John McCain approaches a teleprompter the way he once may have regarded an enemy interrogator. But after the bulk of a speech that was workmanlike at best, the last ten minutes of his convention address were among the most emotionally engaging that we have seen in some time. The story of his captivity in North Vietnam was already familiar to most viewers, but the challenge for McCain was to separate himself from John Glenn, Bob Dole, John Kerry and other past candidates with extraordinary biographies by helping his audience understand why his own experience was relevant to their lives. His “Stand Up and Fight” exhortation accomplished this goal, albeit on a more thematic level rather than as a jumping-off point into more specific public policy challenges.

McCain would be the first to admit that he is far more comfortable in a town hall setting in which he can engage in an interactive conversation with his audience. Even in an auditorium filled with tens of thousands of supporters, standing behind a podium seems to be a somewhat isolating experience for him. But you can’t take questions in an acceptance speech, so he struggled through the first three-quarters of it until he reached more familiar and more uplifting territory.

It’s worth wondering what would have happened if McCain had tried to move his audience to fight for more tangible policy goals. Absent such a direct link to his issue agenda, it’s an open question as to whether voters will translate his broader rhetorical challenges to legislative progress on his economic, energy and foreign policy priorities. On the other hand, McCain has eight weeks to help them connect those dots. And best of all, he can do it in town hall sessions rather than forcing himself through any more formal orations.
Dan Schnur, Director, Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California
Communications Director for McCain’s 2000 Campaign

This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 11:45 am and is filed under Uncategorized .