McCain's weaknesses

Tuesday, April 8

Senator John McCain has a compelling biography and distinguished Senate record, but his political skills are sometimes maladroit and he has several other electoral vulnerabilities:

• He is significantly outclassed, in terms of charisma and rhetorical skill, by his most probable Democratic opponent for the presidency, Senator Barack Obama.
• While he is disarmingly candid, for a politician of national standing, this can produce self-inflicted political wounds.
• Many on the Right are sceptical of his social conservative credentials.
• While he has been critical of its execution, he remains a supporter of the US intervention in Iraq; as he has admitted, this ties his fortunes closely to the success of the US 'surge'.
• He will be 71 years old in January 2009, which would make him the oldest US president in history when first inaugurated.