Obama in Europe. McCain in a hole.

I got this thoughtful note from intrepid reader Gene:

Professor Blanchard, I think McCain is still in the running because people genuinely like him.  Personally I spent over two years as the aide to a WWII Medal of Honor winner and later two years as the deputy to a Viet Nam POW.  Both of these men dealt with demons that I could only witness but never feel.  So I am truly in awe of John McCain.  Now comes the “but”.  McCain’s campaign is a disaster; this entire week he came off as “small” in his comments.    It hurt to see/hear him act like just another “look at me” politician—I prefer he get back on the pedestal and rise above sound bite chatter.  I believe that people really want to vote for him but right now he is losing them.  I don’t agree that this election is Obama’s to win or lose--as I’ve heard pundits say many times. As much as I respect the man I’m in the undecided column. I do have a much more favorable opinion of him than of Obama but my bottom line; I’m not sure at this time he is the right one to move us forward.

I don't think McCain's campaign is a disaster, but it is surely sputtering.  McCain has strengths, as Gene points out.  His greatest strength, however, is not his own.  It lies in the uncertainty that Barack Obama has created around himself.  All but the true faithful can now see that Obama's campaign is pure Hollywood.  He adopts or abandons positions based solely on whether they improve his ratings.  It is all but impossible to tell from anything he says or does what he really believes, if indeed he believes anything.  McCain has the advantage of a long presence on the political stage, and voters has a sense of who he is that can withstand the occasional flip flop. 

But if Obama is a showman, he is turning out to be a spectacularly good showman.  His world tour may be, as most people seem to think, all campaign and no statesmanship, but it surely puts him way up on the stage.  Meanwhile, the McCain campaign cannot seem to figure out how to capitalize on his strengths.  It is impressive, as I said yesterday, that McCain is still competitive.  But given Obama's ability to rouse so many people where ever he shows up, and the constant adoration he gets from the American press, it's hard to see how McCain can convert. 

McCain needs to build a sense of substance and presence.  He needs to look like a safe bet to all those who wonder if a savior from Chicago, a rock star to the masses, is really what we need in a President.  Just now, he doesn't seem to know how to do that.