When Have Republicans EVER Made It About Issues?

Nobody's surprised by McCain campaign manager and lobbyist Rick Davis' comment, are they?

Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain's presidential bid, insisted that the presidential race will be decided more over personalities than issues during an interview with Post editors this morning.

"This election is not about issues," said Davis. "This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates."

There's something that didn't need to be said. Last night's speeches had not one iota of substance in them. They want a character debate and to make the choice between a war hero and a scary Black Muslim. If it were a time of peace and prosperity, maybe that works, but we've had eight years of Mayberry Machiavellis, eight years of issues not mattering in the White House. And we can't afford it any more.

Barack Obama pounced on this today.

"I mean think about it," Obama told the crowd, as per CNN. "John McCain's campaign manager said this election is not going to be about the issues, it's going to be about personalities. That's a quote. He said it's not going to be about -- it's not going to be about issues it's going to be about personalities."

Obama also used Davis' words to pivot to an attack on the GOP convention last night. "Which probably explains why last night, when they were speaking, all these speakers came up -- you did not hear a single word about the economy," He said. "Now, think about it. Not once did people mention the hardships that folks are going through. Not once did they mention what are we going to do about keeping jobs here in Ohio."

It's something to remember through the next couple months.