherwise, this is _one of the exhibits_ that people focus on the wrong solutions, i.e. farm bills, protektionist measures an so forth. Which, again, is one example of why the economy is worse off than it could have been, and a worse economy is seen in public opinion.

Come on. JmC leans toward anti-anti-free-trade, which is known. That can't rellay be spinned into elitism in itself. It's not like he suggests that people (i.e. not politicians) are stupid and cling to no-trade agreements on their spare time because they are supersticous.

[kharris]

My suggestion to Obama's campaign staff is to ignore any suggestion that involves hypocracy, dishonesty and pandering to our lower instincts. If he doesn't actually like pro wrestling, he should not allow anyone on his staff to suggest that he does. It really does seem too much like a Kerry-style error. Obama should be the best Obama he knows how to be while in the public eye.

[Bob]

>> The rising discontent in our country is not due to job losses
__________________________

NYTimes.com

Economic View
Maybe You Did Vote Your Pocketbook

By DANIEL ALTMAN
Published: November 12, 2006

clip -

More than 80 percent of voters in an exit poll, conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Media Research/Mitofsky International, said the economy was a very important or extremely important issue.

That percentage was the highest for any issue, including Iraq and terrorism.

[hari]

I really don't understand the current political culture and the role of media in American politics in 21 cent.

This kind of nonsense by a candidate would certainly decide his ultimate destination in Old Europe today. Namely, the waster paper basket.

BO will only win the WH if, and inspite of RNC baiting, he stays sobre and intelligent about the current distortions in US body politics from health care to hi fi credit crunch. Any attempt by him to say, "my friends....", will certainly end up digging a deep ditch for him (also).

[Rohan Swee]

I was surprised this statement by John McCain showing how out of touch he is with people who have to work for a living didn't get more notice in the media:

Really? It surprises you that Fool McTool gets yet another pass?

But seriously, perhaps this is allowed to slide because most reporters' eyes glaze over at the mention of "trade" or "economic policy", so they simply don't catch the statement for the jaw-dropping idiocy that it is. Ignorant, out-of-touch, elitist statements that mention concrete, technical issues can't be immediately "Oprah-fied" and easily blathered about the way more nebulous "culture war" topics can.

At any rate we can only hope that the oppostion puts its energy into exposing the man's essential tool-ly vacuousness, rather than dicking around at fast-food joints.

[Anne]

Can we list the passes? Let's see: Keating 5 (bank melt-down scandal of the late 80's); thick-as-thieves with the lobbyists versions 1, 2, and 3; pandering to the religious right after his 2000 run; Phil Gramm, lobbyist for reducing mortgage regulation, now a senior adviser to the campaign; can't be bothered to learn the difference between Muslim groups; resistant to modifying racist slang; ...

[Fledermaus]

we would have heard repeatedly about how out of touch Mr. Arugula is with the working class. But McCain says it and there's hardly a stir. Why?

Actually we wouldn't have heard boo about it because our corporate masters like free trade and the reporters know who butters their bread. Remember, attacking free trade is the worst form of 'class warfare' according to our betters.

[ECONOMISTA NON GRATA]

"But McCain says it and there's hardly a stir. Why?"

Because McCain is irrelevant. There's a presidential race going on and McCain's not in it. Nobody cares about what McCain says, nobody cares if McCain is in good heath or bad, nobody cares if McCain worships Satan, or if McCain walks around naked with an exposed erection. Gross! Sorry..... Nobody cares about McCain because he's not a contender. He's a bad show for the meager and disfunctional remains of the Republican party.

Best regards,

Econolicious