McCain Casts Himself as Hero of Financial Crisis

In parachuting into Washington to "rescue" the $700-billion bailout for Wall Street, John McCain demonstrated again that he wants to make the election about himself, not his politicies, writes Harold Meyerson in the Washington Post. With the beleaguered economy an area where Barack Obama is seen as stronger, McCain suspended his campaign for a bit of personal heroics.

“Self is McCain’s main selling point. He is either the man on horseback riding to the rescue, or he is nothing,” Meyerson notes. “America may be a republic of amnesiacs,” but voters do understand what each party stands for, he argues. And because the public prefers Obama’s approach, McCain’s ploy is to pretend the two candidates “had no differences,” so the voters will have to judge by character alone.
(More John McCain stories.)