America’s Struggle with Success

Obviously this website is about success—here the focus on our nation. As I said previously I will shift soon to how individuals’ struggle with success in my forthcoming book, Why Men Choke.  In a word, John McCain is choking—on potential success right in front of him. I told the story in an earlier article (see 9/25/08 Part II) of boxer Gerry Cooney failing to take his best shot in the biggest fight of his life for the heavyweight championship of the world. If the McCain—Obama battle is anything, it’s a heavyweight fight of the first order--for “most powerful man in the world.”

Yet McCain consistently confounds his supporters with his campaign strategy and failure to “counter punch” and confront Obama’s weak points on the economy and energy (e.g. pie in the sky plans/ failure to utilize our natural resources for openers).

In the second debate, McCain missed a golden opportunity to separate himself from Bush administration economic policies under attack. He didn’t play to his strengths “about bucking his own party…the maverick who bucked Bush on the pork-laden farm bill, the special-interest bonanza energy bill, the underfunded Medicare prescription drug-bill and who told Bush to boost level of U.S. troops in Iraq before the surge.”¹

McCain is bending over backwards to show how well he can cross the isle and work with Democrats, read “I’m a peace loving guy” in the middle of a huge fight mind you. His deeper intelligence reflects his retreat: he called for a halt in the campaign, wanting to return to Washington before the first debate. Recently when asked who he would most likely have as a dinner guest it was the track team where the runner dropped the baton. Who is dropping the baton in what race now?

Why would McCain retreat from success when he could put Obama on the ropes at times? One clear answer--McCain reflects the same sympathy vote which Obama attracts as the first black candidate. On the night of Obama’s (historic, yes) Democrat nomination  McCain sent Obama a congratulatory telegram and “puts aside competition”—the same urge to retreat again. Like Gerry Cooney McCain cannot express aggression toward Obama, for one reason because Obama’s black. In a word, guilt—one common powerful unconscious reason behind success retreats.

Then later (October 11^th) McCain moves away from questioning Obama’s character—a major concern and perhaps McCain’s chief advantage—to assure people that Obama’s a “decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States.” In his denial—extremely typical of people in retreat—McCain not only reveals he’s picking up that Obama gives us plenty of reasons to be scared, at the same time he again reflects fear in confronting him. McCain too often is giving Obama a pass, like millions of Americans. He reveals the mistaken tendency to treat Obama with kid gloves because of his race. In sports, we call that a make-up call—a sympathy reaction because a person suffered an injustice. But presidential races that come down to make-up calls end up creating one huge victim president—the very last thing the demanding job calls for.

McCain’s own history reflects other reasons for his success problem. Likely, as a former POW who was enslaved and brutalized for over five years in a Viet Nam jail he over- identifies symbolically with Obama--who has been no great victim of racism.

Another powerful reason for McCain to back off would be personal guilt of his own. In the Saddleback interview (and others) McCain referred to the deep guilt he feels over the breakup of his first marriage--where he ended up leaving a wife crippled in an automobile accident. Guilt accompanies success anyway deep down like night follows day. The usual “I really don’t deserve this success” is a battle that every person fights because who completely deserves really good fortune, in particular the good fortune of being the number one man in the world.

On top of this, the presidential race would remind McCain of the time he was a commander of a flight squad in Viet Nam, and he ended up in prison. There is deep link of being on top and the bottom falling out within everyday folk. McCain’s POW experience would only reinforce that idea in the back of his mind.

Surely there are other factors in John McCain which we will keep an eye on, but a retreat is a retreat is a retreat.

Summary

• McCain reflects a classic fear of success syndrome
• He refuses to talk his best shot against Obama
• McCain’s passivity explains the Obama sympathy vote
• McCain has powerful personal reasons to retreat from success