Prime Minister McCain? by Stephan Richter

The Richter Scale > Global Leaders Prime Minister McCain?
By Stephan Richter \| Thursday, September 04, 2008

After a long period of fascination with Barack Obama, disillusionment is setting in, even among Democratic Party aficionados. Often without saying so out loud, they wish that a more seasoned, experienced, older Obama could suddenly emerge — to wipe out nagging doubts among the voters. Come January 20, 2009, that wish may be fulfilled — but with a twist.

.S. presidential politics is traditionally cast as a saga of racehorses. No wonder, then, that the U.S. political debate is rife with concerns that Barack Obama is underperforming.

Not living up to expectations?

Despite enthusiastic supporters, record-breaking fundraising, a successful overseas trip and a triumphant convention,

President McCain would govern by a grand coalition — formed by a middle-of-the-road Republican in the White House and Democrats in the Congress.
recent polls show him with a low- to mid-single-digit advantage over Senator McCain — in what is supposed to be an overwhelmingly Democratic election year.

Although the general election is just getting fully underway, pundits and some prominent Democrats are beginning to wonder whether he has lost his step — or whether he can really connect with working-class voters.

In particular, they are confounded by what happens to the promise Obama brought to the campaign — of a leader who will build bridges between Democrats and Republicans, two political camps that unfortunately thrive by vilifying the “other” side.

McCain the uniter?

The current odds are that this promise will be fulfilled when the new president takes office on January 20, 2009. And, irony of ironies, according to one script, the person to execute this lofty vision for a country that has been riven by internal strife for too long may not be Senator Obama.

Instead, John McCain may be the one who has positioned himself to become the uniter of the nation.

Governing for the country

Here is some of the evidence: The talk about him being a one-term president,

John McCain’s political DNA, as evidenced by his legislative record over the past decade or two, is not that of a conservative or maverick — but a bridge-builder
given his age, actually allows him to govern for the country — and not, as has been the custom recently, for the primary benefit of his political party and its supporters.

Despite his recent electorally driven embrace of the Republican base, John McCain’s political DNA, as evidenced by his legislative record over the past decade or two, is not that of a conservative — or maverick.

No, it is that of a bridge-builder — of somebody who understands that political parties are essentially marketing machines, but that one is not necessarily better than the other.

Breaking from the GOP

After all, the ribbing he has received throughout his career from the powers that be in the Republican Party, especially its conservative edges, has been harsh. To some representatives of those circles, he is (almost) as much an antidote to what’s desirable as are the Clintons.

And while McCain needs to rally enough of the conservative base to have a real shot at getting elected, there is a realistic hope that he would govern liberated from those temporary ties, since he may not be angling for reelection.

Reaching across the aisle

Instead, he would focus on what he knows best — doing what needs to be done, with the support of both political parties. That is very much what he did in the past on critical issues such

The talk about McCain being a one-term president, given his age, would actually allow him to govern for the country.
as education reform, immigration reform and campaign finance reform.

In each case, he found a potent co-sponsor for his legislation, usually even from the liberal quarters of the Democratic Party. Witness his cooperation with Senator Ted Kennedy on education reform and Russ Feingold on campaign finance.

The underlying vision is not to govern by seeking narrow majorities, by trying to cajole just a few Democrats to support Republican bills on an ad-hoc basis. Rather, his decades-long participation in the legislative business of the U.S. Senate has taught him that — when it works best — all proposals have to be rooted in solid, bipartisan majorities for reform from the get-go.

Working with Democrats

This style of governance would also mesh well with sizable Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. Most observers expect the Democrats to gain around five seats in the Senate — and to expand their majority in the House.

Thus, U.S. voters may decide to split their political choice — by voting a moderate Republican into the White House, and pairing him with a significant Democratic majority in the Congress.

Grand coalition

That would be the electorate’s way of appealing to their political leaders to work together, at long last.

The U.S. political debate is rife with concerns that Barack Obama is underperforming.

In that manner, the United States under a President McCain would effectively be governed by a grand coalition — formed by a middle-of-the-road Republican in the White House and Democrats in the Congress.

Whatever the presumed drawbacks of such a system from a traditional U.S. perspective, it could help the political system carry out long-overdue reforms.

Prime Minister McCain

Accordingly, a President McCain may come to cast himself — rather unusually, but very effectively — more as a prime minister, seeking to advance a slew of key reforms, from health care eventually to immigration, by building working majorities for each of these issues.

And in the campaign that is now underway, count on him to overcome doubters among Democrats and independent voters by casting himself radically as a “senior” incarnation of Obama — a man who has a long-established track record of bringing people together.

The message to Obama? Your time will come, my friend — but it is not now.

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Here is a sample of what our readers are saying:

Joe Pariera , Medford, OR , United States
(Tuesday, September 09, 2008, 2:05:29 PM ):

Unity, not bipartisan bickering is what will strengthen our country. In a world shifting towards globalization, the United States needs someone with the maturity and experience to limit the negative effects of bipartisan politics. Any country which does not take steps to globalize will merely be a spectator of success.

Larry Kay , Rome , Italy
(Monday, September 08, 2008, 7:14:25 AM ):

For the NY primary I voted for Obama on an absentee ballot from Italy. I was encouraged by his eloquence and rhetoric and seeming courage to stand up and take difficult positions.

And yet, in your lead to the story, you have summed up my current feelings. Obama, despite the seeming successes, has not convinced me and seems to be convincing the electorate less every day. His cross-party politicking and intrinsic experience is much more convincing that ethereal platitudes that Obama is wont to expound. Lieberman's endorsement at the Republican Convention supports this (and despite what the Democratic Party-mongers say, Lieberman still commands respect among senior senators).

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