McCain Summer Fun Tour
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Today was one of those days that could very easily give a reporter following Sen. John McCain on the campaign trail a serious existential crisis. Why am I here? What am I doing? Is this really worth the astounding sums of money my employer is spending?
We began the day at a hotel near the New Orleans Airport in Kenner, La., and at that hotel we stayed -- until 3 p.m. Seven lucky reporters got to accompany Sen. John McCain this morning on what was, by all accounts, a pretty bad-ass helicopter ride to a photo-op on an oil rig 150 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Actually it wasn’t an oil rig -- it was a spar. Per the pool report, a spar floats on the water, while a rig has legs.
Anyway, McCain toured the spar, which he was supposed to do a couple of weeks ago, but Hurricane Dolly had other plans. Tropical Storm Fay was currently pulverizing Florida, too far east to literally rain on McCain’s parade once again. Following the tour, McCain gave his “We have to drill here, we have to drill now” spiel. The most newsworthy aspect of the event came as McCain was walking back to the helicopter to leave: A reporter asked him a question, and he answered. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very juicy. McCain’s answer: Yes, he enjoyed the tour, and it was his first time on an oil rig. You can read a fuller account of the trip here.
While all of this was going on, the bulk of the traveling press corps was at the hotel in Kenner, passing the time. Ironically, while McCain visited the oil platform, Noble Drilling Services, Inc. was holding a safety leadership workshop in one of the meeting rooms. Also staying at the hotel were some very large men, who turned out to be members of the New Orleans Saints.
Meanwhile, the chattering class was doing what it does about whether or not Sen. John McCain will choose Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) for his running mate -- and if so, what are the ramifications? The answers range from the smart: There will be blowback; to sputtering, mouth-foaming hyperbole: Lieberman will completely destroy the Republican Party and everything it stands for. I'll leave aside the wisdom of Lieberman as a vice presidential nominee, as others will certainly debate it ad infinitum over the course of the next week.
From a strategic point of view, even floating the possibility of a pro-choice veep -- which the McCain campaign has been doing in abundance recently -- represents a pretty big political risk. Getting Rush Limbaugh all worked up, and likely his legions of listeners as well, is probably never a smart move for a Republican seeking the White House. Not to mention the possible fallout from religious conservatives who may really withhold their votes because of a pro-choice running mate on the ticket, at least in theory.
But if it is just a head fake, it’s hard to see how much of a benefit the campaign can reap. McCain is quite possibly pissing off a very large percentage of the GOP base to make a play for some independent voters. But how many people really choose their presidential pick based on the vice presidential nominee anyway? Is it more than those who might be turned off in the process? Is McCain gambling that if he selects a pro-life running mate after floating the possibility of a pro-choicer, the pro-life crowd will be extra happy and thus extra supportive, while independent pro-choice voters will perceive the float as a wink and a nod? That’s an awfully convoluted head fake. My head hurts. Fortunately, there is a town hall on the schedule tomorrow, and with that comes the hope that maybe, just maybe, there might be some real news to report. If not, at least I have this nifty sticker:
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