American Hats

This is a thoughtful piece--I just added you to my watchlist (which is a poorly named function, yes?). I don't jump on the vine all that much unless something sticks in my craw...more and more this political season, things have stuck.

Your assessment is correct--the republicans didn't screw up (though one could argue it was a big ole national pander)...however, I do worry about a party that doesn't mind repeating they wear their Republican Hats...BEFORE they wear their American hats.

Seems to me when you take off your political party hat...it should be apparent that you were already WEARING your American hat beneath. Yeah...I'm being a little facetious...but something about the "tone" of Cindy McCain when she says it...seems to be an implication that others aren't as "willing" to take off whatever hat their wearing...that other's aren't "Americans First."

What I can't get out of my head is a picture from three years ago, almost to the day.

George W. Bush at a birthday party while New Orleans drowned under Katrina's rage. Not a care in the world. I see the picture in sun-drenched Arizona... George Bush smiling while holding a birthday cake for the birthday boy--the reason for our President to be there...instead of elsewhere.

John McCain was that birthday boy.

Please, Adam, don't apologize for reporting the facts even if they do reflect well on John McCain's ability to lead. I hear that Obama managed to get out an email during the Gustav crisis. An action which is fairly exemplary of his ability to lead.

Dan, it happens to be a governor's reponsibility to respond to emergencies in their state. Something that former governor Blanco did so poorly. I'm sure Governor Palin would have been able to actually act in an emergency of that type to protect her state and in the future, our country.

I agree Adam. It gave the Republicans a more positive first day than they would have had. The two main speeches would have been Bush and Cheney. Which may have linked McCain and the supposed "failed" Bush presidency more firmly with McCain in the minds of the voters. This way they both get the opportunity to lok presidential.

There are two sides to be taken from McCain butting into the conversation of a national disaster...the local resources that had to be put aside so he and she could make their "calls for....(fill in blank for everything FEMA bungled three years ago here)...diminished the efforts those resources could have given to the actual cause.

I agree--it's a Governor's responsibility--as it is a President's responsibility to watch over the country.

When our President should have been watching over the country three years ago, he was eating birthday cake with his potential successor. John McCain wasn't so interested about taking off his republican hat then, was he? Your claim on Sarah's behalf has no merit...it's an opinion. However, if there was an available EARmark for her to get to protect the metropolis of Wasilla...now there? You'd be 100% on the money.

I dunno.

I can't really imagine a scenario in which responding to a hurricane is a *better* scenario than having an as-planned convention. I think his best bet is to "make the best of a bad situation" where "best" won't ever be as good as "not having to deal with it at all".

Both campaigns raised money through their offices, so I'm not going to give McCain a pass or extra credit on that. McCain may get a slight edge for limiting their convention -- but he didn't have a choice. I'm not going to give him too much credit for making the obvious choice, the only possible choice in light of the Bush Administrations fubar response to Katrina. Any other response would have been political suicide. So, basically, you're saying that McCain had a really obviously dumb option, or the only other option -- and he took the one that wasn't dumb. Good for him.

Ultimately, there's very little he can *do* beyond raise money and show up for a quick tour. Obama decided that staying out of the way was the better choice alongside raising money. He (McCain) isn't going to be given a chance to show how he'd call the shots, and if he's elected President, he's going to be expected to do a heckuva lot more than help fill aid boxes. It's a nice photo-op, sure -- but we won't know how either candidate would handle a similar situation as President.

If you want to analyze someone's response, analyze Bush. He's the guy who gets to actually improve upon his last showing. But, that's not difficult, given his last showing.

John McCain was given the opportunity to visit the Gulf region in Mississippi at the behest of Governor Haley Barbour. While Obama sat on a temporarily suspended campaign trail worrying about getting in the way, John McCain was on the ground boosting moral, taking in the situation, showing leadership and acting Presidential. It is questionable that his involvement helped, but the impression was made, John McCain was there, he cared, he was ready to lead.

So the Republican governor invited him in, eh?

Think of the logistics of moving a candidate into and out of a region. There's all sorts of support staff, Secret Service, media which come along. Vehicles need to be supplied, contingency plans arranged. At a time when people are supposed to be "getting their butts out", you're moving this massive entourage in, and taking time away from the leaders who are already on the ground and should be commanding the situation to go pose with them. Sure, it looks good. But does it help, practically? I'm not sold.

The moral angle is dubious at best. Isn't most of NO Democratic after the last storm? Won't McCain's presence only deepen their gloom?

Also, when did you become this optimistic about McCain and the GOP?

I was listening to MPR yesterday they were interviewing a convention goer about the atmosphere at the RNC. She was really excited, gushed about how great everything was, and then talked about how wonderful and exciting everything was - the convention, Palin, the hurricane - you could hear that she hesitated a bit after saying that, before ending with "It's just a really exciting time..." I couldn't help but laugh. I mean, I realize it was a mistake and she wasn't really talking about how awesome the storm was or anything, but it just came off as really funny. I think she's kicking herself today after that.