Submitted to a Candid World

It’s no surprise that John McCain is getting frozen out of the news cycle, especially as Barack Obama’s overseas trip takes a turn for the presidential.  The Democrats have mounted an astonishingly successful campaign of denial, as headliner event after headliner event combine to steal the show from the media’s former darling. Even the extended primary season functioned to keep media attention (for better or worse) on the Democrats, while McCain struggled to keep listeners awake in front of a green screen.

McCain’s reaction, though, has been disappointing to say the least: instead of reinventing himself, or coming up with exciting policies to invigorate a disenchanted America, McCain has decided to complain about the media’s love affair with Obama.  That’ll show them!  For a candidate who makes his name on being more substance than spin, this is a wholly unsatisfying talking point, to say the least.

And a short-sighted one, too.  For years now, McCain has been a media darling, enjoying preferential treatment and respect, privileges that largely continue: the media still forgive plenty of McCain’s gaffes:

For McCain to complain when the same forgiveness is shown his opponent may be political, but it’s also childish, and it’s not rational.  The same goes for the allegation of “censorship” being leveled against the New York Times, which refused to print McCain’s response to an Obama editorial.  To cry “censorship” assumes an unrestricted right of reply – something out of the Fairness Doctrine days, rules that I thought conservatives opposed – and reduces again to spin and whining.

To paraphrase & borrow again from Denialism Blog, let’s not mistake whining for debate.  But how telling that whining appears to be the only thing McCain has left to say for himself.