US presidential candidates always tailor their campaign speeches to their audiences. When in Iowa, smart politicians always bone up on farm policy reports the Financial Times.
So as John McCain headed to deliver an address before students at Camden Military Academy, it seemed a good time to dig into Hillary Clinton’s views on Iraq. In remarks prepared for the speech, McCain went hard, accusing the Democratic front-runner of muddleheadedness.
“Senator Clinton, this is not the ’90s,” his speech said. “This is the post-September 11 world. The commander-in-chief does not enjoy the luxury to conduct our national security by means of triangulation.”
But the Arizona Republican backed off delivering this speech in the end. It turns out that the Camden student body consists of youngsters in the seventh through 12th grades – or roughly 12- to 18-years-old.
“This isn’t the appropriate venue for that,” a spokeswoman said.
Give credit to the McCain team for catching itself before the candidate took the stage to look out on a sea of young faces, mostly belonging to people not old enough to vote. (Much less catch the “triangulation” reference.)
After all, McCain is having to do more with less, having been forced to pare back his campaign staff this year after his fundraising efforts fell short.
Read it here: McCain Knows