PR we can believe in
As the nominating convention draws near and the remaining superdelegates are pressured to announce their support, three presidential hopefuls are looking to raise their numbers by any means possible. Barack Obama is no exception.
In conversation with the New York Times last Wednesday, the Illinois senator thought openly about a potential visit to Iraq following the Democratic nomination. Quick to capitalize on the announcement, Senator John McCain raised the option of taking the trip ensemble but was spurned by Mr. Obama, who declared he wanted no part in a “political stunt.”
It seems, however, that some increased attention is all either candidate is looking for in this instance. Having “‘just [seen] General Petraeus,’” as Mr. Obama put it in a follow-up story by the Associated Press, and having visited the country only two years previously, there appears to be little motivation other than publicity for a pre-election trip.
Sen. McCain’s invitation for a dual tour looks to have been similarly hatched in the public relations office. As Mr. Obama’s proposed meet-and-greet seems sure to dwarf Mr. McCain’s own trip to the country in terms of media coverage, the Arizona senator decided to cash in now what chips he holds: a smart move. Any response on Mr. Obama’s part to Sen. McCain’s offer was sure to elicit popular responses on both sides of either admiration for Sen. McCain’s broadmindedness and willingness to reach across-aisle, or sympathy for the war hero spurned by the liberal aesthete.
Really, though, a joint trip would serve little purpose other than to still further the media spectacle surrounding the event, should it occur at all. While Mr. Obama may have been right in choosing not to visit Iraq arm-in-arm with his rival, his refusal was most certainly not born out of a distaste for political stunts.
