« Previous | Main | Next »

McCain's Cure-All

Share

August 06, 2008 10:21 PM

ABC News' David Wright reports: On the campaign trail, it's John McCain's big I Told You So. In every ad and at every town hall meeting, McCain reminds voters of his early advocacy of The Surge.

"I supported it when it was the toughest thing to do," he routinely tells people, arguing that the drop in violence in Iraq has vindicated his judgment.

"I was right, Senator [Barack] Obama was wrong," McCain recently told ABC News. "I think I have more credibility on what the future [in Iraq] should be, as opposed to Senator Obama. If he would've had his way, we would be very likely be involved in a wider war right now."

The Surge is so much a part of his mantra that it is now on the verge of becoming McCain's cure-all for America's problems.

Today in Ohio, he called for an "Economic Surge."

"Our surge has succeeded in Iraq militarily, now we need an economic surge, to keep jobs here at home and create new ones," he told workers at a cabinet maker.

On Friday at the National Urban League, McCain suggested he'd fight crime using "tactics somewhat like we use in the military."

He went on to describe how it would work:

"You go into neighborhoods, you clamp down, you provide a secure environment for the people that live there, and you make sure that the known criminals are kept under control," he said. "And you provide them with a stable environment and then they cooperate with law enforcement."

Sound familiar?

The McCain campaign appears to be on the verge of trademarking The Surge.

"Most Americans identify The Surge as taking resources and putting them where they’re needed for success," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds told ABC's Bret Hovell.

"This is a concept that we feel like we can replicate," Bounds said.

Which sort of makes you wonder: what's next?

Perhaps an Energy Surge.

Maybe a Health Care Surge.

How bout an Education Surge? (On second thought, that might scare the kids.)

There's a risk for McCain of appearing like a one-trick pony. And there's another danger as well.

To the extent that The Surge is now defined as "taking resources and putting them where they're needed," it's possible that, in the minds of voters, The Surge will become simply The Splurge.

August 6, 2008 in Hunter, Duncan | Permalink | User Comments (48)

User Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

0bama will follow McCain's lead, and voice his agreement, and then, take credits as his own - as he has repeatedly done during the primaries, and after.

Posted by: fact check | Aug 7, 2008 1:03:51 AM

0bama will follow McCain's lead, and voice his agreement, and then, take credits as his own - as he has repeatedly done during the primaries, and after.

Posted by: fact check | Aug 7, 2008 1:04:58 AM

McCain is the man with the cojones to lead this country in the right direction. Obama is a candyass. There will undoubtedly be lots of misery and sacrifice to make USA viable once again. We better get it done ... or we'll be eating with chopsticks and teaching the koran in kindergarten. Please vote McCain 2008, is the best candidate.

Posted by: phuckalqaeda4 | Aug 7, 2008 1:10:30 AM

Obama wants to spend $10 billion of tax dollars (largely by taking a little of the frosting off Big Oil's cake) in changing the economy to use renewable energy sources.

Posted by: John McCain''s conscience | Aug 7, 2008
=======
First of all, it is not a Communist state, yet, such that 0bama could just rob from a private or public company, and spread the money.

Second, he promises you to give you $1000 if he is elected, i.e., to vote for him. That's bribery, and the last time checked, it is against the Law, Mr. Constitution Law prof.

Posted by: fat cat | Aug 7, 2008 1:10:58 AM

age based discrimination is no different than racism or all the other (ism's). discrimination based on a person's race, age, or sex are all lumped together for a reason. although i do not support obama i would never, use racism to make my case against him. that is such a turn off, and it hurts and has hurt your candidate tremendously.

Posted by: sonia trevino | Aug 7, 2008 1:15:08 AM

Here is a cure-all for both parties..........Repubs give the nomination to Rudy......Dems give the nomination to Hillary..Then perhaps we all might sleep better at night for which either one gets in office...Geez how in the world have we managed to get to this point I will never know..............

Posted by: REPUB | Aug 7, 2008 1:18:50 AM

"You go into neighborhoods, you clamp down, you provide a secure environment for the people that live there, and you make sure that the known criminals are kept under control," he said. "And you provide them with a stable environment and then they cooperate with law enforcement."....Has McCain gone out of
the FREAKING MIND?
It sounds like he wants to turn the United
States into Iraq....What he said sounds
Like something OUT of Hitlers Germany..
He has turned into a Bigger Nut Job than
Bush.... and that takes a lot!

Posted by: Anita Yova | Aug 7, 2008 1:19:05 AM

Anita Yova,

For your consumption, it's Rudy Giuliani's strategy to clean up NYC.

Posted by: Jokerous | Aug 7, 2008 1:27:13 AM

p.s. Not that you have to agree, but nobody was able to remove the porns out of 42nd street, until Giuliani used this tactic.

You are probably too young to know what the old NYC was like.

Posted by: Jokerous | Aug 7, 2008 1:30:22 AM

Mcain is very dangerous he sounds like he wants us to be like iraq or maybe he sounds a little like hitler vote for this maniac hope you can sleep at night!!!!

Posted by: angie | Aug 7, 2008 1:47:50 AM

For Donna in ID.
Not all wars are equal, so don't compare wars as if they are all the same political and moral issues.

But more on the oil issue that most people don't seem to understand about this falsehood being voiced. Remember the oil companies here in America are multi-national corporations and not a nationalized industry like in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, or Venezuela and have no attachment to the American people other than for Americans to help out their bottom line and what the shareholders expect from these companies as far as a return on their investment is concerned. The oil that will be drilled/pumped from these new leases in the future will not be given away or sold at discount, it will be sold at the prevailing rate. Which means if the price of oil gets to low (overproduction) then the reason to sell/explore will be diminished. The interest of the oil companies is to make money not sate America's thirst for cheap fuel. Secondly, there are no oil exploration platforms, ships or other methods available at the moment. Because of the increase in oil use/demand worldwide all are exploring in other areas and are committed for the next few years. On going ship building, etc. has booked the available/knowledgeable shipyards also for the next few years and these ships are also committed to previous exploration sites. This means there is no fast way to get to those offshore leases that are desired to be opened to exploration by Mr McCain and Pres. Bush.

Refineries are another issue because these things just don't sprout up in any old neighborhood overnight. Grandma I don't think you will want to live next door to one either so don't assume they can happen that quickly. There will be lots of law suits to block them from wherever they are proposed. Further, each part of a refinery is custom made so there is no going to the Home Depot store and buying 1500 6" elbows and 200 miles of 6" pipe and a host of other fittings. Doesn't happen.
This is why the Dept. of Energy says that it will be 2030 before this unknown oil will have any effect and at best only a few cents at the gas pump.

So what's the rush except to help a few old friends of Bush's get leases now. I say leave it in the ground, the day will be coming soon enough when we will be needing that oil for something more than driving our cars to the mall. Maybe we will need it to grease the axles in our electric cars.

Posted by: Charles B. | Aug 7, 2008 2:20:26 AM

fat cat,
We are not a Communist state. Technically, we are a debtor state:

Reagan: $200 Billion Deficit
Bush I: $300 Billion Deficit
Clinton: $200 Billion Surplus
Bush II: $482 BIllion Deficit

You know what else we are? We are a democracy. The People of the United States have the RIGHT to tax the Big Oil that has fed off of our misery as the price of crude has gone up.

And we have the RIGHT to invest that money in a T. Boone Pickens type plan that would strengthen the economy of the United States.

Or you could vote for John "More of the Same" McCain. I am sure that he will continue the Republican tradition of asking Big Oil look out for us!

Posted by: John McCain's conscience | Aug 7, 2008 7:54:03 AM

"You go into neighborhoods, you clamp down, you provide a secure environment for the people that live there, and you make sure that the known criminals are kept under control," he said. "And you provide them with a stable environment and then they cooperate with law enforcement."
--------------------
What on earth is McCain suggesting? That we should all live in a state of occupation? Besides, he won't be able to afford a surge in anything with his economic policies. Afterall, he's going to need to borrow more money to pay the interest off of our national debt. The bigger his "tax cuts," the bigger the gap in revenue, the greater the debt. When he says that he doesn't get economics, he isn't kidding. We borrow money from China and other countries to pay off our debt. Maybe someone should sit down with McCain and try to explain this to him.

Posted by: mary | Aug 7, 2008 8:03:17 AM

Less frequently, McCain has said that going to war was the right choice and he would do it all over again. However he is making this declaration before all the facts are in, an action his constantly rags Obama about. There are daily revelations about how Bush and Cheney lied and manipulated information in order to make a case for a foreign invasion by American armed forces. If the reasons that Bush, Cheney and now McCain cite for validating starting this war are false, then when will we hear the real reasons? And if the surge was so successful, then why is the status quo of the Iraqi war still the same in terms of troop commitment and cost? Is this success, or a temporary lull in hostilities that will end once the elections are over?

Posted by: Bob | Aug 7, 2008 8:09:18 AM

John Sydney McCain III is now the broken record:

Noun, Verb, Surge

Posted by: Tommy Thompson | Aug 7, 2008 8:35:02 AM

Anyone that thinks the mccain policies would be any different from the bush policies is only kidding themselves. mccain would definitely be more of the same. This country can NOT afford another bush/cheney term. Obama 2008!!

Posted by: pt | Aug 7, 2008 8:39:58 AM

But McCain voted for the BIGGEST BLUNDER ever which is vote for the Iraq War.

Posted by: Wendy | Aug 7, 2008 9:01:46 AM

"Cure-All" McCain is all about old old old school politics nothing else.

China tell Bush to mind is own business a so call partner?

Posted by: Lookup | Aug 7, 2008 9:34:03 AM

Here's how the surge came to be.

In the 2006 election, the voters DEMANDED something change. The day after the election Rumsfailure was gone.

Voters, stand up and take credit where credit is due.

The surge's success belongs to the voters, our soldiers ... not McCain, not Bush, not Obama.

Senator McCain, quit stealing something that does not belong to you.

Posted by: newz4i | Aug 7, 2008 10:19:26 AM

isnt that obama did during primaries. his opposition to iraq war. one mantra?

Posted by: sri | Aug 7, 2008 10:40:00 AM

Post a comment