How McCain Lost His Brand
7th October 2008
In the past several weeks, the shift of press-corps sentiment against McCain has been stark and undeniable, even among heavies such as Matthews long accused by the left of being residents of the Arizonan’s amen corner. Jonathan Alter, Joe Klein, Richard Cohen, David Ignatius, Jacob Weisberg: all former McCain admirers now turned brutal critics. Equally if not more damaging, the shift has been just as pronounced, if less operatic, among straight-news reporters. Suddenly, McCain is no longer being portrayed as a straight-talking, truth-telling maverick but as a liar, a fraud, and an opportunist with acute anger-management issues.
Could it be that it’s because he’s actually running against a Democrat? Could it be that he’s no longer bashing his fellow Republicans? (Or, at least, not so much.) Did anybody truly not expect this? I know for a fact that Rush Limbaugh predicted precisely this when McCain ran against Bush in the Republican Presidential primaries.