BLOGS FOR JOHN McCAIN

No More Mr. And Ms. Nice Guy!

Some in the Liberal Blogosphere are very concerned that Democrats are saying too many nice things about Sen. John McCain, and they are taking them to task for it! The Carpetbagger Report, a liberal blog, is laying down new rules for the Dem candidates!. Here is part of their post below:

OK, new rule for Democratic presidential campaigns: unhelpful praise for John McCain should, from now on, be off limits. Sure, the candidates may get along well with McCain, and McCain may be a nice guy to hang out with, but this is a partisan exercise and a zero-sum game.

As much as I love the Big Dog, there’s just no reason to make things easier on McCain with comments like these.

At a stop in rural Pennsylvania, over winding roads and through rolling hills in small Lewistown, PA, where people lined the streets to watch his motorcade approach, former President Bill Clinton had high praise for the man who has clinched the nomination for the other party.

Mr. Clinton said all three major candidates remaining in the race are talented and special people…. But McCain, who Mr. Clinton said is a “moderate”, “has given about all you can give for this country without dyin’ for it.”

He said McCain was on the right side of issues like being against torture of enemy combatants and global warming, which “just about crosses the bridge for them (Republicans).”

No, no, no. Assuming the quotes weren’t taken out of context — ABC News has screwed over Clinton with this before — Clinton’s comments were wrong on the merits, and the wrong strategic message.

Substantively, McCain isn’t a “moderate,” he doesn’t even claim to be a moderate. It’s a media myth that Dems are trying to knock down, not reinforce. As for McCain on torture and global warming, he’s let everyone down on both recently, as he’s moved further and further to the right. Dems need to remind people why McCain is wrong on these issues, not suggesting he may be right.

And strategically, having one of the leading Democratic candidate’s top surrogates complimenting McCain in a key battleground state really doesn’t seem like a good idea.

The entire trend lately has been discouraging. Hillary Clinton first praised John McCain’s experience, saying he was prepared to be president while suggesting Obama may not be. Soon after she said McCain passed her commander-in-chief test, while suggesting Obama did not.

McCain is playing for the other team. Raising his positives right now is the opposite of what Dems hope to do.