How McCain Can (Moderately) Burst the Obama Bubble

Bridget is wise, in her advice to John McCain, that he just be himself in the months leading up to November. In this age of focus-group testing and overnight polling, authenticity is the single trait voters seem to crave the most. It's a lack of authenticity that doomed Mitt Romney, even though he had all the money in the world, and it's an abundance of authenticity that made a contender out of Mike Huckabee, even though he was penniless. Likewise, Hillary Clinton 's lack of authenticity has been a major problem for her "inevitable" candidacy. And it was authenticity that propelled Obama into contention -- and a lack of authenticity vis-a-vis the NAFTA flap that has derailed him.

But as Bridget notes, there's more at work here than just whether a candidate is for real. It also matters whether a candidate can break the current cycle of partisan hatreds. She calls this "seizing the middle" -- whether a candidate can demonstrate a real ability to work outside party lines.

Assuming Obama still carries the Democratic nomination, this campaign could end up featuring two candidates who stake their claim on "uniting" the country. But there is a difference: Whereas Obama bases his ability to reach across party lines on little more than his soaring oratory, McCain has a long history of bipartisan cooperation to his credit. He also has the battle scars to prove it, all from fellow Republicans who couldn't stand his deviations from the party line.

The contrasting records couldn't be more striking. McCain has an impressive record of working with Democrats on bipartisan solutions to intractable problems. Obama, on the other hand, has never worked with Republicans on a single matter of substance during his three years in the Senate. McCain bucks the party line, and thinks for himself, on countless issues. Obama is a cookie-cutter Democrat who's yet to give voice to a single independent thought.

Thus, by "being himself," McCain would not only bolster his authenticity and his centrist bona-fides, he would also quietly expose Obama's biggest weakness -- the perception that he is a rigidly partisan ideologue.

This is an argument Hillary has been unable to make against him, as primary voters tend to like partisan ideologues. But it's the issue that could well puncture the Obama bubble come the general campaign.