Why McCain Isn't Catching Fire

McCain has yet in my mind to really find a solid angle of attack on Obama. He can go after Obama on the issues, but to make it stick he has to cut those issues in a fresh way. You're gonna cut taxes? Well, any republican off the street should be down with that, so why should I be impressed? That is a minimum requirement. You want to get me excited, tell me you are going to radically cut taxes for working class people, go flat tax, or fair tax or something that is really game changing and gets the IRS off my middle class ass. Give me some exciting, cutting edge republican ideas on education for example. You're going to champion school voucher and choice expansion? Big deal. That is not a new idea. You want to get me excited, tell me you are going to VASTLY expand charter school implementation nation wide to create true competition and innovation in publicly funded education. He can try to run on issues, but to me, part of McCain's problem is that his candidacy is mired in the safe, and I just don't think that will catch fire. So far, he is boring and Obama is exciting. He is exciting if you are a Democrat because he has been such a success, he has left wing positions (though he's already made the jump to lightspeed in a race to the center) and he is a great orator. He's exciting because he'll be the first black president. He is exciting if you are a republican too, because he gives you a target, gives you a reason to be politically scared, a reason to fight the power if he takes office because he is who he is. That's more galvanizing, just plain more fun than the prospect of a McCain presidency. If republicans are honest with themselves, a McCain loss is better for the party than a win. They will work a whole lot harder if they lose.