McCain-in-the-tank?

In 1988, Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis had a problem. The United States was in the midst of the Cold War, and the Massachusetts Governor was viewed as being soft on defense, particularly on the controversial “Star Wars” program, which Dukakis promised to scale down. Dukasis was facing Vice President George H.W. Bush, the Vice President to the man many credited with winning the Cold War.

In response to this, Dukakis orchestrated what would become the key image of his campaign, albeit not for the reasons he intended. In September 1988, Dukakis visited the General Dynamics plant in Michigan to take part in a photo op in an M1 Abrams tank. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom had been photographed in a similar situation in 1986, riding in a Challenger tank while wearing a scarf; although somewhat out of character, the image was effective and helped Thatcher's re-election prospects. Dukakis's "tank moment" was much less successful. Footage of Dukakis was used in television ads by the Bush campaign, as evidence that Dukakis would not make a good commander-in-chief, and "Dukakis in the tank" remains shorthand for backfired public relations outings.

Two decades later, Senator and presidential aspirant John McCain has the opposite problem that Dukakis had in 1988. McCain is tied to what most Americans believe to be a failed policy of Iraq. McCain supported the “surge” of troops several months ago, causing Democrats to coin the phrase “McCain Doctrine” when refereeing to the Presidents ambitions in the region. McCain believes that victory is within reach, and that Iraqi society has benefited tremendously from the U.S. occupation.

On April 1st, McCain and Republican colleague Lindsay Graham strolled through Baghdad’s Shorja market. Protected by more than a hundred American soldiers, three Black Hawk helicopters, and two Apache gun ships, the senator celebrated the “progress” and “good news” in Iraq. What was meant as a photo op to prove to the world that the media coverage of Iraq wrongly portrays it as a nation decrepit with violence was shunted when images of McCain in a bulletproof vest and army entourage appeared in every major newspaper.

The press quickly dubbed the moment as the “Dukakis-in-the-tank- photo op”

Once the favorite for the Republican nomination, McCain has slipped into a distant third in the polls and in fund raising. His decision to be the candidate that supports an escalation to the war has just been memorialized by a photo that will surely haunt him on the campaign trail (think: heuristics).

It’s worth noting that on the day after McCain’s stroll, 21 of the Shorja market’s merchants were ambushed and killed.