US Politics / Chicken Dinner / 18 September 2008 /

Candidate for position of most powerful man in the world claims "fundamentals" of US economy are strong...

Here are these good people trying to organize an election, but the outside world keeps butting in like a needy child. Stupid world. Barack Obama and John McCain have been dutifully plodding around the country sharing their message - Obama even successfully endured an evening of entertainment by Barbra Streisand - but events elsewhere hogged what should have been their headlines.

When Hurricane Ike had finished turning the tables over in the Houston/Galveston area, the media's attention turned to the gripping spectacle of havoc spreading through America's most powerful financial institutions.

Still, the candidates have to press on, even if the audience is a little distracted. To try and claw back some of the spotlight, they chose to share their wisdom on the subject of the ailing economy. (Neither, to their credit, opted to pronounce on how they would be dealing with hurricanes should they win the White House). For John McCain, that decision proved to be a disaster. As Wall Street went over like cardboard in a week of such far reaching economic catastrophe it is amazing no one has yet coined a name for it, McCain's blithe analysis of the carnage was that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." When the evidence became overwhelming that no one had the faintest idea what condition the fundamentals were in, but that they were definitely looking a little green around the gills, McCain's damage limitation exercise felt as feeble and pathetic as some of America's financial institutions' death throes.

"Hours later he backpedaled," said the McCain-hating New York Times gleefully, "explaining that he had meant that American workers, whom he described as the backbone of the economy, were productive and resilient. By Tuesday he was calling the economic situation "a total crisis" and denouncing "greed" on Wall Street and in Washington." Nice U-turn, Senator.

While McCain was suffering his own personal credibility crisis, the Obama camp went into overdrive to let America know the stupid old man was grotesquely out of touch and to allow him to govern would be an act of near criminal irresponsibility. They used a slightly different combination of words to make their point, but they didn't hold back.

Paradoxically, Obama would love to see the crisis continue. For him, bad news is good news. Or as right wing pundit Richard Baehr wrote, "In terms of political momentum, when the topic being debated is national security or social issues and values, McCain benefits. When the topic is a souring economy or financial crisis, Obama wins. So this week, it is Obama's week to ride with the tide." The Realclearpolitics.com average of polls has the candidates neck and neck, after Obama slipped behind last week. Betfair has Obama to win at [1.67], McCain at [2.48].

The events of the last two weeks - first the Sarah Palin, pig-in-lipstick imbroglio, then the Wall Street meltdown - also serve to illustrate what a tenuous grasp the candidates have on controlling the message as the election looms.

In spite of their spending hundreds of millions of dollars on television advertising and campaign field teams, this election may ultimately be decided by the team which responds with most agility to the boulders that roll their way.

According the Herald Tribune, neither candidate now has his hands firmly on the reins of the media. "It has reached a point where senior campaign aides say they are no longer sure what works, as they stumble through what has become a daily campaign fog, struggling to figure out what voters are paying attention to and, not incidentally, what they are even believing."The paper suggests the candidates would be better served preparing for the forthcoming debates than firing more cash into the mist. All those good cash dollars spent, and people barely believe a word the candidates say. Such ingratitude.

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