McCain's free ride?--Oh come on!

Drew Weston, TNR:

Right now, with Democrats transfixed by the increasingly self-destructive battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, John McCain is getting a free ride politically (at the moment, a ride abroad, to provide the backdrop for the story he'd like to tell about being the one ready to take the helm of U.S. foreign policy and national security). That ride looks likely to last until June or beyond.

If the Democratic campaign had not taken such a negative turn, McCain would arguably be suffering from all the focus on the Democratic contest, which is clearly grabbing the lion's share of media attention. But the attention is no longer positive, and as the story has turned from voter enthusiasm to acrimony, it's giving McCain the opportunity both to brand himself and to join the fray on the other side of the aisle when the opportunity arises. McCain is defining himself with little resistance (and an occasional assist from the Clinton campaign) as the natural choice for commander-in-chief and as a straight-talker--a particularly strong brand in an election that may turn out to be much like the 1976 election, when Jimmy Carter reassured a nation weary of the dishonesty of the Nixon years, "I will never lie to you."

He is also taking the opportunity to help brand his potential rivals, amplifying the perceived weaknesses of both Democratic contenders. Recently, for example, he described his opponents as offering "platitudes instead of principles and insults instead of ideas," effectively joining with Hillary Clinton in her attack on Barack Obama, while simultaneously turning her own relentless (and effective) attacks on Obama into an attack on her. By referring to her campaign's attacks as insults (some of which were, in fact, insulting), McCain was reinforcing what he and Republican strategists know is the greatest threat to her electability: her high negatives, and the public perception, built up through a well-financed, well-executed (if ill-intentioned) conservative branding campaign when she was First Lady, that she is cold and ruthless.

It would truly take talent for the Democrats to lose this election (although Democrats have never hurt for talent). Seventy percent of Americans tell pollsters that the country is on the "wrong track."...

Let's see. The NY Times has already run two hit pieces on McCain including one suggesting he had an inappropriate relationship with a female lobbiest and the Democrats think he is getting a free ride? Both remaining Democrats have hammered him on his Iraq policy and his position on taxes and the Democrats think he is getting a free ride?

Let's also talk about the "wrong track" polling. There are many Republicans, myself included, who think the Democrat Congress is on the wrong track. Its 60 plus attempts to insure defeat in Iraq in 2007 are just a few examples of how off track they are. Their plan to raise taxes is wrong. Their refusal to amend the FISA law is wrong. This blog has posts everyday indicating the wrong direction the Democrats want to take America. Democrats no doubt think those who oppose their policies are on the wrong track. That just tells you how meaningless this statistic can be especially when you have divided government.