PINATA POLITICS…. I wrote a piece a couple of months ago comparing the McCain campaign to a blindfolded child swinging a stick at a pinata. McCain and his team seem disoriented, swinging wildly in every direction, hoping to connect (and pick up the electoral votes that come pouring out). There’s no coherent thought or theme, just an angry campaign with a bat.
This morning, Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt hosted a conference call, doing what John McCain used to do before he came overly scripted: they responded to questions from reporters. And from what I can tell, Pinata Politics was very much on display.
Looking over what we learned during the call, there’s one common thread:
* Davis and Schmidt attacked the New York Times;
* Davis and Schmidt attacked Joe Biden’s son (and the media’s coverage of Biden’s son);
* Davis and Schmidt attacked Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod, suggesting he was involved in a whisper campaign against Sarah Palin;
* Davis and Schmidt attacked Obama for knowing William Ayers;
* and Davis and Schmidt attacked Obama surrogates for criticizing Sarah Palin (and reporters for not scrutinizing the criticism closely enough).
In other words, Davis and Schmidt, handed a bat, swung wildly in every direction, without any real regard for accuracy.
I have to wonder if this is the right strategy. Having these two whine about every slight, real and imagined, might work the refs, and it might make the angry conservative base feel a little more motivated, but on the whole, it just sounds kind of sad.
