Not one and done

Awhile back, some McCain surrogates were floating the idea that the Republican Presidential nominee would make a pledge to serve only one term in the White House. Whatever the merits of that idea, it appears to now be inoperative.

John McCain stated unequivocally in an interview with Politico on Wednesday that he would not pledge to serve only a single four-year term, rejecting a suggestion that some allies believe would allay questions about his age and underscore his nonpartisan message of putting country first.

"No," McCain said flatly, "I'm not considering it."

I never saw the sense in that, so I'm not surprised by this. I guess trial balloons get floated for all kinds of crazy things because hey, you never know what might catch on. Even this.

This was a more interesting thing for McCain to say, I think:

[H]e declined to outwardly criticize Bush and flatly stated that he wouldn't do anything as president to underscore his difference with the unpopular incumbent.

"I don't have any need to show that I'm different than President Bush," McCain said when asked if he'd take any steps after being elected to demonstrate where he'd diverge from his predecessor.

Four more years? I'm thinking that's not the best slogan this time around. If this incident was any indication, we'll see the reversal in another week or two.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 27, 2008 to The making of the President