Argument

Aristotle explained that all arguments devolve to one of three forms: blame, values or choices. For example, when a Mom complains to her teen, "I told you twice yesterday to clean up your room and you didn't move a muscle. I can't imagine how anyone could be such a slob. I'll tell you one thing--if that room isn't spotless by tomorrow night, you're not going to that party, do you understand me?" In one neat package, she has covered all three.

But the parlor trick in Aristotle's simple analysis is the added dimension of time frame: blame is about the past, values about the present, and choices about the future.

The Democratic convention, despite the hope (future tense) represented by Obama, was really all about the past. With a target as large as George Bush, it was a rhetorical no-brainer to repeat his litany of failures, and attempt to tie John McCain to the blame. (While ironic that Bush and McCain do not get along, and squared off personally as enemy combatants in 2000, McCain's 90%+ voting record in support of Bush gives the connection intellectual weight).
The Republicans, quite understandably, have tried to move the argument along to the present tense...to values. McCain's claims of 'honor' and 'country before self interest' are attempts to both say what his is...and draw a contrast to his depiction of Obama as some sort of self-absorbed 'celebrity'. But the, "here's who I am / here's who he is" framing of the present tense fell all but flat on Thursday when Obama conclusively defined himself to 38 million viewers. Love him or loathe him, it would be hard for many of those watching to any longer claim they 'really don't know who he is'.

At that moment it was difficult to understand exactly how McCain could be rescued from his personal precipice, facing in a matter of days a convention of his own to command. How could he possibly respond?

And then...just like a scene out of an old Western...in rode Hurricane Gustav to the rescue.
First, it gave the necessary cover for Bush and Cheney to skip the Minneapolis trip altogether. As the New York Times reported in a lengthy article in its magazine section over the weekend, "Bush will be ushered out of the spotlight as quickly as possible"--all the better to minimize the blame game of the past. Now, the Gulf Coast wind and rain have delivered an official excused absence.

But what would appear a larger gambit may come to pass in a couple of days, if and when McCain decides to address his own convention by satellite, from the scene of his battle with Gustav. Strategically, this is brilliant. It would allow the smaller man, with a smaller message and a smaller audience, to step squarely away from any direct comparison with the tour de force Obama delivered in Denver.

But beyond that, it could also move McCain's argument away from values, and right into a future of choices. He would appear to already be delivering on his promise to put honor in front of self-interest. He would represent a tomorrow of action rather than words. Never mind that he would have no more official standing in the Gulf Coast region than your pet cat, and by the time of his arrival could have no impact on crisis response.

What he would have accomplished is a considerable feat of political jujitsu, throwing off the yoke of Bush, sidestepping the colossus that is Obama, and at least momentarily shifting the argument from past recriminations to an imagined future of better choices.