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If I had been asked to create a movie set on: How will it look like when a presidential candidate visits a university, this would have been the story line: Young people with parents or relatives, local politicians and some other representatives sitting in an auditorium in such a nice and tidy university campus.

Wake Forest is the Truman Show for students and presidential candidates: You might loose track of whether this is real or you are unwillingly part of a big brother show on campus.

John McCain speaks about “Judical Philosophy”. In fact he talks about the constitutional restraints on power which is a hot topic after eight years of a Bush administration violating laws and the constitution to whatever extend was needed right away. He is talking about checks and balances and how the boundaries are blurring these times with federal judges ruling on policy issues they are not supposed to decide upon. A president has to take care of the constitutional restraints. He wants to take care of them again he apparently wants to deliver to the audience. A convincing topic, not convincingly packaged.

Mc Cain is reading out a prepared and printed speech. He uses the teleprompter which makes him look like watching a tennis game always turning his head between the one on the left and the one on the right hand side. A journalist sitting at a desk in front of me surfs the web for the newest and most fancy fashion collections. Mc Cain is not fascinating, he lacks charisma. He seems to be a nice guy. I would probably let him spend an afternoon with my children at the zoo, but I wouldn’t vote for him.

Even worse is how he is acknowledged by some of his endorsers on stage. The former solicitor Ted Olson, says: “I can introduce you to a real American hero. A man of character, unshakeable integrity and conservatism.” These might be valuable characteristics of a person and a politician. But is this sort of heroism what the American people wish for their future and that of their country? It is old school politics McCain and his entourage represent.

Before the candidate enters the stage they play cover versions of “Nothing compares to you” (Sinead O’Connor) and “Take a chance on me” (Abba) – these horrible crazy keyboard driven degenerating pieces of originally good music that drive you nuts. Something fresh and authentic is needed here – maybe not just in terms of music.