McCain's Adult Problem

Lots has been written about McCain's problems with the "base" of the GOP. These problems are over issues like immigration, campaign finance reform, tax cuts and so forth, but I think people are missing another big problem.

McCain wants to campaign like an adult. This means that he can disagree with his rivals without insulting them, without demeaning them, without questioning their intentions, their patriotism, their loyalty. He wants to have a rational national debate.

For too many on the right, this is almost as bad as saying you're pro-choice.

We saw this conflict come out into the open yesterday in Cincinnati. Bill Cunningham is just one of dozens of loud mouth, right wing talk show hosts who have a large audience that love their shtick of insults and rants. Cunningham has been on the local air waves for years and is also nationally syndicated on Sunday nights, taking the spot vacated by Matt Drudge.

His 10 minutes of brain dead ravings is normal for him. McCain's campaign could not have picked him without knowing this about him.

Now McCain has been trying to reach out to the right wing talk show audience, but has only had marginal success. The NYT attack on him was a big help in getting this audience to support him since the NYT is one of the talk show hosts' favorite targets.

But yesterday revealed the gulf between the adult approach of McCain's and the childish partisanship of the talk show hosts.

Cunningham goes for a no-substance insult fest and McCain feels obligated to apologize. Cunningham then goes on the air to attack McCain.

McCain is going to have a tough time appealing to the right wing talk show audience if he continues to take an adult approach.

They react more like the rabid fans of a college team. No more thinking about what they stand for, they just react emotionally to their rival. McCain is trying to have North Carolina fans recognize the worth of Duke fans, get Ohio State fans to appreciate the athletes of Michigan, Auburn fans to salute the worthiness of Alabama. It is tough sledding.

Hate and fear are hard to compete with.