McCain today: “not good enough for America, and not good enough for me.”
I just finished watching Arizona Senator John McCain’s official presidential campaign announcement speech from Portsmouth, New Hampshire and the McCain of 2000 is still missing in action. Touching on one of the speech’s themes, my feedback to the presidential hopeful is: “Senator I think you’re great, but what you said today was not good enough for America, and not good enough for me.”
That’s not to say that the speech didn’t have some high points, here’s my money quote (I’ve emphasized what I think was the best line of the day) :
“I don’t seek the office out of a sense of entitlement. I owe America more than she has ever owed me. Thirty-four years ago, I came home from an extended absence abroad. While I was away, I fell in love with my country. I learned that what’s good for America, is good enough for me. I have been an imperfect servant of my country ever since, in uniform and in office, in war and peace. I have never lived a single day, in good times or in bad, that I haven’t thanked God for the privilege.”
That’s what McCain should be talking about. He should be talking about what America means to him and not from some litany of alliterated remarks. Something tells me that the words in the above paragraph more than any others in that speech reflect upon his true feelings.
At moments today he read his speech as if he was either uncomfortable with some of the text or simply not familiar with it. While one of the senator’s strengths in 2000 was his ability to speak off the cuff in a genuine manner, the McCain of 2008 has moments where he acts like a man wearing a suit two sizes too small. In 2000 he was larger than life, today he seems uncomfortable in his own skin.
I learned a long time ago that you can’t make a candidate into someone he’s not. Until McCain’s team of veteran Bushies recognizes their candidate for who he is, he will continue to falter. And that’s not good enough for me nor will it be good enough for America.
