Day at the beach

Marc Ambinder linked to this video, which was released by the DNC. It sheds light on on hte arty's thinking heading into the general election with McCain.

It's a good video and it makes McCain look pretty bad. But it's not as good as it could be. The video paints him as a flip flopper on Iraq (showing yet again that the Dems can't come up with any campaign ideas of their own). It shows him saying that Iraq will be easy, then him saying that it won't be any day at the beach and that Americans must be patient.

That's a fine point, but I think the argument is better simply by showing him talk about how easy the war was going to be at the beginning. McCain has tried to weasel away from the administration by saying that the war was not waged well. He has criticized Rumsfeld and said that the troop increase was a long time coming. In other words, he readily admits that his position has changed, and that if the war had been handled the way he wanted it to be handled, it would have been much easier. This video allows him to make that point.

Instead, the DNC should show McCain saying the war will be quick and easy. It should show the Saddam statue coming down and the Mission Accomplished speech. Then it should contrast with images of violence, five years later. I'd like to see him explain himself out of that hole.

He wants to be connected to the conservative base so wrap that blanket around him.