McCain Gaffes Could Undercut Message on Economy, Foreign Affairs
Presidential Candidate's Misstatements Threaten to Derail Campaign Message
By JENNIFER PARKER
ABC News

Sept. 22, 2008 —

In recent days, John McCain has made a series of verbal gaffes that have
undercut his campaign claim that he is the candidate who is ready to
safeguard the nation's struggling economy, some political analysts believe.

The verbal stumbles may have wider ramifications for the GOP
presidential pick by reminding voters of earlier flubs and calling into
question other aspects of his candidacy, including his foreign policy
experience, analysts told ABCNews.com.

The most damaging gaffe came Sept. 15, when McCain said "the
fundamentals of our economy are strong," which was a hard sell because
it occurred on the same day that venerable firms Lehman Brothers and
Merrill Lynch were collapsing.

While that statement is likely to haunt McCain through the rest of the
campaign, he went on to make several other slips in the following days.

On Thursday, the Arizona senator said he would "fire" Securities and
Exchange Commission chairman Chris Cox. However, while the president
nominates and the Senate confirms the SEC chair, a commissioner of an
independent regulatory commission cannot be removed by the president.

Trying to recover the next day, McCain confused the SEC with the FEC,
the Federal Election Commission.

"I believe that the chairman of the FEC should resign and leave office
and be replaced," McCain said Friday during a speech to the Green Bay
Chamber of Commerce, a verbal goof immediately posted on YouTube.

And on the day before the Federal Reserve System bailed out American
Insurance Group with an $85 billion loan, McCain insisted that
taxpayers' money should not be used to rescue AIG. The next day, he said
it was appropriate to protect the millions of Americans who have
insurance policies and accounts at AIG.

McCain didn't help his image as a candidate who understands the economic
problems of regular voters when he was asked last month how many houses
he owned. After hemming and hawing, McCain said he would have to ask his
staff.

"I think - I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told Politico's
Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen in August. "It's condominiums where -
I'll have them get to you."

McCain since responded to the economic crisis by ratcheting up his
rhetoric about reforming Washington and cracking down on Wall Street
regulation.

McCain's Economic 'Fundamentals' Line Gives Obama Opening

But political analysts argue that McCain's flubs have undermined his
claim to be ready to take charge of the country's economy, and have
given his Democratic rival Barack Obama an opening on the economic
crisis, which will likely be the defining issue of this election.

The verbal missteps have also drawn attention to McCain's age.

"The question is who in this crisis looked more presidential, calm and
unflustered. It wasn't John McCain," ABC News' Sam Donaldson said Sunday
on "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

"His talking points have gotten all mixed up and I think the question of
age is back on the table," Donaldson said. McCain is 72 while Obama is 47.

The economic meltdown is uncharted territory for both presidential
candidates, but McCain is at a particular disadvantage when it comes to
the economy. Polls have indicated that voters put more faith in the
Illinois senator and the Democrats in handling the country's fiscal
health, and McCain's bumbles serve to highlight what is perceived as his
weakest issue.

Analysts Say Economic Focus Puts McCain at Disadvantage

Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institute in
Washington, D.C., argued that McCain's economic response last week point
to his discomfort with economic issues rather than any "senior moment"
by the Republican senator.

"Whenever the issue turns to the economy, McCain's going to be at a
disadvantage," Hess said.

"No matter how far he tries to run away from it, he still represents the
party in power that voters may blame for this crisis," Hess said, "and
he has established a reputation of being stronger on international
affairs and national security and has made it clear that the economy is
not his strong suit."

"I do think McCain is more comfortable talking about foreign policy
issues," said Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the Rothenberg
Political Report, a well-respected nonpartisan political newsletter.

"But the news of the day is forcing him to talk more about economic
issues and pushing him outside that comfort zone," Gonzales said, noting
Obama likes to remind voters that McCain once quipped that economics
isn't his strongest issue.

Dan Schnur, a leading Republican media strategist who was the chief
adviser for McCain's 2000 presidential campaign, believes that when
McCain said the economy's fundamentals were strong he was trying to keep
the nation calm during a moment of crisis.

"He was likely trying to be reassuring, but in this climate that wasn't
going to work," Schnur said.

"The alternative would have been to keep trying to explain what he
meant, and he could have just kept digging the hole deeper and deeper,"
Schnur said.

Verbal Mistakes Draw Attention Away From Campaign Message

Verbal mistakes are perhaps unavoidable, given the frenetic campaign
schedule and lack of sleep candidates endure. Obama has been cited for a
few clunkers as well.

However McCain's latest missteps may remind voters of a series of verbal
flubs that threaten to hurt his credibility on foreign affairs -- an
area the McCain campaign is hoping to dominate.

Traveling in the Middle East in March to highlight his foreign policy
expertise, McCain mangled which militant Islamic group was getting
training in Iran. After Sen. Joe Lieberman whispered in his ear, McCain
muddied things even more by saying, "I'm sorry, the Iranians are
training extremists, not al Qaeda."

During an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America" in
July, McCain bungled his geography when he referred to the Islamic
militants fighting along the "Iraq/Afghanistan" border instead of the
Pakistan/Afghanistan border.

McCain has referred repeatedly to Czechoslovakia, a country that ceased
to exist in 1993 when it was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

And while discussing Darfur, a region in Sudan, McCain said in June,
"How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?" His senior
adviser Mark Salter corrected him, saying, "Sudan."

Last year, McCain also mistakenly referred to Vladimir Putin of Russia
-- after a trip to Germany -- as "President Putin of Germany."

Candidate Mistakes Under Campaign Spotlight

However the McCain campaign insists voters don't care about verbal
mistakes and point to Obama's verbal blunders.

"Barack Obama said there were 57 states," McCain campaign spokesman
Brian Rogers told ABCNews.com. "Come on! Who cares! It doesn't matter."

Rogers added, "I think that some in the press need to find something
more important to write about."

As Rogers noted, Obama has frequently misstated which city and state
he's in.

During a campaign rally in Springfield, Ill., in August, Obama
introduced his vice presidential candidate, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., as
"the next president."

Appearing via video at the Democratic convention after his wife's
opening night speech, Obama said he was watching from St. Louis although
he was actually 230 miles away in Kansas City, Mo.

While mistakes happen, political analysts argue McCain's frequent flubs
on economic and foreign affairs have been more costly because they are
on issues important to his campaign.

Hess said Friday's first presidential debate in Mississippi on foreign
relations could benefit McCain.

However Hess argued that debates often highlight style over substance
among presidential candidates, and how the candidates deliver their
messages will be key.

"The debates are going to be more about how they looked and how well
they articulate their positions and whether their messages were punchy
or not," Hess said.

"The candidate who is best able to respond to these big issues in a
clear way will be deemed the big winner out of the debate," he said.

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