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He managed to limit the mechanical hand chops and weirdly timed smiles that can often punctuate his speeches. He delivered his lines with an ease that suggested a momentary peace with his longtime nemesis, the teleprompter. (He relied on a belt-and-suspenders approach, with text scrolling down screens to his left and right, and on a big TV set in front of him.)
But when Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, came to the intended sound bite of his speech — the part about reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil — he hit a slick.
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-Greg Jenkins, a former White House official and Fox News producer…will oversee the producing and staging of McCain’s events.
-He is working to limit his verbal tangents and nonverbal tics.
-He is speaking less out of the sides of his mouth.
-[H]e is relying less on his favorite semantic crutch — the phrase “my friends”
-McCain also appears to be trying to exercise restraint, advisers and campaign observers say, when speaking off the cuff, wisecracking in town meetings and criticizing his opponent. In recent weeks, for example, McCain seems to have reined in the sarcasm he has directed at Obama. (In May, for example, he said of his opponent, “With his very, very great lack of experience and knowledge of the issues, he’s been very successful.”)
I have though McCain's lack of coverage has been, at least in part, due to the Mainstream Media covering for McCain's weaknesses in relation to Obama, and public speaking, besides all the other baggage that McCain carries.
I agree that Obama is getting a greater amount of air time when it comes to this election right now.
But when one digs too deeply into John McCain, one finds things that make him less and less electable.
One example, I have not heard one mention of McCain's involvement in the Keating 5 scandal during this election. Not that he was cleared, nothing. It is like the events never happened during his Political career.
Or how Obama's wife has been raked over the coals for her comments, yet no mention of McCain's wife, and her theft of, and addiction to, perscription opioid painkillers. Nope, no scruitiny there.
Personally, the media is doing McCain a favor by not vetting him harder, or giving him too much airtime.
DocMoreau
[Edit to add: I did a search about Cindy McCain stealing drugs from her own charity, and I guess I am partially wrong. The Blogs are all over it. That and the fact that she plagiarized recipes from the Food Network as 'family recipes' on the McCain campaign website. Still not a peep out of the Mainstream Media though...)
[edit on 21/7/2008 by DocMoreau]




