Humber Etc.
Humber Etc.

At the precipice of the U.S. election, John McCain is floundering as an increasingly stoic Barack Obama fires ahead in the polls. With signs pointing to a clear winner, some will no doubt point to the legacy left behind by George W. Bush as tainting the Republican hope for a new president. But that’s taking the easy way out. In early September of this year, the race for the White House was a “statistical dead heat,” according to an Ipsos/McClatchy poll. Clearly, the Maverick and his fellow Republicans have done a few things wrong since then.
First and foremost is McCain’s insolent choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Once the initial Palin excitement wore off, reality kicked in. Clearly, Republicans hoped that millions of American women, disappointed at Hillary Clinton’s loss, would blindly cast a vote for one of their own kind – regardless of Palin’s hard-right ideology. Not only was McCain’s choice intensely disrespectful to women – who surely care more about their hard-earned rights than breaking some proverbial glass ceiling – he was willing to choose an unqualified candidate to try and eke out a few more votes. McCain was not only greedy in choosing Palin, he was shallow.
As delightful as it was to watch McCain squirm during a joint interview with Palin on CBS in September, the V.P. choice was not his only mistake. McCain’s allegation that Obama has ties to terrorism was the political equivalent of an eye-gouge – it was simply dirty fighting. William Ayers may have set off bombs, but “terrorism” has a new connotation today, and “terrorism” certainly doesn’t raise the image of an over-zealous anti-war protestor anymore. Earlier this month, McCain was forced to come to his opponent’s defence when Republican supporters at a town-hall meeting voiced irrational fears of Obama, no doubt stoked by McCain’s unfair allegations.
Even Colin Powell denounced McCain for his over-use of personal attacks during the campaign. “What they’re trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that’s inappropriate,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press.
To be sure, McCain could have made some better decisions, but he has also demonstrated incompetence. His initial decision to suspend a debate with Obama was either indicative of cowardice or an inability to multitask. Although he did end up participating, it was only after caving in to public pressure. His ad campaign, too, didn’t display any of the savviness that Obama’s did.  By placing ads in video games and the like, Obama displayed that he clearly has his finger on the pulse of this generation, unlike his Republican counterpart.
We can try to blame Bush’s legacy all we like, but the truth remains that McCain simply dug his own grave.