He treads very lightly in drawing contrasts with Obama -- the sharpest dig he takes touches on the economy, where he says, "Senator Obama and I have fundamental differences on economic policy. But when he describes my plan, I'm not sure his heart is always in it - so let me have a go at it myself. I believe that in a troubled economy, when folks are struggling to afford the necessities of life, higher taxes are the last thing we need."
Given that The New York Times poll released today shows that only five percent of African-Americans view McCain favorably, his speech seems more like what Noam Scheiber calls a "ricochet pander" -- it appeals to African-Americans, but more so to suburban white swing-voters who want the president to be inclusive.
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That "ricochet pander" theory is probably the most likely. McCain's position with African-Americans is even more hopeless than it's made to seem here. Obama's lead in that demographic is
94%-1%.
Seriously, he's that screwed among blacks.
