MARION, Ohio — Sen. John McCain made a campaign stop in Jackson, Ohio yesterday Merillat Industries, a cabinet manufacturer. There, he adopted the language of the war in Iraq to describe his economic plan, calling for an "economic surge."
“„"What we need today is an economic surge. Our surge has succeeded in Iraq militarily. Now we need an economic surge to keep jobs here at home [and] create new ones. We need to reduce the tax burden on businesses [that] choose to make their home the United States of America. We need to open new markets to U.S. products. We need to reduce the cost of health care, and we need to end the out-of-control spending in Washington that’s putting our debt on the backs of our children. Now’s the time for action. When I’m president we are going to get it done."
As you can see from the quote, McCain offered no new proposals or details to go along with the new language — it seems to just be a new term. This is a perfect example of the effectiveness of the McCain campaign’s restriction of media access. McCain can roll out something new like this, and the traveling press, starved for new information to report — particularly on a day like today, when most of the traveling press spent the bulk of the day on the bus, away from the candidate — dutifully report a nice new sound bite. Ooh, an economic surge. That sounds tough. But because McCain did not take any questions, the press did not have an opportunity to ask him, well, what exactly is an "economic surge," and how does it differ from what you’ve already proposed? McCain gets his message out into the media, and he doesn’t have to worry about facing any real questions. The strategy is working like a charm, and there’s no reason to expect a change of course.