Clausewitz said "war is the continuation of politics through other means". If Sen. McCain wants to win, he should consider the reverse perspective and start applying lessons he learned at the Naval War College to his campaign.
The Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu taught that the commander who chooses the battlefield, will win the war. As a student of military history, John McCain understands this principle. Yet, up to this point Sen. McCain is fighting the campaign on territory favorable to Barack Obama.
The terrain of the electorate is dominated by a call for "Change". The public has concluded that their needs are not being met and they want to move beyond the failed politics of the past. The voters want something different.
On a personal level Sen. Obama is very different. He's black, he's young and he isn't a long time part of Washington. Amplified by the megaphone of his flamboyant oratory, he is a living symbol of change.
If Sen. McCain tries to fight the campaign on that basis, he will loose.
Sen. Obama is fighting on the large, vague battlefield of change. "Change you can believe in" and "We are the change we have been waiting for" are nearly meaningless generalities. This is Sen. McCain's opportunity to define the specific kind of change we need and in doing so, choose the battlefield.
Sen. McCain has the opportunity to give a name the cause of our governments failures and launch a crusade against it.
That name is Partisanship.
When social security doesn't get fixed, it's because politicians care more about the next election than about the welfare of the American People.
When energy independence is talked about but never achieved, it's because politicians put their ideology ahead of the needs of the nation.
When Congress is hopelessly gridlocked and unable to solve the most basic problems of the American people, it's because our leaders put the selfish interests of their parties above the good of our country.
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