Ann Davidow

Senator McCain is said to be a formidable candidate, and it is probably foolish to suggest that he isn't. Candidates should never get so comfortable with themselves that they fail to give an opponent his due. Just because McCain can't read a teleprompter and his promises lack substance doesn't mean he can't deliver a punch or two.

Actually it may not matter that his website is a bit lackluster or that his persona could use a little polishing or that his talking points could make more sense. He can probably muster a substantial number of votes just because he's the Republican candidate, no matter what he says or does. But the internet is not his friend at this point, and his staff doesn't appear to be on top of things there or in the staging of his events. After his free ride while the Democratic primaries dragged on, one might have expected a more robust and politically astute message to emerge on the campaign trail.

But that may say something about the man himself. The Senate, where so much can be hidden for so long might simply represent the zenith of McCain's career. Dealings with lobbyists, winks and nods, party loyalty to a failed president aren't indications that he is a man of sound, independent judgment no matter how often he is described by supporters as a maverick. While he can reach across the aisle in the Senate and effect legislation, he votes along party lines most of the time. Advancing to the White House could prove to be a bridge too far and represent a terrifying example of the Peter Principle - - the theory that people keep getting promoted until they reach their level of incompetence.

At the National Small Business Summit, Senator McCain pressed his points about the economy in the usual way, promising to alleviate conditions that hamper business growth and cause pain to American consumers. He will, he said, eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, to great audience approval, but gave no indication of how he would make up for the revenue short fall. Similarly, without clearly defined parameters his support of unfettered "free trade" precludes any discussion regarding labor conditions in other countries and provides no clue as to how the American work force can compete with trading partners whose workers are paid slave wages. And he has re-floated the notion of suspending the gasoline tax until Labor Day but again with no plan to replace the lost highway and infrastructure funding the tax supports.

In general his approach to the economy seems to be based on the notion that reining in earmarks and government spending will reverse the country's disastrous economic slide. But what would be the big savings? What government programs and whose earmarks would be deemed non-essential? Not surprisingly, he makes no effort to calculate the cost of the Iraqi war and occupation as part of the economic equation, which makes all other considerations teeter on the brink of irrelevance. McCain's stubborn insistence that we must stay in Iraq ‘until we win' while he oversees an economic bounce here at home is a Herculean task that seems well beyond his capabilities.

On a lighter note the candidate's website offers the "McCain Golf Pack", a black pouch with McCain's name lettered in white. Funnier than the fact that this item appears on a presidential candidate's website in the first place are the comments about the item - - typically: "...when I'm out on the golf course I use it as a subliminal message to remind my caddy that I don't support minimum wage" and "This product is perfect, the balls play well, and often I think about how I could best show my support for the troops and our war on terrorism while enjoying an afternoon on the links. I know the folks at the club are going to want a set of their own."

An attentive staff might be inclined to follow up and cleanse the site of such derisive observations - - just one of those who's-paying-attention things and not hugely important except in the sense that so often this candidate and his staff seem off-balance and out of step with life in today's fast lane.

Towards the end of the Summit McCain said he was looking forward to his town-hall meetings with Barack Obama, even suggesting they travel on the same plane to the various locations. Some words of advice for Obama - - Travel light.

The electorate has a voracious appetite for wolfing down misinformation, and many voters continue to vote against their best interests, influenced by media loud-mouths instead of attending to what candidates themselves actually say and do.

Disaffected Clinton supporters threaten to vote for McCain in the fall; some have even begun organizing to accomplish this perverse undertaking. What did these folks like about Hillary? Were they concerned about health care, a woman's right to choose, education, job security? What exactly drew them to her in the first place? And which of the two parties is most likely to express their values and fulfill their expectations?

It's hard to fathom how anyone who supported Clinton could vote for McCain. However, many of them believe Hillary was treated badly by the media, a contention she and husband Bill encouraged, and which seems to animate much of their angst. Charges of misogynistic bias gained traction over time despite the fact that her opponent was a person of color, not exactly a guaranteed political asset in America.

Senator Clinton's stumble was a result of her own unforced errors, driven as well by the appeal of Obama's message to a country ready for real change and a new kind of leader. Some inclined to support her early on stopped listening when her campaign deteriorated into a racially tinged, divisive and less than forthright affair. After two duplicitous Bush terms, voters wanted to be able to trust the next president, and Hillary's claims of experience became less compelling than growing concerns about her honesty.

Leaving aside whatever mischief Rush Limbaugh was able to create in a few primaries by getting Republicans to vote for Clinton just to keep the contest going, her insistence that she won the popular vote was disingenuous at best. There were other variables besides Limbaugh's exhortations - - the tainted primaries in Michigan and Florida and the lack of reliable vote totals in caucus states. Still, fences will likely be mended, with Hillary's embrace of Obama's leadership role.

It is crucial that Democrats unify because, for all McCain's failings, he and his minions must be dealt with in coherent, focused fashion. And regardless of what McCain does, Obama, with his huge fund-raising advantage, should rethink accepting federal funds in the fall - - especially since there is no guarantee that well-heeled Republican contributors won't finance 527 groups like the so-called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" as they did in the last election, thus thwarting any attempt to create a level financial playing field.

Defrocked Republican House leader, DeLay calls Obama a "Marxist". And Fox News is actively trying to frame the Obama candidacy as a far-left enterprise supported by people who "hate" America, according to Sean Hannity. Pastor Wright of course tops the list of haters although he served over six years in the US military, whatever animus informed his rants at Chicago's Unity Church. Sean, on the other hand, who defines patriotism as the way he sees things has no record of military service.

On a recent Hannity & Colmes show Hannity and guest Daniel Pipes attacked Obama because of Wright and others only tangentially affiliated with the candidate. But, when Colmes noted that Senator McCain had actively sought the support of right-wing religious fanatics, Hagee and Parsley, Pipes called Pastor Hagee a "mainstream" religious figure and said he plans to attend Hagee's conference this summer, despite the pastor's assertion that Hitler was a God-inspired force propelling Jews to Israel.

Pipes, a virulently pro-Israel advocate, supports a combative, non-conciliatory, non-negotiating role for Israel, but as with Hannity, there is no record of his ever having served in the military. Funny how so many on the right wrap themselves in the flag and engage in hawkish sloganeering, encouraging the sacrifice of others to a combat commitment they have never been willing to make themselves.

Ill-conceived rationales sometimes pass for truth, but ad hominem attacks are best refuted by clearly enunciated policies - - the next hill to climb for Obama and the Democratic Party. This is no time for split loyalties and petulant defections. There are far too many dangerous minds already at work on the other side.

If ever there were a time for straight talk that time is now. But something resembling a shell game continues to play out in the Democratic Party where votes are sometimes fungible entities and different voting systems are said to have greater validity than others, depending on whose calculator is being used. Meanwhile Senator McCain is conducting a modest little campaign trying to attract media attention by intoning vague ‘issue' messages described as major policy statements that offer little in the way of innovation or excitement but which proceed largely uncontested.

On Saturday the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee spent the day discussing ways to re-establish the disallowed delegations from Florida and Michigan in a manner that the two candidates and voters could accept as reasonably legitimate. In the end Senator Clinton got her wish receiving the largest number of votes in both states. But Obama was awarded Michigan's "uncommitted" votes the Clinton campaign had sought to deny him. Her advisors had insisted that "uncommitted" was just that; the candidates could lobby those delegates but none should be awarded outright to Obama.

Obviously Hillary could have had every vote since hers was the only name on the ballot. But that line of reasoning failed to resonate among Clinton supporters since it didn't comport with the goals of the campaign. Angry outcries erupted when the committee's decisions were revealed and advisor Harold Ickes said Hillary might appeal to the Credentials Committee in August. In the end, though, even many Clinton backers on the committee felt that the day-long deliberations had reached the best, most doable solutions under the circumstances and that it was time to work toward establishing party unity.

Party Chairman Howard Dean had opened the meeting by describing his anger at the treatment he encountered when he failed to become the nominee in his own presidential bid. But he quoted Al Gore who said to him at the time: "Howard, it's not about you, it's about your country." Apparently Dean hoped to inject some dignity and high purpose to the proceedings. And to some extent he succeeded except for outbursts from the more egregiously offended attendees at the end.

Unfortunately, the anger that has surfaced during this primary season may not be easily dissipated. And it will take some doing to repair the Clinton image for many who once held her in high regard but who have been shocked and disappointed by her divisive campaign tactics. A lot will depend on whether or not the party faithful are really committed to principles and not just carrying a torch for some personal agenda.

Those supporters who threaten to vote for McCain if Hillary isn't the nominee seem not to understand what really defines the two parties. It is incomprehensible that people who were willing to vote for Hillary could actually consider voting for McCain. Did they just want to see a woman in the White House? Are they unconcerned about women's issues or the kind of government they wish to have?

For his part Senator McCain basks in his warm, uncontested cocoon while Democrats vie in the few remaining primaries. The elder Senator has been ever so condescending about Obama's youth and the fact that he hasn't been to Iraq for ages, offering to escort him there - -  acquaint him with General Patraeus and the troops. How special that the kindly old gentleman would be willing to take the young whippersnapper under his wing.

Yet McCain seems to lack any real understanding of Iraq and its people, and it's hard to accept continued assertions about the strength of his foreign-policy credentials. His advisors often say he just misspoke when he confused Sunnis and Shiites and said Iran was training Al Qaeda insurgents and sending them into Iraq, not that he didn't ‘get it', but it's obvious that he really doesn't ‘get it.' He's also wrong when he says that US troop levels are now below pre-surge levels, they aren't. And his economic policies seem to be based on a mixture of "market forces" and tax cuts.

A decision regarding the Democratic presidential nominee cannot come a moment too soon. Senator McCain shouldn't be allowed to get too comfortable in his guise of a change candidate when he's really kind of like a Good Humor man driving through your neighborhood with the bell jangling on his truck, only when you go out to buy something you discover the only flavor he has is vanilla.