McCain's Youtube Problem

McCain comes from a different political generation. In fact, many people do. The political generation of the past thrived on one-day panderers, double standards, frequent policy changes and outright lying. It worked because the print media could not reach a large enough portion of the population to make it a national story and the news media often allowed these somewhat routine speeches to go directly to the archives. This is how it has always been and this is the political atmosphere that John McCain is used to.

John McCain was the master of this under-reported political world. He thrived in it because he could push his absurd image as a "Straight Talker" simply by calling himself that. He was the "Maverick" because he said things and then stuck by them in selected speeches and politically advantageous instances. He "crossed the aisle" and that made him the most ethical suit in Congress. Of course, he wasn't. He just worked the system well.

That was then and unfortunately for St. McCain, the time where people can say one thing and then backtrack on it the next day has passed. It does not matter who, what or how many people you speak to because it will be recorded and those clips don't just go into the archives anymore. People record, Tivo or capture all of those routine speeches and download them to websites like Youtube. He can't hand pick what he wants to be heard and who gets to see it like he's used to. Everything he does and says can be and is viewed by millions and it seems that his self-proclaimed title is more ironic than accurate.

As the media and voters shift their focus from the Dem race to the GE, McCain is proving himself to be completely oblivious to this political tool and rather than using it to his advantage, he is hurting himself every time he makes an appearance. He naively thought that by inviting the press to tour with him it would help portray him as the ethical person he claims to be, but all it has done is show his gaffes, his inability to admit mistakes (a Bush byproduct), his fear of change, and most of all, just how much his age is an issue.

McCain has a lot to learn and the more the cameras are on this very 71 year old man, the less I worry.