McSame... but different.

[The Night Owl]

So, are we going to go into this general election underestimating John McCain the same way that we underestimated George W. Bush in 2000 and in 2004? I think so. After reading some of the recent GDP posts about McCain, I get the distinct impression that people here think that McCain will be a pushover. I can assure everyone that he will not be that.

First, as a general rule, underestimating an opponent is always a bad idea... no exceptions. Even if we have every indication that McCain will be easy to beat, we should be operating under the assumption that we are in the fight of our lives against him.

Second, McCain is not easy to beat. Keep in mind that McCain is called McSame because his platform is more or less in line with George W. Bush's policies, not because he is identical to Bush.

McCain is nothing like Bush. Bush is a fool and McCain is savvy. Bush is an empty suit and McCain has some depth. Bush is a hack politician and McCain is a master politician. Bush has lackluster life story and McCain has a compelling life story. And the main difference between Bush and McCain is that Bush is odious and McCain is likable.

So, let's not kid ourselves... Even though John McSame may have adopted George W. Bush's platform, the McSameness ends there.

[anonymous171]

1. And the people should be reminded again and again that he is the same as Bush.

[Duke Newcombe]

2. Not so different...

Every ad run against him should focus on his bowing down before CPAC, and swearing fealty to every failed "conservative" policy for the last eight years.

"Bush owed these people, and we got stuck with eight years of failure. Now McCain owes them. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."

Duke