Fresh on the heels of the McCain campaign’s revelation that it plans to roll out aggressive, personal attacks on Barack Obama’s character beginning October 8 – attacks Obama ads are already rebutting in advance – Senator John McCain (R.-Ariz.) called an impromptu news conference in Sedona, Arizona to reveal the McCain campaign’s overarching strategy.  “My friends, I have maintained all year that ours is the more strategic campaign, and that I am the candidate who knows the difference between tactics and strategy.  You may recall my lecturing Senator Obama in the first Presidential debate on that very distinction.” 

McCain continued:  “To show the American people just how strategic I am, and to respond to the criticism on today’s Meet the Press that my campaign merely chases each day’s news cycles in an ad hoc manner, lurching awkwardly from daily tactic to daily tactic, I have decided to reveal the core strategy that animates everything I do in this campaign.  Our overarching strategy is this:  to continually reveal my strategy to Senator Obama in advance.”  Pivoting abruptly to depart, a grinning McCain took no questions from the puzzled media in attendance.

Analysts seize upon the announcement.  “This explains a lot,” commented CNN’s David Gergen.  “First, that whole business with Charlie Black saying this would not be a campaign about issues, but about personalities.  Then, McCain saying he was pulling out of Michigan, instead of keeping his mouth shut and letting Obama continue to spend millions that state, as others before him have done in similar situations.  Now, revealing days in advance a plan to divert attention from the economic crisis with an issueless campaign of character destruction.   McCain has clearly planned a campaign in which he’ll reveal in advance everything he plans to do, even things that are sure to draw criticism.  Why?  Who knows?  I sure don’t.”

Conservative commentators were quick to praise McCain’s announcement as pure, maverick honesty.  “This is the Straight Talk Express we all know and love,” opined Kathryn Lopez of National Review Online.  Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post added:  “Most Presidential candidates don’t have the stones to announce in advance what they’re going to do, and when, and to whom.  It has a cocky, trash-talking quality not seen in McCain since he sang of bombing Iran.  In your face, Barack Obama.”

Others were more skeptical.  The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz wrote:  “Charitably, maybe McCain thinks that revealing his strategy in advance, day by day, will somehow induce Obama to reciprocate.  In this sense, McCain’s strategy – which is arguably a tactic, by the way – reminds me of the scene late in Monty Python and the Holy Grail when, confronted with the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, John Cleese suggests taunting it until it becomes so cross it makes a mistake.  Regardless of McCain’s inspiration, calling out your opponent with advance notice of your next steps seems to me a bit counterintuitive.”

Obama strategist David Axelrod had missed the press conference while helping Obama prepare for Tuesday’s Presidential debate.  After hearing a paraphrase of McCain’s announcement of continually announcing his strategies in advance, Axelrod asked:  “Didn’t we already know without them telling us that the McCain campaign would start out issueless, pull out of Rust Belt states where it was hopelessly outgunned, and then turn to the gutter politics of personal destruction when it fell decisively behind?  This is news?  Guys, can you please come back to us for reaction when you learn something remotely new or surprising?  Thanks.”

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Crossposted at www.dagblog.com.  Articleman can be found on KRXA540.com Wednesday mornings at 805 am PDT/1105 am EDT.