The press hasn't held back their criticism of John McCain’s Tuesday night speech. With headlines like "Worst. Speech. Ever.", it wasn't hard to see that it went over like a lead balloon. And of course the pundits compared the speech to Obama's rousing display later in the night. You can get a good survey of the responses here. It's the worst speech McCain has given in this campaign, both for its timing and its content. It may even be the worst speech he's given in his career.
So for all these reasons and more, I have to ask, "Why?" Why did the McCain camp think this was a good idea? They had to know it would turn out that way. Going up against an historic moment like this after so many months of agonizing campaigning, they couldn't have honestly thought that they would preempt the Clinton and Obama speeches. And they had to know that they were inviting the inevitable comparison to Obama, who has an enviable command of crowds. If they knew that this would happen, it almost seems like they wanted it to happen. Then I had a realization. Maybe they did want this to happen.
I think it's possible the that McCain campaign wanted this bad press. Keep in mind that I have no hard evidence for this, just conjecture. I would have to be in the McCain campaign to actually verify it, but give my conspiracy theory a read and see what you think. I don't 100% believe this myself, but I can't come up with any other reason that McCain would think the Tuesday night speech would help him.
From the collective criticism of the news media, McCain now has a laundry list of things that are wrong with his delivery. Even better, he knows exactly how he stacks up against one of Obama's best performances. There are about five months until the general election, more than enough time to take all this criticism and apply it. The MSM, always happy to give McCain a break, will come out with articles along the way praising him for his improved oratory. The pundits will talk about how McCain is catching up to Obama in speech-making, and how this spells trouble for the Democratic candidate. In other words, the MSM self-fulfilling prophecy will be in full swing. The only thing the McCain camp would need is a venue to prove it, one where McCain feels comfortable and everyone is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Wouldn't you know it, they have something in mind. From the Politico:
Not coincidentally, one of the first things McCain did as the general election campaign began in earnest was to challenge Obama to an unprecedented 10 joint town hall meetings this summer. The Obama camp expressed some initial interest.
[...] To sympathetic Republicans, the prospect of getting McCain out from behind a lectern and back into the town hall format he loves couldn’t come soon enough. To the McCain inner circle, the visual and stylistic contrast with Obama on Tuesday night was both plain to see and painful in the extreme.
10 town hall debates, and plenty of time to use their new list of do's and don'ts from the Tuesday speech. It also takes care of McCain's money problem. The town hall meetings will give him great free press, and his campaign believes it would be good press. Of course, these are all good reasons for Obama to not do the town hall debates.
I know it sounds crazy, and even I think it's crazy. But maybe there's something to it.