Gingrich On McCain's "Last Stand"

The former House Speaker/behind-the-scenes consigleri-to-House-Republicans-2012 presidential candidate has a new essay in Human Events about where McCain stands. His advice: break with Paulson-Bush or die...

Senator McCain now faces the crisis of his career.

He is behind.

He will not catch up on a state-by-state basis.

He will either win the argument in the national media, suddenly growing stronger in many states or he will lose the national debate and gradually decline further in a number of states.

If Senator McCain is not prepared to separate himself from the Bush-Paulson economic program, he has no opportunity to win.

The country is deeply fed up with the Bush presidency and angry about the Paulson bailout. If McCain is  confused or uncertain about how bad this economic performance is, he will never get the country to listen to him.

Just as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan (as well as the House Republicans in 1994 with the Contract with America) created a large argument which led to a decisive result, so McCain has an opportunity to reach beyond the daily attacks and clever tactics and spend the last 28 days of this campaign making a large argument over America's future.

Comments

Obama is Reagan and Margaret Thatcher this year.

Posted by j.stipich | October 7, 2008 1:23 PM

Marc,

bad link

Posted by Mark | October 7, 2008 1:23 PM

For want of a time machine, Gingrich doesn't explain how McCain could disown the vote he cast not a mere few days ago without A) cementing the "erratic" narrative, and B) re-injecting the flip-flopper charge into the campaign. So this advice strikes me as more than a bit silly. But that's Newt for you...

Posted by Mike H | October 7, 2008 1:24 PM

McCain-palin tactics and temperament.
.
Dear concerned citizens of America and Mass Media of the U.S.A.
As a concerned registered independent voter, forensic psychiatrist, disabled American I made my decision to vote after taking into consideration following joint tickets attributes and characteristics.

1. Has the ticket shown adequate calmness, coolness, and connectedness's under pressure to lead our nation [Presidential Temperament]?
2. Has the ticket shown sustained sound "Judgment and Caliber"?
3. Has the ticket shown adequate understanding of depth and degree to address the crucial challenges in their their purpose, policies, and positions [ Honesty, integrity and sincerity]?
4. Has the ticket sufficient "understanding and knowledge" of inside Washington workings [Experience]"?
5. Has the ticket reservoir resilience, wisdom, and vigor to address the present and future f our beloved "Great-grand Nation"?
6. Has the ticket enough joint foreign policy experience and exposure based on " Values, Virtues, Vastness, and " [American moral soul]"?
7. Has their campaign talk, slogans, ads, plans, and programs based on facts and are they free of fear, fiction, frivolous labels, unfair attacks, negativity, and impulsively? [No "imminent danger to national
security and safety"].
8. Has the ticket genuinely kept on message of country first and politics last and avoided copying [Message change"]?
9.Has the ticket message stayed away from Culture divide and war[ Disaster prevention ]?
10. Has the ticket resisted being surrounded, supported and surrogate's by divisiveness, distortion's, and destructive characters, [ Real patriotism VS shiftiness and shameless parrot-ism]?
11. Has the ticket thoughtful, real non-partisan, & non-impulsive plans to address our current economic crisis or political tactics and temperamental statements.
I have personally and professionally concluded that OBAMA-BIDEN ticket will lift and inspire our greatgrand nation back to its greatness within and restore our global standing with the use of maximum, firm
international diplomacy and minimal force if and when indicated {" Peace thru Strenght "}.
12. The era of responsibility has to replace irresponsibility and unaccountability will change to accountability and transparency. The Wall Street greed will change to Main Street need.
13. Temperamental and Angry McCain is out to play and create a card mistrust and distress around Obama with the Vail of claim that he will bring bipartisanship in Washington DC. He is destroying him claim every by painting Obama naive. It is tragic, sad, and unfortunate that so called Maverick McCain has already generated a disdain and demeaning face off in the debates and bailout suggestion. Obama is real Presidential and he maintained a smile during the debate and while McCain had a constant grin and disdain towards Obama.
Yours sincerely,
COL. A.M.Khajawall [Ret] MD.
Forensic psychiatrist, Disabled American Veteran and Iraq
Freedom team. Grass roots California leader per Senator McCain's
PS: It is sad and unfortunate that Hon, Temperamental and angry Maverick McCain has changed into bitter rather than better man. In the interest of Country McCain should join Obama.

Posted by COL. A.M.Khajawall [Ret] | October 7, 2008 1:25 PM

The problem is that he's signed on to this and voted for this; that ship has sailed. His economic platform is set. He can propose tax breaks for the middle class; but he has a credibility issue right now on the economy that he has to overcome. That makes Obama's attacks more powerful.

Doing this is erratic and will scare voters away IMO.

Posted by Rhoda | October 7, 2008 1:27 PM

Newt the Kook as we used to call him down here, had very little credibility at this point. Sure he's a bright person, but he's spent so long working the Rovian mindset that even at this late stage, they're working tactics instead of strategy. McCain has run a terrible campaign. and every time they strive to win a news cycle, they and up losing more traction, which pushes them to do the only thing they know how to do, which is try to 'win' the next news cycle, which ends up putting them further behind.

They just don't get it. This election isn't about winning news cycles.

Their decent into incivility is going to cost the down ticket races dearly.

Posted by Mark | October 7, 2008 1:28 PM

This is the latest, I think, in a series of hail-mary strategies for McCain. Back when he picked Sarah Palin, that was supposed to be the "last stand" type move. The other such moves had either a short term effect or no effect, and I don't think this will have a long-lasting effect either.

As others have said, this is more of the win-the-battle, lose-the-war type tactics from the McCain campaign.

Posted by guy | October 7, 2008 1:38 PM

It'll be difficult to separate from the Paulson doctrine when his VP said we'd face a Great Depression if Paulson's plans weren't adopted.

People don't realize this - but I think Palin shut the door for McCain's potential opposition to the bailout with that statement.

Posted by Virginia Centrist | October 7, 2008 1:43 PM

Missing link to the weird Gingrich piece:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28907

If the whole situation were not so precarious - and potentially so much worse than that - there would be some pleasure to be found in watching the Gingrich's of their world flailing about...

... but then we see the dastardly depths to which they have gone on the character assassination side of their equation, and it will not lead to anything but collective embarrassment.

Posted by batondor | October 7, 2008 1:44 PM

As others have noted, McCain voted yes on this deal a few days ago. He claims to have been instrumental in getting it past. For Gingrich to suggest he now pretend the events of last week are but a mirage is so naive that it makes my new kitten look statesmanlike.

McCain gave a speech on the economy yesterday; it can be summarized as "Obama.... Obama... Obama... Do we really know Barack Obama?" If McCain were willing to come out as a fiscal conservative who would own the economic crisis with sound leadership, maybe that would have worked. He's completely failed at it; now his and Palin's rallies feature the candidates claiming Obama is an unpatriotic terrorist, a danger to the nation, while their supporters scream "terrorist" and "kill him" at mentions of Obama's name, and "Sit down Boy!" at black members of the press. (Unlike Obama, known for pausing to engage with rowdy audience members, McCain and Palin do nothing to gainsay these exciting audience suggestions, or suggest that they in any way disagree with them. This is not someone on the internets, it's someone in your audience audible to you and everyone else.)

No, Mr. Gingrich, claiming at this point that opposing the bailout can save McCain is naive. So much for Gingrich's potential as a political analyst.

Posted by Deborah | October 7, 2008 1:46 PM

The fact that the McCain/Palin campaign is moving into a mob mentality is scary. Very scary. Their willingness to paint their opponent as evil, a terrorist, an outsider, as a devil, is simply an invitation for someone to try to take the situation into their own hands via violent means.

Real leadership, real character, would be McCain taking the stage tonight and telling the American people, "Look, I made a mistake when I listened to campaign personnel. For the next 30 days, I am going to be the John McCain people used to look up to, used to respect. I am going to talk about issues, about why I should be president of the United States. If I win or if I lose, I will show honor." Then, he should walk over to Obama, shake his hand, and say, "I am cutting my negative ads. Will you do the same?"

Just that fast, he would be back in the race.

Posted by Gus Westley | October 7, 2008 1:56 PM

I have noticed a new trend with some independent voters recently which shows that the nasty personal attacks are backfiring on McCain because of Palin. And the reason is these independents find Palin to be "very shrill" when she talks and attacks, and they hate that shrillness. Two of my coworkers pointed this out during the last two days. Palin is likable to them only when she is speaks nicely but as soon as she talks negative she sounds "very shrill". They just can not stand her. So these attacks have pushed them towards Obama.

Posted by John | October 7, 2008 2:10 PM

Was the "decisive result" that resulted from the 1994 "Contract with America" the thumpin' that Clinton delivered in '96, do you think?

Posted by jibeaux | October 7, 2008 3:32 PM

Hmm...Newt may be evil, but he isn't stupid.

As others have noted, this is obviously completely useless advice - there's no way McCain can now disown the bailout after voting for it and talking about how instrumental passing it was, etc. etc. This is a non-starter.

What Gingrich is doing is paving the way for his own ambitions in 2012. Essentially, the rats are deserting the sinking ship. McCain is done, and Gingrich knows it.

Posted by John K | October 7, 2008 4:07 PM

Guy Westley's post makes a lot of sense and could really work. Ergo it won't happen.

I type this as someone who, in the spring, thought I could easily vote for McCain.

Posted by Deborah | October 7, 2008 4:25 PM

Guy Wesley and Deborah have a point except for three things:

1 - Many of us who saw something 'different' in McCain in 2000 have been disappointed by his total support of the Bush administration (eg.: he could have tried harder to stop the tax cuts after 9/11 and OIF started, etc... and he could have remained neutral or even run against Bush in '04)...

2 - His overt exploitation of his ex-POW status for political purposes has tainted my opinion of his notion of honor and courage (there are, after all, ex-POWs who are Democrats just as there are courageous inner-city youths who worked their way out of their difficult start in life and into positions of success and responsibility...).

3 - He'll still have Palin and the reactionary extremists they have set loose together...

Three strikes... He's out!

Posted by batondor | October 7, 2008 8:39 PM