Over at Politico, Jonathan Martin has written a “political junkie’s guide” to Dick Cheney’s memoir, In My Time. During the 2008 presidential race, Martin notes, the veep was unimpressed with Sen. John McCain’s campaign:
Cheney writes that in 2008 he was puzzled about GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign and request a meeting with congressional leaders to discuss the financial crisis at the White House.
“Senator McCain added nothing of substance,” Cheney writes about the now-famous meeting. “It was entirely unclear why he’d returned to Washington and why he’d wanted the congressional leadership called together. I left the Cabinet Room when the meeting was over thinking the Republican presidential ticket was in trouble.”
Cheney adds that he “essentially sat out” the 2008 campaign and that the tension between the Whtie House and McCain’s campaign “made for some awkward moments.”
“After the campaign’s tracking polls began to nosedive, for example, they quit sharing them with us,” he writes.
More here.
While I still voted for McCain, that campaign suspension hysteria really shook my faith in his leadership
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Cheney writes that in 2008 he was puzzled about GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s decision to suspend his campaign and request a meeting with congressional leaders "
He was puzzled? Really? Because to anyone else paying any attention it was perfectly clear McCain was just trying to make an ill-conceived effort to grab some much-needed attention. Either Cheney's more thick headed than we imagine (unlikely) or he's covering his tracks.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMaybe I'm missing the context, but none of the McCain excerpts come across as a "slam". They may be unpleasant truths, but nothing personal or disrespectful. Honestly McCain's "I'm suspending the campaign, no I'm not" moment was also the point at which I realized he was in real trouble, and he surrendured a tremendous amount of credibility to Obama. Sorry Sen. McCain, I will always honor your service, but you lost to a neophyte politician, and you can't take umbrage with those who point out how and why it happened.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMcCain ran the weakest campaign since Dole, and even Dole maybe beat him out. Without Palin, John would have been completely swamped in the elction.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWow hughman, do they pay you overtime for working Sundays?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm confused, Are you saying McCain was right in his grandstanding or that Cheney was really "puzzled" by his claims to be ignorant of McCain's motives? Because neither proposition holds water.
Perhaps they should pay you to learn how to use the "reply to this post" button.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI don't agree. McCain's mistake was in leaving Washington to go for the debate. Barack Obama's polling as president dropped when he wouldn't deal with the debt crisis. Same thing would have happened then. Media made it look like McCain was strange for suspending his campaign to go to Washington. At the time he was a Senator, and experts were saying the system was on the verge of collapse. McCain was doing his job while Obama was campaigning.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI don't see the problem with a Senator who wants to be President putting a priority on dealing with a current problem rather than campaign.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusemccain brought nothing to the table and the MSM made sure to portray him as just some guy standing around in the background. cheney is right on this one.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMcCain was "forced" upon us.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNewsflash: The number one reason McCain lost the 2008 election was because of Bush and Cheney, and America's general disgust with the Republican party after 8 years of the Bush administration. Of course, some like to believe that Bush did a wonderful job, and that the only reason Obama won was because McCain was incompetent. That isn't true. Reagan could have run in 2008 and would have had a tough time winning.
Why do I mention this? Because Cheney played just as big a role in getting Obama elected as McCain did. If you are upset with Obama, then the first thing you need to ask yourself is: Why was the country so disgusted with Bush after 8 years?
For Cheney to criticize McCain's campaign shows just how small-minded, mean-spirited, and clueless this man was. It's like kicking a running back in the shins before a game, and then complaining how bad his performance was during it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMy understanding is that McCains polls were doing fine until the market crash. He was ahead (narrowly) and holding a lead. As soon as the financial crisis happened & the market tanked, he was in trouble.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe only time McCain's polling was ahead of Obama's was between the time his VP pick was announced and he suspend his campaign to go back to DC to 'fix' the financial crisis.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYou are on the money.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm with you on this. I think a lot of Americans are still sick to death of the Bush/Cheney administration, and I personally think that the Bush/Cheney administration was fiscally reckless, strategically incompetent, politically authoritarian, and a cause of substantial damage to both the Nation and to the prospects of the Republican Party. Some may have voted for Obama because he was "African-American", but most voted for him because he was not Bush.
As to McCain, he is not likely to have been a solution to our economic problems, since he confessed that he knew nothing about economics. He was and is no conservative.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbusePowell, McCain, Cheney, Bush, Rove: All these Washington used-to-be-insiders, with their "I was always right," "if you tell one on me, I'll tell one on you," and "you hurt my feelings" public catfights make me realize just how desperately the GOP needs the fresh approaches of Bachmann, Palin, Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Jim DeMint, Marcus Rubio, Senator Lee, and even Thad McCotter.
And speaking of fresh air, that was an outstanding and easy-to-understand Sunday talk show interview, Ron Paul. Glad your ideas are finally getting the attention they deserve, even if a small percentage of your supporters are, alas, certifiably insane.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf you give a man a fish, he will have one meal, and probably a pretty awful one because if he can't fish, imagine what his cooking is like. If you give a man a fishing pole, a rifle, a twelve pack of Pabst and show him where the holes in the fence are so he can poach, he'll eat so much he'll get fat, sick and re-register as a Democrat.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHey Tom,
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat kind of fish are you feeding the guy? Try some good Pacific swordfish or maybe some nice Alaskan halibut. A rifle isn't really necessary for fishing but the 12-pack makes for a great outing. Keep up the good work.
John McCain ran on of the most obtuse and awful campaigns ever:
(1) He chose to take matching government funds of $75m and thus instantly limited himself in raising money
(2) When he suspended his campaign no one could understand why. No one. He looked bad trying it.
(3) He failed to let Governor Sarah Palin campaign in Michigan, and elsewhere, when he was falling in the polls. Add to that he restricted her attacks, and his own, on Obama for no good reason.
For a guy who was in the Military he fought a weak campaign. If it wasn't for selecting Governor Sarah Palin he would have been blown out even worse.
You betcha!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI vote with Cheney. If McCain had said "when this problem is resolved, as it will be, people are going to jail", he would have been President.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHe is a clueless about leadership as our current president, but not as clever.