When David Letterman announces that Sen. John McCain canceled his CBS Late Show appearance so he could focus on the financial crisis, then shows the live feed of McCain getting makeup applied for an interview across the hall with CBS' Katie Couric, it's pretty devastating (6:35 in the below clip.)
The McCain gambit is in order to build a narrative that he puts "Country First" over politics. But he is potentially creating the opposite narrative.
Pick Sarah Palin. Fire Chris Cox. Appoint a Cuomo. Demand Town Halls. Postpone The Debates. These are all political stunts, not serious governing choices.
There's a fine line between "Maverick" and "Erratic." A maverick is a leader with a philosophical governing vision not constrained by party.
But when you're pulling random political stunts untethered to any vision, especially during a crisis situation, that's just being erratic.
Whatever value one gets for being experienced is the presumption that one can respond assuredly to a crisis. But when the less experienced candidate responds with more clarity and calm, that presumption vanishes.
And as far as this stunt goes, I suspect McCain has fundamentally misread the electorate.
Most folks are not saying to their elected officials, "Why Aren't You Getting Something Done?" They are saying "What The Hell Is Going On Here?"
Going to Washington to work the back rooms doesn't answer that question. Public debate does.
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