Quick Hit: Try again McCain

Last night as I watched John McCain give what his supporter said would be a "big speech" I was curious to see what kinds of things the Republican nominee had stored up in the past few months. Of all three speeches, I expected his to have the most substance, having so much to say since there has been a virtual media blackout on the Republicans since late winter. His campaign director came on the television and set up a nice preview: Congratulate Hillary and reach out to her supporters, establish himself as a candidate for change, and open the general campaign by making his pitch to the American people. As I watched, I felt terrible that I kept thinking, "Damn he looks so old and confused". His speech was filled with awkward moments where McCain would pause and wait for an overwhelming cheer from his audience, who seemed just as confused and as unenergized as the candidate himself. And yet I continued to watch thinking, "this is awful". Only when the speech was finished and I switched over to CNN, which my friend told me had dropped the speech midway through because it was lackluster even Republicans were admitting that the speech was severely lacking. McCain had better not allow Obama to dictate the agenda and tempo of this general election or he will be sorely outclassed and outspoken. For the first time John McCain showed his age in this election. That is something both the Republicans and the McCain camp cannot afford. Think Nixon and Kennedy televised debate. Yeah, it was that bad.