John McCain: Gambler
That Senator John McCain enjoys to gamble every now and then is nothing new. However, how often he plays and his ties to the gambling industry were not known, until recent. The British newspaper the Daily Telegraph reports that the ties are extensive. McCain gets more money than most of his colleagues from the gambling industry. Only months ago, McCain himself and campaign manager Rick Davis were welcomed to one major casino and played for hours, the report states.
The article asks one question that needs to be asked about McCain’s gambling habit; will it put him at odds with the Evangelical base of his party?
He has had trouble with them all his life. They consider him too moderate, he considers them insane. If they find out about his passion for gambling, because it seems to be a passion alright, and his extensive ties to the gambling industry, they may very well once again realize that he is not one of them, to put it mildly.
Then again, McCain is certainly no exception. There are many men who enjoy to gamble, be it either in a casino or with friends. How many of you don’t organize poker nights with a group of friends regularly? This may even go for Evangelical Christians.
Additionally, McCain is far from the only person running for the office of president who enjoy gambling. Many other former U.S. presidents enjoyed it as well, or they had other vices. As they say, all great men have great vices. If McCain’s ‘great vice’ is gambling once per month, well, his ‘vice’ is pretty innocent.
However, the ties to the industry may hurt him. He enjoys presenting himself as a maverick, a reformer. He talks about taking on lobbyists, but his ties to the industry show that his anger towards lobbyists is limited to those who do not lobby for the gambling industry. It is undoubtedly something the Barack Obama campaign will point out and use against him.
I think the perception that as a gambler, he gets a thrill out of taking risks could hurt him as well- particularly since his opponents are already playing up his bold campaign moves as ‘erratic’.
Michael, any word on the source of those funds? People like to play up the amount of money a candidate gets from a company, but more often than not, it’s from the employees of that company. A much different proposition than all of it coming from the top guns or lobbyists.