John McCain’s sorrows come not single spies, but in battalions

Updated October 26

Senator John McCainJohn McCain wiped out his rivals in the Republican primaries and won the nomination as the Republican candidate for President. This was a noteworthy achievement for the septuagenarian Vietnam War veteran and former POW in North Vietnam. In facing the Democratic candidate Senator Barack ObamaBarack Obama, however, he is going through a stormy passageless than two weeks before the presidential poll.

Financial Crisis: One can hardly blame John McCain for the onset of the worst financial crisis since 1929 at this time. President BushPresident Bush’s foreign policy is no longer the major issue of the campaign but the dire threat of a recession. McCain must be fuming, why on earth did the financial crisis have to reach a peak in September and October, when the election is scheduled for early November?

All the mistakes made during the past eight years of Republican rule, resulting in the bitter harvest of spectacular bankruptcies and crashing stock markets, have come to haunt John McCain’s presidential campaign. The Bush administration's efforts to control the upheaval have thus far proved ineffective, even though the Congress has accepted the revised $700 billion plus bailout plan.

Sarah Palin: If that were not enough, John McCain's campaign has been plagued by missteps and blunders, starting with the astonishing selection of Sarah PalinSarah Palin, governor of Alaska, as his running mate. At the Republican convention, this was deemed a smart move because Sarah Palin wowed the gathering with her looks and feisty comments. Subsequently, as more information about Senator John McCain’s running mate became available, and as her responses in interviews were mercilessly scrutinized and publicized, a big segment of the media projected that she lacked the knowledge and experience necessary for the high office of the vice president of the United States. The selection was termed bizarre, criticized as a gamble, neutralizing the principal argument of the John McCain campaign that he was more experienced and judicious than Barack Obama. In endorsing Senator Barack Obama, Colin PowellColin Powell cited John McCain’s selection of Palin as running mate as one of the reasons for supporting the Democratic candidate.

Presidential Debates: The presidential debates are supposed to give each candidate the opportunity to convince voters that he or she would be better able to provide the requisite leadership to the USA for the next four years. John McCain was able to hold his own in the first two presidential debates, which were considered indecisive. A great deal depended, therefore, on the outcome of the third debate, because polls were indicating that Barack Obama was starting to pull ahead.

Independent experts have determined that during the course of the third debate, John McCain got the better of his rival in the verbal exchanges, but he failed to deliver the knockout blow that was the need of the hour. Nobody can blame him for that because after all he was not facing some pushover, but a battle-tested candidate who had got the better of the formidable Senator Hillary ClintonHillary Clinton.

That said, one could fault John McCain for the displays of hostile body language and facial expressions during all the debates, especially the third, which conveyed the impression of peevishness. The impact on some the undecided voters who want the President of the United States to keep this temper under control and display unruffled calm and confidence in the face of attacks may have been negative.

Particularly disappointing for Senator McCain’s campaign was the complete dissipation of his initial gains in using Joe the Plumber, which seemed at the time to be an inspired move. But alas, upon discovery that he was not a genuine plumber, that his name was actually Samuel, and that the assumptions about his earnings and taxes were erroneous, Joe the Plumber overnight became somewhat of an embarrassment.

Negative Campaigning: In a move to reverse the Democratic tide, the Republican campaign has also resorted to copious negative campaigning against Senator Obama. This may appeal to the far right rank and file but its impact on the undecided voters could be counterproductive.

Campaign Spending: It is a great irony that a black American candidate of relatively modest means has been able to raise vast sums of campaign money through superior organization and legions of grassroots supporters.

Senator Obama had decided not to avail the federal campaign funds totaling $84 million because it would have barred him from spending any amount above that from the date of the party convention to Election Day. Senator McCain opted for the federal system. Obama, who at one point promised to participate in it as well, has reportedly raised a record $100 million+ in September, a figure that would shatter previous fund-raising records.

According to the NYT, Senator Obama has gone on a buying binge of television time that has allowed him to swamp the air waves with positive and negative messages. The Obama media blitz is likely to provide the Democratic crucial reach in convincing undecided voters, especially in the battleground states. One could have taken serious exception to this lop-sided spending if it were the result of contributions from millionaires and multi-millionaires, but since it comes largely from grassroots support, people are unlikely to hold it against Senator Obama.

Finally, just 10 days before the elections, McCain campaign sources are alleging that Sarah Palin has gone rogue, refuses to take advice from McCain’s aides or her family and that she may be looking out for herself more than the McCain campaign. One of the aides told CNN that she is playing for her own future as the next leader of the Republican Party and standard bearer for 2012. This shocking display of disunity at a crucial time could be a harbinger of McCain’s looming defeat