Sen. McCain graces the cover of the latest issue of Time magazine, where James Carney discusses the Senator’s incredible comeback as well as what he needs to do to close the deal with Republican primary voters.
Here is a crucial snippet:
GOP Jitters
Conservative fears about McCain are often irrational: through a 25-year career in Congress, first in the House and then in the Senate, McCain has proved himself consistently pro-life on abortion and a hawk on defense, a scourge of wasteful government spending and a generally reliable vote in favor of tax cuts. Yet at last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual gathering of party power brokers, McCain was booed.
Conservative élites are the ones most likely to break out into hives at the mention of McCain’s name. Former Republican House majority leader Tom DeLay has declared that he would not vote for McCain in the general election, even if Hillary Clinton were the Democratic nominee. Railing against McCain and Huckabee, both of whom he views as anathema to conservatives, talk-radio kingpin Rush Limbaugh recently warned his 13.5 million listeners, “If either of these two guys gets the nomination, it’s going to destroy the Republican Party.” A few days later, Limbaugh was so outraged by the possibility that Republicans might support McCain that he bellowed, “If you Republicans don’t mind McCain’s positions, then what is it about Hillary’s positions you dislike? They’re the same!”
The truth is that McCain and Clinton remain far apart on the political spectrum. But it is also true that conservatives have a lengthy bill of complaint against McCain. In the past decade he has joined with Democrats on a series of crusades in Congress – with Russ Feingold on campaign-finance reform and Ted Kennedy on immigration reform – that a majority of Republicans have opposed. He voted against President Bush’s tax cuts in 2001 and ’03, each time citing the need for fiscal restraint. And during his 2000 campaign, he labeled Pat Robertson and the Rev. Jerry Falwell “agents of intolerance.”
He has seemed to delight in doing battle with members of his own party and creed. “John’s mistake is that he makes it personal,” says a close friend in Washington . “When he’s convinced he’s doing the right thing, he has a hard time staying above the fray.” All the while – and this may be what galls conservatives most – McCain has been hailed by liberals and lionized in the mainstream news media for being a rebel.
This maverick reputation, so prized for its general-election appeal, makes it difficult for McCain to pass the primary threshold. As was the case in 2000, McCain in 2008 has yet to win even a plurality of Republican votes in a presidential primary outside his home state of Arizona and the generally liberal Northeast.
This frustrates McCain, something I saw over dinner with him in Washington in May 2002, when McCain told me he was probably through with running for President. He had tried it two years before and almost pulled off a historic upset against Bush. But, he said, “you can’t bottle lightning.” Twice during dinner, patrons went over to shake McCain’s hand and urge him to run again – against Bush in 2004 – as an independent or Democrat. The Senator was gracious and noncommittal. But after the second time, he gave me an exaggerated roll of his eyes and shook his head. “I’m a Republican, for chrissakes!”
Read the whole thing.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:09 am
If McCain wants to close the deal with Republican primary voters, he should try to get them to vote for him.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:13 am
“Conservative fears are irrational”? This piece is a piece of crap if that’s how they want to start this article.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:15 am
McCain really irks me. He is so self righteous and just plain wrong on most important issues.
at least he has iraq to hold on to. so he is right in about one area.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:16 am
I have a feeling he’s gonna get embarrassed tonight at the debates.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Well, if there’s one publication who should know that ‘Conservative fears about McCain are often irrational’ it would HAVE to be Time magazine.
Didn’t McCain spend the last month ripping on Time for their Man of the Year pick?
January 24th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Kavon, what on Earth is your fixation on McCain? You’ve posted more pro-McCain pieces than pro-Rudy pieces over the past year, and it’s getting incredibly grating, given that you’re a Rudy supporter and that McCain is anathema to Rudy’s strong economic and fiscal conservative supporters (as well as those that advocate a hardline America-first stance rather than a pro-”international law” stance). I mean, it’s your site, and you can obviously post whatever you want, but I’m just curious, here.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Wow, the liberal media is pulling out all the stops to put their man atop everyone else. Too bad they will ultimatly fail!
January 24th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Kavon,
You may provided this info previously……
But who is your #2…..after Rudy….
January 24th, 2008 at 11:20 am
He voted against President Bush’s tax cuts in 2001 and ‘03, each time citing the need for fiscal restraint.
Utter f’ing nonsense. What, are they reading McCain 2008′s talking points? McCain cited his opposition to “the rich” getting ‘more than their fair share’ of tax breaks.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Didn’t McCain spend the last month ripping on Time for their Man of the Year pick?
Yeah, he wasn’t happy at all that they chose the Prime Minister of Germany as “Man of the Year”
January 24th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Abe #8 . . . isn’t it obvious?
January 24th, 2008 at 11:25 am
You have got to be kidding me TLG? Because my Rudy to McCain ratio has got to be like 100 to 1 in Rudy’s favor.
Not to mention the fact that I traveled out of state like three times on my own dime to cover Hizzoner on the campaign trail.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:27 am
That’s the way to change my mind. Call the laundry list of complaints I have with McCain and the zeal with which he fights conservatives “irrational”.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Time is the MOST liberal, slanted mainstream publication organization there is in our country today, even more than CNN, etc. They can not say one positive thing about Romney. They have a very liberal, democrat agenda. I have no illusion as to why they would push McCain. What I don’t get is why any true Republican would fall for it.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:37 am
RIGHT on the war
RIGHT on Foreign Policy
WRONG on immigration (McCain/Kennedy)
WRONG on the Bush Tax CUts
WRONG in the gang of 14
WRONG on Finance Reform/Free Speech (McCain/Feingold)
WRONG on Global Warming (McCain/Lieberman)
Wrong on Patients Bill of Rights (McCaine/Kennedy/Edwards)
Wrong on Drug Reimportation
SEVEN WRONGS don’t make him RIGHT!!
January 24th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Who would have guessed McCain would the Republican frontrunner and on the cover of TIME, say, 3 months ago?
http://www.political-buzz.com/
January 24th, 2008 at 11:38 am
TLG-
Do you want Kavon to be another parrot or cheerleader for his favorite candidate (God knows there are more than enough of those here), or do you want him to post information about the GOP primaries?
January 24th, 2008 at 11:39 am
You have got to be kidding me TLG? Because my Rudy to McCain ratio has got to be like 100 to 1 in Rudy’s favor. Not to mention the fact that I traveled out of state like three times on my own dime to cover Hizzoner on the campaign trail.
Perhaps it’s my mind playing tricks on me, your McCain posts being more conspicuous and memorable due to the fact that you’re a Rudy guy.
Your traveling out of state says absolutely nothing about the number of posts you make, though. A field report is still one post (or series of posts in a row), even if it is more unique.
Regardless, you’ve posted a lot of pro-McCain material (but never much, if any, for Romney, Huckabee, Thompson [when he was in, obviously], etc). I was merely remarking upon that.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:39 am
This picture of John McCain really captures him quite well. Take a look at his cocky posture. The little smirk on his face. The way that he’s adjusting his cuff link or whatever he’s doing.
I need to go and buy a copy of this magazine. It will be a nice collectors piece here shortly as the McCrumble comes to fruition.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:40 am
This election is about the economy!!!! Does McCain have a clue about the economy? In fact it is always about the economy: it is the only thing that directly effects middle class Americans.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:41 am
RIGHT on the war RIGHT on Foreign Policy WRONG on immigration (McCain/Kennedy) WRONG on the Bush Tax CUts WRONG in the gang of 14 WRONG on Finance Reform/Free Speech (McCain/Feingold) WRONG on Global Warming (McCain/Lieberman) Wrong on Patients Bill of Rights (McCaine/Kennedy/Edwards) Wrong on Drug Reimportation SEVEN WRONGS don’t make him RIGHT!!
But he’s not even totally right on the war. Listen to him talk up the importance of the United Nations and international law sometime. Listen to him want to shut down Guantanamo for the sake of restoring our image or something. Listen to him talk about “restoring our moral authority,” like a Democrat. Listen to him flat-out lie about the Geneva Conventions’ application to terrorists.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:43 am
TLG #18,
Well, I do have a Rudy post that I am working on for a little bit later if that alleviates your concerns a little.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Yeahright. Anyway, Have you listened to Romney lately? Romney has a liberal agenda too. Here are quotes from an article mocking the failed governor for his suddenly big-government rhetoric:
Link: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/01/20/what_would_reagan_say/
The best you can say about Romney at the moment is that he has morphed into a “nonideological business pragmatist for the exurban office parks”—which is what Brooks calls Romney by way of praise!
Romney is not now, nor was he ever, a conservative.
Just get over it and move, because your candidate already has.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:45 am
It better have as good a portrait of Rudy as that Time cover of McCain is all I can say.
/humor
January 24th, 2008 at 11:47 am
It’s not really a concern…
McCain’s just worrying me and it makes me feel a little irritated to be reminded that most Rudy people tend to like McCain, too. Post what you want, though, of course: it’s your site.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Romney just made 21 for the first time on Ras!
January 24th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Anyone else in McCain Panic Mode?
Time to take him out!
I’d prefer Romney as the nominee, because at least he’d lose and I’d get to laugh in the Rombots’ faces. McCain would win and forever shift the GOP left.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I can foresee a McCain presidency resulting in millions of illegal aliens gaining
citizenship and no real committment to border security. If McCain was really
for border security we would have seen progress in that area by now,
but the fact is, he is not an advocate for this issue. This will encourage more
people to come over the border illegally. I trust him on this issue about as
far as I can throw him.
McCain also considers one of our most productive industries (pharmaceutical)
as “bad guys” that need to be punished for their efforts. But that makes sense
because if the pharm companies stop making useful medicines, it will help control
our population problem that is causing the increase in greenhouse gas. That greenhouse
gas is also why we need to make sure that all of those jobs in Michigan never come
back. Keeping life expectancy down to a manageable level will also help keep
social security solvent.
McCain got a campaign finance reform bill passed that has been declared
unconstitutional by the supreme court as it infringes on free speech.
Do we want a guy who supports the curtailment of our rights of free speech?
He then went on to be an advocate for a disaster of a proposed bill dealing
with immigration reform. There had to be a popular uprising to stop this
thing, and I have no doubt that if McCain becomes president he will try to
resurrect this the bill and encourage more illegal immigration while giving
lip service to border security.
I just don’t see this guy getting the nomination. And I don’t think an
“endorsement” by Time magazine will help his chances.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:49 am
21.
Good point. Once again reputation outweighs reality.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:49 am
McCain’s been arguing against the Wall Street and Corporate Republicans for years and years. The other candidates—save for Gov. Huckabee, a populist in the long and rich Southern agrarian tradition—are only just now discovering that we have a middle class, that it votes, and that it’s hurting at the moment.
So, yes.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:49 am
McCain is going down despite the liberal media’s SHORT TERM worship of him. They will praise him liberally until we have our democrat nominee. Then they will trash him.
Mitt is the way to go – you can tell by who the liberal media are NOT fawning for.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:51 am
This may make a good dart board!
January 24th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Yeah, effendi, I understand, but what if Romney wins. That is a risk that I would rather not take.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:53 am
The fact that Time magazine put him on its cover says everything. No candidate has had more opposition from the MSM than Romney. If he wins the nomination, it will be against some great odds. The media and the democrats have attacked him relentlessly and have tried to prop up candidate after candidate to take him out. Why have we not seen the media hype Romney as they have Huckabee and McCain? It’s obviousl what is going on here.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Has McCain responded to this yet:? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFM1xqqTX_g
January 24th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Keep repeating that alibi. Intone it reverently like the pious wish that it is. It just might come true.
The reality is this: skilled candidates, especially Republican candidates, know how to operate not just in spite of, but consonant with, an adversary media.
Ask yourself: Why is Romney such a media illiterate?
January 24th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
McCain’s rise has been remarkable and probably the story of this political season thus far. I half expected that, after shilling for him for months straight, the media would promptly bury him after his victories created a compelling narrative for his candidacy. But, to their credit, they’ve given this story the attention it deserves. That said, I think it has a great deal to do with the fact that Romney’s still a contender and without continual, non-stop, relentless shilling from the MSM, Romney would probably easily disable McCain. Watch how these folks turn on him if he makes it past the convention. The fabled “independent appeal” will disappear into the sea.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Romney 47 McCain 41 on intrade.com for Florida
January 24th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Shill for liberals…and get BURNED!!!
January 24th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
The first two days of Rasmussen following the Thompson pullout (many people wouldn’t have known the first day) is beginning to show where the votes may be going:
McCain 27
Romney 24
Huckabee 21
Giuliani 11
January 24th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
JMAC LOOKING GOOD!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1f0JREiDyk
Sylvester Stallone Endorses John McCain!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYfFZsFP2dc
January 24th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
JMAC LOOKING GOOD!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1f0JREiDyk
Sylvester Stallone Endorses John McCain!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYfFZsFP2dc
January 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
the media and mccain are going steady now, and are going to get married.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
New FL Mason-Dixon poll has Romney up:
Romney 30
McCain 26
Giuliani 18
Huckabee 15
Undecided 10
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/NEWS0107/80124026/1075
January 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
giuliani at 18? dude!
January 24th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Also new WESH 2 News Poll (FL) has Romney up:
Romney 30
McCain 26
Giuliani 18
Huckabee 13
http://www.wesh.com/politics/15127893/detail.html
January 24th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Brett,
Those are the same polls, one just misreported Huckabee’s total (not sure which).
January 24th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
If Giuliani falls any further it’s going to start to help McCain.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Rudy have to cut McCain throat tonight, he desperately need to come second (at least) in Florida.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
48, that’s what i’m thinking too.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
This are two differents poll.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
insider has mccain over mitt by 1.. that’s a 6 point shift in McCain’s favor.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
McCain 23
Romney 22
Rudy 18
Huck 16
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/docs/InsiderAdvantage_MajorityOpinionOvernightFLGOPPrimaryPoll.html
January 24th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
#41
Sampo,
Didn’t I also hear on the news this morning that Sly endorses Anabolic Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone?
January 24th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Kavon, I can’t read the whole thing when the first paragraph is a lie.