John McCain had hoped for a photo op atop an oil rig, but he got a hurricane and an oil spill instead. The senator is known for his superstitions, but lately his lucky charms don’t seem to be doing the trick. The Washington Post takes a closer look at McCain’s week of bad luck and finds there’s more to frown about on the horizon.

Although, just between us, the whole oil rig photo-op idea wasn’t so crackerjack to begin with. Forget that the policy itself is bunk; is this really the election year to stand on top of a symbol of big oil and wave?

Washington Post:

It seemed like a great way to counter Obamamania. Sen. John McCain would board a helicopter in New Orleans today, skim quickly over the Gulf of Mexico and land on an oil rig — a made-for-TV moment to highlight his call for offshore drilling, an issue that Republicans believe will be a big winner in November.

Then came Hurricane Dolly, a Category 2 storm that made a helicopter ride impossible. And then, improbably, a 600-foot oil tanker collided with a barge on the Mississippi River, creating a 12-mile oil slick and causing diesel fumes to waft over the city’s French Quarter. The trip was off.

In this campaign, it seems, McCain just can’t catch a break.

Read more

 Rock Solid Journalism

In 2026, amid chaos and the nonstop flurry of headlines, Truthdig remains independent, fact-based and focused on exposing what power tries to hide.

Support Independent Journalism.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG
In this Article:
#hurricane#john mccain#mississippi#oil and gas industry#politics