Just after CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric noted how there is “some finger-pointing already going on” in the McCain-Palin campaign, CBS's Bob Schieffer did a little finger-pointing of his own as he blamed John McCain's presumed impending loss on his supposed move “to the right.” Schieffer observed Friday night that “with this continuing bad economic news, I think it's going to be very hard for any Republican, even one who says he's a maverick, like John McCain.” The host of Face the Nation then offered his take on “what's going to make it even harder,” that after the primaries:
Instead of moving to the center, he moved to the right. He put Sarah Palin on the ticket which pleased the right but, as we're now seeing in these polls, her appeal does not go much beyond that.
How much of a move “to the right” was it for McCain to refuse to raise Jeremiah Wright's rants? Or to stand by his liberal position on global warming and other policies where he's gone left against the majority on the GOP? You could just as well argue that picking Palin and hitting Obama on taxes are what has given McCain any hope.
The exchange on the Friday, October 24 CBS Evening News:
KATIE COURIC: Bob Schieffer is our chief Washington correspondent and anchor of Face the Nation. Bob, the polls are not working in his favor, there's apparently as we just saw, some finger-pointing already going on, but you say don't count John McCain out.
BOB SCHIEFFER: I don't think you ever can, Katie. He's just come back from the dead too many times, but with this continuing bad economic news, I think it's going to be very hard for any Republican, even one who says he's a maverick, like John McCain.
And here's what's going to make it even harder -- what usually happens in primaries is that Democrats move to the left, Republicans move to the right, to build support among the party activists, the true believers, the people who are willing to go out and work and give money. Then they move back to the center during the general election to go after the independents. McCain has done just the opposite. He ran to the left of the other Republicans during the primaries, then instead of moving to the center, he moved to the right. He put Sarah Palin on the ticket which pleased the right but, as we're now seeing in these polls, her appeal does not go much beyond that. It's going to be very, very hard for John McCain, Katie.
