John McCain's Superstition
John McCain, known for his superstitious tendencies on the campaign trail, joked Monday with reporters he's not ready to discuss what he'll do if he wins his party's nomination."I am superstitious, as I said earlier, and for me to start talking about what would happen after I win the nomination, when I have not won it yet, is in direct violation of my superstitious tenets," the Arizona senator said to laughter at a campaign event in Hamilton, New Jersey.
John McCain tonight during his victory speech:
Thank you Wisconsin for bringing us to the point where even a superstitious Naval aviator can claim with confidence and humility that I will be our party's nominee for president of the United States. Thank you, Wisconsin.
So what is up with McCain's superstitions? Here's a bit on the extent of his rituals and lucky charms from 8 years ago to the day, just before he lost the South Carolina primaries in 2000.
"I'm wearing my lucky shoes from today till Sunday," McCain says from his bus on Wednesday. At the moment, his pockets contain the compass, feather (from a tribal leader) and penny (flattened, in his wallet). When McCain once misplaced his feather, there was momentary panic in the campaign, until his wife found it in one of his suits. When the compass went missing once, McCain assigned his political director to hunt it down. Weaver found it, and it remains safe, knock wood.Primary day requires additional rituals. By the time you read this, Steve Dart, McCain's lucky friend, should have arrived in South Carolina from California. He has been present with McCain for every Election Day since McCain first won a seat in Congress. McCain must sleep on a certain side of the bed, particularly before an election (and he never puts a hat on a bed--bad luck). Rain is good for Election Day, as are motion pictures. McCain requires himself to view a movie before the vote is counted. He fell asleep in his hotel room in New Hampshire before he watched a movie on primary day, but his staff didn't panic. "We have superstition fire walls," says Todd Harris, a spokesman.
Does this strike anyone else as particularly creepy and actually a real liability for a presidential campaign? McCain is fond of mentioning his superstition on the trail and I welcome it, because the more he does so, the more he's going to give the impression that he'll make presidential decisions based on superstition rather than on sound judgment. This could really bite McCain in the ass and in fact, I look forward to making sure it does so.
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