McCain Defeats Clinton? Maybe Not Quite Yet

November 1, 2007, 3:24 PM
McCain Defeats Clinton? Maybe Not Quite Yet
Posted by James M Klatell


(www.johnmccain.com)
Supporters of Sen. John McCain got a Halloween treat in their inboxes: Their candidate has already won the White House!

Last night the McCain camp shot out a newspaper-themed E-mail with the subject "McCain Beats Clinton." Clicking on the link brings you to a page on the campaign Web site that has (what the campaign hopes will be) the front page from Nov. 5, 2008.

"Republican Senator John McCain was elected president last evening, defeating Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic nominee," the story reads.

That's a pretty confident claim from a candidate who ran third in the latest CBS News poll – 11 points behind former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and 3 points behind former Senator Fred Thompson.

Not to mention that Clinton hasn't quite wrapped up the Democratic race yet either.

But team McCain fires its salvo directly at the former First Lady, not even mentioning other Republicans like Giuliani, Thompson or Mitt Romney – let alone Democrats Sen. Barack Obama or former Sen. John Edwards.

McCain's team credits the four-term senator's hypothetical win to sticking to the message of "reforming the culture of Washington and vigorously prosecuting the war on terror."

The Web page claims that "Political experts expressed surprise that McCain was able to wrest the mantle of change away from Clinton, given that she represented the party out of power which normally lays claim to being the agent of change."

It's the second time in recent weeks McCain has taken aim at Clinton. His campaign has released two ads criticizing Clinton's proposal for a Woodstock museum as wasteful spending.

The Web page doesn't try to look like a real story, and it asks supporters to "be a part of writing history" by donating to the campaign.

And, what faux story would be complete without a quote from a faux pollster? "Lawrence Smith" told the McCain camp, "I'm not sure any other Republican could have won these voters."

Would that be the same pollster Lawrence Smith from 1947's 'Magic Town'?

Smith, a down-on-his-luck pollster played by Jimmy Stewart, finds the perfect small town with all-American townsfolk whose beliefs exactly mirror American opinions. Not a bad person to get an endorsement from.