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Sep
26
Wow – this tweet set me a-googling and sure enough, here’s the article in the New York Times, “THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE DISAPPEARING DEBATE; McCain Putting Bush-Leaning California in Rearview Mirror.”
First, about the withdrawal, from the Times:
Mr. McCain’s decision to withdraw from the forum this Thursday in Los Angeles took everyone by surprise, including the debate’s sponsors, CNN and The Los Angeles Times, which appeared to be holding out hope today that the candidate would reconsider. It also caused dissension in Mr. McCain’s own campaign. His communications director, Daniel Schnur, was quoted in several California newspapers today as saying that the withdrawal was ”a tactical error at the staff level.”
Aides to Mr. McCain announced on Sunday that he was pulling out of the event to campaign in New York, which also holds a primary on March 7. They complained that while they had agreed to the encounter weeks ago, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas consented only last Wednesday, the day after his losses in Michigan and Arizona, and that by then, Mr. McCain had made other plans.
Bush aides said their candidate still planned to debate.
Mike Murphy, Mr. McCain’s senior strategist, said the campaign had decided to stick to its new schedule — which on Friday includes a ride with the ”Today” show on Mr. McCain’s campaign bus — because it offers far more free media exposure. ”I’m going for the bigger ratings, the bigger audience,” Mr. Murphy said.
This is creepy eerie.
Some Republican tacticians were troubled by Mr. McCain’s pullout. The Los Angeles debates were expected to be galvanizing encounters in a diffuse week of campaigning. They wondered if his action would hurt his standing among those drawn to his candidacy because he seemed different from other politicians.
”It’s much more dangerous for McCain because McCain voters want to see him,” said Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster. ”There’s an intensity to the McCain voter who is highly interested in the campaign and anxiously wants to hear everything he has to say. They are more likely to be turned off than a typical Bush supporter.”
Despite Mr. McCain’s action, the news organizations said the forum would go on with Mr. Bush and Alan Keyes. It was not clear if the sponsors would allow Mr. McCain to participate from a remote location or if they would opt for a theatrical flourish and set up a chair for him, on the off chance of a last-minute entrance.
And then, from this CNN transcript of the actual debate on Thursday, March 2, 2000, read this exchange between the CNN correspondents [emphasis mine]:
KING: Now, Senator McCain will participate in tonight’s debate from here in St. Louis via satellite. He says he hopes to get away from the running feud over campaign tactics, and back to a focus on his policy differences with Governor Bush over taxes, shoring up Social Security, the experience necessary to be commander in chief. Asked about losing his focus today, Senator McCain said his campaign has made a number of mistakes, and asked why, he said one of the main reasons was, quote, “We don’t have the most brilliant candidate.” Bernie.
SHAW: John, is one of those mistakes the failure of the senator to be here at the “Los Angeles Times” building tonight in person at tonight’s debate.
KING: There is certainly a debate going on within the McCain campaign as to whether it would have made more sense, sent a stronger signal to the voters of California had he participated in person in Los Angeles. The senator initially was not going take part at all, saying he wanted to go and campaign in New York. That is, of course, a very key target for him next Tuesday. This is a compromise, stopping in middle America to participate by satellite, but he is certainly subject to criticism in California for not being there. Even many of his own aides wish he had stayed and taken part in person — Bernie.
SHAW: John King on the trail in St. Louis, thank you.
Talk amongst yourselves but this is not the kind of decision-making I want to see repeat itself again and again, except during a presidency on our time. I have no recollection of this instance – anyone else? Can you imagine the conversation George Bush must have had in his head the last two days, remembering back to this incident?
Wow.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:12 pm September 26th, 2008 in Debates, John McCain, Media, Politics, Republicans, WH2008
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6 Responses to “McCain faulted for withdrawing from, then re-entering 2000 debate w/Bush”
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Did you just mention the putz Frank Luntz? “**** Frank”…Google it..
your layout *****. so does your opinion on cspan.
agreed Mr Varney, but what can you expect from indoctrination? repeat repeat, repeat, easy, no thought required and everyone else is doing it…
chick is so not thinking with what G-d gave her…
Vaguely, McCain had some opportunity, then made some mistakes that cost him the nomination in 2000. He was then considered not right enough, could we call that the rise of the neocons? His attempts to move right was seen as a lack of conviction by some. Changing positions on issues captured in sound bites played out of context made the candidate look contradictory. I seem to recall an episode of that in the 2000 primary and may be the reason some Republicans really were not pleased with his nomination this time around, some still remember that.