In an exclusive interview with the Daily Kos, one of Senator John McCain's top advisors assailed "ancient sectarian conflicts," "betrayals piled up upon betrayals," "religious wars that will not go away," and "the lack of oil there" as key reasons why McCain has decided to pull out of Michigan.
His runningmate Sarah Palin was stunned to learn of the decision, which she claimed to read about in the New York Times. The McCain advisor, asked whether he believed that Palin actually reads the New York Times, declined to comment on that issue. "I want to stay on message," he said. "Governor Palin's status as a low-information voter is not the issue I want to address."
The McCain advisor described the "ancient sectarian conflicts" as going back to the beginning of the New Deal era, now more than 75 years ago. "For nearly four generations," he said, "Michigan voters have agonized on questions of labor versus management, Protestants versus Catholics, pro-choicers versus pro-lifers, blacks versus whites, and cynics versus idealists.
"It is incredibly dispiriting how the Democrats have managed to unite all sides on so many issues," he said. "Because of Republican failures, the Democrats in Michigan are now the party of labor AND management, Protestants and Catholics, Jews and Arabs, pro-choicers AND pro-lifers, blacks AND whites, cynics AND idealists. The anger at the partisan and foreign policy wars of the past has congealed into an anger at the Republican Party for fostering them. There is a general feeling among voters that Republican operatives should just stay home and leave them alone."
Further, the advisor, noted, Michigan has no oil resources. "Michigan is an oil-consuming state, not an oil-producing state. Elections are not just a matter of winning the votes. They are a matter of building resources for the future. It is much more important to have the Governor of Alaska, America's Saudi Arabia, on your side than the people of MIchigan. She can also let us know what's going on in Russia, since she can see across the border."
Asked why McCain's strategy to cut his losses in Michigan didn't apply to Iraq, the advisor said "it ought to be a lot easier to sell democracy in Iraq than to sell the Republican Party in Michigan. Selling the Republican Party's nominess to the people of Michigan is not like selling democracy to Iraquis. It's one thing to support the right to vote. It's another thing to urge people to vote Republican. That's really hard, because it is against their own economic interests."
McCain's decision to leave Michigan has opened himself to widespread criticism there. To some, he's "Mister Cut and Run." To others, he's "No Guts, No Glory." One of his Republican critics said that the Republican Party is going to be in Michigan for the next hundred years, and McCain's withdrawal will mean that "no one will ever trust a Republican Presidential there candidate again."
Even Democrats are suspicious. Some fear his withdrawal is a mere trick, like his campaign suspension, and that his campaign will be back in some form, giving covert aid to indigenous Republicans or relying on a shadow organization paid for by outside sources. "A man willing to stay in Iraq for 100 years shouild be willing to stay in Michigan for the next thirty days," one Democrat reasoned.
One Republican said that if money was the problem, McCain should have divested some of his 100 million fortune to make Michigan red. "Another 25 million of McCain's personal fortune or so, and we would have had a chance to carry Michigan."
To which McCain's advisor replied, "Spend his own money? Hell, no. It's one thing to borow more than a trillion dollars to fight in Iraq with federal money. It's quite something else to spend his own money. McCain may be crazy sometimes, but he's not stupid."