I was as close to a McCainiac as any Romney guy can get. I’m more moderate on illegal immigration (I don’t want a path to citizenship, but I’m willing to accept one for real border security), I’m more moderate on global warming (I hate cap and trade nonsense, but I could see supporting more conservative solutions like those outlined in Newt’s “A Contract with the Earth”). I don’t mind that McCain opposed the tax cuts, because I tend to think that tax cuts should be focused more on the middle class as well (not to mention being accompanied by spending restraints).
In a whole host of ways, I’m pretty close to John McCain ideologically and nearly supported him at various points this election season. But, the McCain of the last few weeks (who seems now to be simply McCain, with a bigger microphone, and on a larger stage) is a uniquely unappealing character, from his deeply flawed temperament, to his irrational lashing out at capitalism and capitalists, to his utter inability to answer a question substantively. He will lead us to a defeat of historic proportions, current polls notwithstanding. I suspect we’ll even be a little relieved when it happens. And I’m not saying this to sway anyone. I have no illusions that McCain can still be stopped, particularly not with Huckabee in the race. This is just an honest assessment, from a guy who cares alot about the future of the Republican party, and who thinks that we’re going to deeply regret our choice.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:35 am
100% correct.
Should Mitt be done after 2/5 (I’m holding out hope) then I will back a Ron Paul third party bid. I’m not kidding either.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:38 am
Amen Matthew!
McCain won FL because of:
1) Millions of robo-calls telling Floridians that Romney was “unelectable” but McCain was (citing the NBC,WSJ poll)
2) Crist/Martinez endorsements.
I think a lot of people will be feeling that they were scammed into believing how “electable” McCain is.
It ain’t gonna be pretty folks.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:46 am
Couldn’t have said it better! Once the currently adoring MSM takes him apart, it will get ugly fast. Who would have thought with HRC as flawed as she is as a candidate – or Obama’s lack of experience or substance – the GOP would find a way to screw it up and hand either of the Dems the general election. Bob Dole & John McCain – to be honored for their service to the country – but both equally poor nominees (stipulating McCain will be) that don’t cut it.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:52 am
All this hand wringing from the conservative base is getting annoying. I am conservative and support McCain because he is spot on correct about Iraq, the courts, spending, entitlements,and may actually get elected. Yes, many disagree with him about immigration and finance reform and global warming but are those really worth more then what happens if a Democrat wins and we pull out of Iraq too soon or the awful appointments she will make to the supreme court? Do we really want Roe extended for 30 years because McCain is bad on immigration? Do we really want to pull of Iraq too soon because he is wrong on campaighn finance? He definately isn’t the peferct conservative candidate. None of them were. The party picked the best one of the bunch that actually has a chance of winning.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:53 am
After McCain’s victory in Florida, I pretty much wrote politics off completely . . . that is until I watched the debate last night. McCain angered me so much that I decided to donate $500 to Mitt this morning to help him with his ad buys in the super tuesday states. Even though Mitt’s chances are small, the thought of McCain winning makes me shudder.
I may have just wasted $500, but at least my conscience is clear. I did what I could to stop McCain.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:53 am
if its mccain, either not voting in the pres election..or ron paul/libertarian party vote
January 31st, 2008 at 10:55 am
McCain has as much of a chance as winning as I do; or Bob Dole did. The premise on settling for McCain is just obnoxious. Again, in a debate McCain vs. either Dem will make Bob Dole look like a debate champion!
January 31st, 2008 at 10:56 am
You know Ron Paul could be a great candidate if he just didn’t want to withdraw from Iraq so quickly and if he would stop harping about the gold standard. Otherwise, I found myself agreeing with him on much of what he said last night.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:56 am
i think people will be surprised when they see the h2h match up polls once we have nominees. they will be way different than what we’re seeing now. it is stupid for people to have bought into them so much.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:59 am
I sadly agree with the majority here. McCain was my least favorite Republican. I can’t believe we are going to nominate a 71 year-old geezer loved by liberals to run for president. Are we playing into the dem’s hands or what?
January 31st, 2008 at 11:02 am
Matthew E. Miller,
Your one of the most objective front pagers on this site and I always appreciate your thoughts and opinions. A few months ago I thought McCain would be “Acceptable” if he won the nomination, I have
serious soured on him over the past few weeks, I will not go into details why I now despise the man. My wife, (who is not a political junkie) has been watching the debates and has warmed up to Romney (she liked Huckabee in the beginning) and after last nights debate she told me she would vote for Hillary before she ever pulled the lever for that “old cranky man” (her exact words). McCain is losing support from the people he needs the most come the general.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:03 am
Post mortems can be fun. The Democrats were having one 36 months ago.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:03 am
#1 Jason,
Funny that you say, I’d vote for Ron Paul over HRC and McCain any day!
January 31st, 2008 at 11:03 am
Could we hold off until Mitt drops out or is mathematically eliminated for the post-mortems? The Republican Party is only mostly dead, and there’s a big difference between being mostly dead and being all the way dead:
FACT: McCain can’t win a majority in a Republicans-only primary.
FACT: Exit polling in Florida showed most Giuliani supporters favor Mitt.
FACT: Mitt is within striking distance in states like California, Missouri, and Illinois.
FACT: As of yesterday, Mitt was still leading in the Rasmussen national poll.
FACT: Mitt won last night’s debate, and will win any future debates.
FACT: Conservatives are still in the process of coalescing behind Mitt.
FACT: 1191 delegates are needed for nomination, and nobody even has 100 yet.
FACT: Romney has not given up, and he would, if there was no hope.
Look, I know that Florida felt like a deathblow. But the fact is that it wasn’t. I believe that it might turn out in retrospect that McCain’s early victories were Pyrrhic….people are gaining a dislike for him, and there will be a lot of post-purchase anxiety syndrome in evidence in future primaries.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:04 am
John McCain is not electable and it’s not because of his apostasies, but because he approaches politics. He attacks his opponents, he impugns their motives, and he does all of this with a degree of self-righteous that is staggering. In NH, home of homes for John McCain, a state that adores him, that launched his national career, and set straight talk express back on the road- in that NH, John McCain was supported by fewer independents then Hillary Clinton. And this is a full court press by every NH paper (26 of 27 endorsed him), a conservative movement that hadn’t quite decided to oppose him yet, and a hobbled Mitt Romney as his only competitor. John McCain is not only unelectable, he’s spectacularly unelectable, because all of those positives disappear in a general election. Here’s a tip for those who haven’t been paying attention to politics. In a general election, every Republican becomes a right wing lunatic. So, if you’re smart, you nominate an actual right wing lunatic, who’s also pleasant and amiable.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:04 am
McCain’s positions on Taxes:
* Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
* Require 3/5th majority vote in Congress to raise taxes
* Make permanent all Bush tax cuts
* Ban internet taxes
* Ban new cell phone taxes
* Permanent Research and Development Tax Credit
Has anyone been better on the spending side then McCain over the years?
Who has been more outspoken against earmarks and pork then McCain?
How many repulican senators voted against the Medicare Prescription drug plan? McCain did.
Who voted to confirm Bork, Clarence Thomas, Roberts, and Alito? McCain did.
Compare that to the Democrats.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:05 am
People actually argue that McCain would be better than Billary in office because we would at least weild the veto power.
Folks, you fail to remember all the liberal bills Jmac co-sponsored that are indefensible. Remember, these are bills that were contrary to the base and that the libs gushed over.
Folks, a McCain presidency will be the exact same thing as a McCain Senate seat, he will join with liberals to pass his socialist legislation, all the while poking conservatives in the eye.
With Dems in control of Congress, who do you think Jmac will side with?
January 31st, 2008 at 11:06 am
The pendulum of power has definetly swung back to the MSM. The MSM wont even admit that McCain lost badly last night and I mean BADLY. When they dont even have enough objectivity to say McCAin performed Badly we get a sense for how bad they want him in there.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:06 am
hmm… I liked Bob Dole.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:07 am
I believe that McCain is the nominee and the others have little chance at this point, BUT at this point the fight is no longer a fight for a non-Mccain nominee but I fight for principles. McCain will not destroy the true conservative movement if we don’t let him. Every vote, every dollar, every volunteer effort for someone other then McCain will lesson his ability to destroy the conservative movement. He will still win the nomination, but he will not win it with a mandate from the majority to redefine the conservative movement.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:10 am
jcali –
He didn’t side with democrats when they wanted time tables in Iraq.
He didn’t side with democrats when they voted against Thomas, Alito, Bork, and Roberts.
He didn’t side with the democrats when they all voted to add drug coverage to Medicare.
He doesn’t side with demcrats about earmarks.
He’ll side with conservatives a vast majority of the time. A lot more then Hillary will.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:11 am
Honestly Matt,
Now that I’ve seen the McCain that you describe, I agree with you that he will prove unelectable. But I feel the same way about Romney. If a certain (kind of large) % of GOPers see him as a greasy slime ball who will say anything to get elected, than certainly all moderate or independent voters will see him this way. And I agree 100% with Sean Oxedine, that there aren’t enough hardline conservative voters in the country to win this election on their own. We need the moderates who will not vote for Romney.
So now, where do you want the party to go? If Mitt (the “conservative candidate”) gets crushed in 2008, do the McCain centrists have more ammo next year? I say yes, unless the Romney nomination turns many of them off the party.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:11 am
21, the Bob Dole-esque candidate in this race is Romney. He trails badly in all the polls. Bob Dole trailed badly in all of the national polls, we nominated him anyway, he never came close to closing the gap, and we lost. It was a near certainty that we would lose several months before the election. The lesson if 1996 is do not nominate someone who is so far behind in the national trial heats that the race will never be competitive.
McCain will save 15 or 20 Republican leaning open congressional seats, and as #16 pointed out, McCain’s record is not near as bad as is described by some on this blog.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:13 am
I predict not so much a battle for the nomination as much as a fight over the party platform at the convention. I don’t see delegates going along w/ McCain about Global warming, immigration or campaign finance reform. He’ll have to compromise to avoid a platform floor fight
January 31st, 2008 at 11:14 am
McCain will simply look ridiculous in a debate against Hillary or Obama, and if its Obama, he will appear even older and more petulant with his constant sneering. Thompson, Guiliani, and Romney were all more viable choices. Once the Democrats choose their nominee, the media will end its love affair with McCain and regard him with disdain — his supposed inherent electability will go out the window.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:15 am
#21,
Oh, I see. With McCain we’ll get Liberalism Lite.
If I wanted a hawkish democrat, I’d vote for hillary.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:15 am
I like Bob Dole too. McCain is no Bob Dole. Bob Dole was a moderate conservative, who did a wonderful job of bringing together the moderate and conservative factions of the Senate. He understood diplomacy, he understood that people could have differing opinions and still be patriots. John McCain has attacked the conservative movement at every opportunity. Even on the sole issue where John McCain has been right, welly and truly right- his support for the surge- he can’t help but laud his superiority with lines like “I was the only one who supported the surge and who realized Don Rumsfeld was ruining things”. He has just a spectacular lack of graciousness, a spectacular lack of tact, and a spectacular lack of leadership. When he works with Democrats, he doesn’t work with them, he works with himself. Democrats just happen to agree with him. John McCain is no Bob Dole. And for once, that’s a bad thing.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:17 am
Dole ’08
January 31st, 2008 at 11:17 am
#14 – great post…..don’t give up guys, Mitt is still in this thing. Ralph Reed indicated on FoxNews that he thinks Mitt can win near a majority of the votes in some of the states with high evangelicals. The family values counsel has soured on Huckabee, but seem to be reluctant to push their new position enough. Mitt’s campaign needs to pick up on what they have said lately and air that for them. Evangelical’s hold the key to this thing, and if they knew they were propelling McCain (who we now know thinks Judge Alito is too conservative) to the nomination, many of them will swing to Mitt, and Mitt wins this baby!
January 31st, 2008 at 11:18 am
I will vote for Billary.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:21 am
The people who complain about McCain’s campaign finance reform legislation should remember 2 things:
1. We lost the last election in part because of sleazy lobbyist/bribary issues associated with hardball fundraising tactics.
2. All of that occured after campaign finance reform. A few names of political entities got changed, but nothing really changed.
Campaign finance reform is a big zero. Its nothing, except for PR for politicians.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:22 am
I was watching more of the debate and I think I’ve pretty much decided I won’t vote for McCain in the general. I’ve been struggling with this for a while b/c I really want a conservative in the White House–we have so many important issues facing us from immigration to Iraq to our trade with China, the economy overall, abortion, etc etc
However watching McCain in the debate–he is a snide, arrogant, mean-spirited politician. And on top of this I get the feeling he feels he’s entitled to the Presidency. But that’s besides the point. Watching on the debate he very arrogantly attacked Mitt and stretched and twisted every fact he could. The idiot didn’t even know what he was saying (ie “Your former Lt Governor is backing me”) Mitt should have really called him out on that and his “Straight Talk Express”
Anyways I don’t think I could stomach voting for this guy. He probably won’t win with everyone else jumping ship–and it ain’t just Mittheads. It’s former supporters of Rudy, Thompson, Huck, etc etc. There won’t be enough conservatives that fall in line this fall.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:22 am
I don’t understand some of you people. “I won’t vote for McCain I’ll blah blah blah” Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are some of the most radically leftist people to run for President since George McGovern. This election isn’t so much 1996 as 1972. A moderate GOPer vs an ultra-leftist Democrat, do you all really want to put our country through that just so you all can feel better about not voting for McCain? Come on this isn’t high school anymore
January 31st, 2008 at 11:23 am
Hillary will not pull us out of Iraq. She is a defense hawk but saying what needs to be said in a Dem primary against an out-spoke anti-war candidate.
If the cranky old man were to win then man GOP’ers in Congress would be bullied into following his lead on liberal issues like global warming and “torture.” At least with an HRC presidency the GOP’ers in Congress would (hopefully) be able to grow some balls and stand up against her. That won’t happen with the cranky old man in charge.
Obama would be scary. He has the opportunity to win 45+ states and could become one of the most likable Presidents of all time even if he doesn’t accomplish a damn thing. I would be very scared if Obama were the nominee against the cranky old man.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:24 am
29, Huckabee has soured with half of the evangelicals. The rest of them are still with Huck. Huck is playing spoiler. Some of us said that Huck should be put on the ground in SC, but the Rombots wanted McCain to win SC, because they thought things would play out better for them. Now you have Huck the spoiler to deal with.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:25 am
IMO, I think Mitt should TODAY announce FRED THOMPSON to be his running mate. If he does that, he takes at least some of the southern states next week. What do you guys think?
January 31st, 2008 at 11:26 am
Why is sitting on senate committees executive leadership?
The good ol’ boys club in Washington is disghusting
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15028
January 31st, 2008 at 11:26 am
Think about this: Most of us have our beefs with McCain but they all stem from one fact – He is the least intelligent candidate on the stage. He is just plain not a smart man. If you think the media wont exploit that fact you are kidding yourself.
Think about his campaign – probably the worst run least organized campain.
Everything he has has been by default and not his own doing.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:27 am
Matthew,
In #27, you gave me a great idea for a new post.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:27 am
My uncle lives in Arizona. At a hotel a few years ago he personally saw McCain verbally abuse a staffer who forgot to bring McCain’s “step-stool” to make him look taller behind the podium (Looks like McCain’s a small man in more ways than one
). My uncle described the verbal lashing out as “way out of bounds” and “vociferous.” After that he’s joked that he “wouldn’t vote for McCain for dog-catcher.”
He told me all this before the current presidential election FWIW, and he’s about the most honest man I know.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:30 am
I’ve asked about 20 people (when the presidential race comes up) if they knew that McCain graduated 795 out of 800 at the Naval Academy.
NONE of them had heard that an most expressed serious concern (either he wasn’t that smart or didn’t try that hard . . . and neither inspiries confidence).
Don’t doubt for one second that EVERY American will know that fact if he’s our nominee.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:30 am
These super liberal senators have endorsed McCain. Birds of the same feather flock together!
John Thune (SD)
Sam BrownBack (KS)
Conrad Burns (MT)
Tom Coburn (OK)
January 31st, 2008 at 11:31 am
I don’t plan to support McCain in the general election if he wins the nomination. In past years i always felt like I should support the nominee and, for the most part, wasn’t uncomfortable doing so. But this year I really feel like I can honestly consider a third party candidate.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:33 am
#33,
simple. because in our view, a Billary presidency would only be marginally worse, and wouldn’t tarnish conservatism the way bush’s has, or Mac’s will.
Plus, as a party, the last thing we need are more McCains, Hagels, and Specters. Winning the nomination is a carrot for every other “maverick” or wannabe “maverick”.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:34 am
I agree this much with the Rombots. Mitt has led a successful career as a manager of investors’ money, has an impeccable family, has good posture, a nice tan, and is otherwise as well-groomed as any of the Mormon missionaries I’ve come across while living in Germany.
Where I cannot agree with them is on issues. He committed himself to the health insurance mandate, which I totally disagree with because it signals to the insurers that they are welcome to lobby the government to set the terms and prices while the government forces each individual to be a customer. This is a recipe for government unaccountability and lobbyist empowerment.
On just about every other issue Mitt has pandered to the lowest common denominator by advocating can-do government intervention: agricultural subsidies for Iowans, auto industry survival kits for Michiganders, to name just two.
He has taken policy stances that have otherwise cost him nothing, and the only promise that he kept was the health insurance fix. He has stood up for this, although blamed the democratic majority for all its shortcomings. Yet, had he been committed to fixing things in MA, he should have taken his arguments to the people of MA and run for an additional term. But he apparently reckoned that this would have required commitments on his part that might hurt him politically in the long run.
Every accusation he has slapped his opponents with could equally be attributed to him. That’s the pot calling the kettle black. That’s outright hypocrisy.
All of the other candidates have stuck their political necks on the line to achieve compromise or to persuade others in order to find a solution. Mitt once claimed to be the friend of the MA gay community and to support choice, but he then sneakily betrayed those same interest groups without clearly explaining why he had to do so.
Mitt has not taken the lead. He has not shown dedication to any particular issue that he might abandon in the future, figuring it would cost him nothing.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:34 am
I think most conservatives are begining to realize that if McCAin gets the nom it would be better that we loose the election and become a stronger party than win the election and become a weaker party.
This is why McCAin will loose the general.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:36 am
J Fuller – yeah bringing up that he graduated from the US Navel Academy is going to hurt him tons. You may also want to bring up that he went on to lead the largest navel combat air squadron in Vietnam also. Also bring up that he refused to be released by North Vietnam until all the men were released also. Spending four extra years as a POW is no big deal right because he finished low in his class. How petty are you?
January 31st, 2008 at 11:40 am
#46 Precisely.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:41 am
47 jhardy – you confuse his war hero status (which we are not diputing) with his ability to lead the country conservativly.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:42 am
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I support Mitt. I disagree with all of you whiners who say McCain’s not good enough but he’s inevitable. We decide who will win with our words and our votes. Mitt’s the best candidate. I’ll vote for him and rally other conservatives to do the same. What Florida did doesn’t seal the deal. It will be sealed by what we do next. This isn’t about the past it’s about the future and our future will be better with a President Romney. I, for one, will still push for that end.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:43 am
McCain used to be my second choice. Now it’s hard to believe that I was ever there. Who did the MSM pick to make darlings and prop up? McCain and Huck. Who are the most laughable and easy for the Dems to beat? McCain and Huck. The MSM won.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:44 am
jhardy – THere are plenty of Liberal war heros as well – that doesnt mean they are inteligent or would lead the country in the right direction.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:44 am
bulldozer – if it is correct , as you state, that McCain will lose the general because conservatives stay home then they will have to live with the consequences. Roe V. Wade being extended 20 years and having a 5-4 liberal supreme court for decades. Tax hikes beyond imigination coupled with letting most of the Bush tax cuts expire. Healthcare socialization. Early withdrawel from Iraq and the trouble that will cause us for decades. But, that all may be worth it because we conservatives are upset that McCain doesn’t agree with us on immigration and campaighn finance reform.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:44 am
47,
He lead 108 people in that squadron. Big whooop . . .
I’m glad that he stayed with his men . . . however, he and his daddy knew how dishonorable it would be to come home without his men and how it would destroy his future political ambition. He made the right decision . . . but was it for the right reason? Who knows . . .
January 31st, 2008 at 11:45 am
I completely agree.
Romney is no leader, he is certainly not a conservative, and to equate him with, or to argue that he is the last hope of, the conservative movement, is surpassing ridiculous.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:45 am
#47 McCains heroics are impeccable. That isn’t the point. That isn’t going to help in the President’s office. Bush is not very bright either. We’ve all suffered greatly. We need really sharp intelligence as POTUS. McCain isn’t it.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:45 am
Ditto to all those that say they cannot vote for McCain. I cannot in good conscience vote for an angry, do anything and say anything for power egomaniac. I simply will not vote and I am from Arizona.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:45 am
Because I love the foundation of our party, and I love our capitalist economy, I will vote democratic against McCain. I am not a democrat nor will I ever be one, but I will suffer the short-term sacrifice for the long-term gain. It will be insulting to see the MSM turn on McCain so quickly, and then many voters will realize what was done to them. McCain is the guy that the deomcrats wanted to run against. Forget the national election polls. We all know they are meaningless at this point. McCain will be an easy kill for the democrats.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:46 am
I have never seen a worse debate performance than McCain had last night. He has given people the chance to remember everything they don’t like about him. I was satisfied (though not thrilled) about a McCain nomination, but came away from the debate last night totally disgusted and disenchanted with the guy. The more I think about it, the worse it gets.
He is the opposite of Huckabee in this respect.
Huckabee is conservative but isn’t mad at anybody.
McCain is a moderate but is mad at everyone who doesn’t worship him.
McCain performance last night was beneath bad. It was vile. So vile, that if Huck can’t win (I’m still holding out hope) I would almost rather trust Romney’s sincerity, than McCain’s character.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:47 am
McCain is anti-capitalist, which is an easy position for sopmebody who has never had to work in the economy.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:48 am
#5 dblagent007
That is exactly what I did. And my conscience will be clean too.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:48 am
How appropriate that your moniker is “cliff”.
Push away, dude. But you have to ask yourself, if Romney couldn’t rally conservatives before now when he enjoyed every advantage in terms of funding and the support conservative institutions (talk radio, the NR), what makes you think he can do so now at the 11th hour?
January 31st, 2008 at 11:48 am
I am not saying he should be president because he is war hero. My point is that bringing up were he graduated in his Navel class is only going remind people that he is a war hero! It is just a petty argument when considering what he did further in his military career and professional life.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:49 am
MWS, neither Huck nor Romney can win because they are both still in the race. They take voters from each other. I have to be honest with you, this is Huck’s ambition at this point. He wants McCain to be president and is hanging around to seal the deal. He knows he is splitting the conservative vote by pulling the evangelicals
January 31st, 2008 at 11:50 am
I agree with #56. John McCain is a war hero and I deeply respect his service on behalf of our country. That being said, status as a war hero does not entitle anyone to the Presidency. Status as a war hero also does not immunize a candidate from attacks regarding his qualifications and intellect. His intellect comes up short against Romney and it will come up short against Hillary or Obama. No one needs to point out his class ranking to know he is an intellectual lightweight in comparison to them.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:51 am
The Napoleon complex is named after French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The conventional wisdom is that Napoleon overcompensated for his short height by seeking power, war and conquest.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:51 am
Then go away already. Go post to the DailyKos or something and frolic with your new Democrat friends. You’re really getting boring with all these tiresome manifestos about what you will not do.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:51 am
#63 jhardy
I disagree – it speaks old wars, old politics and not very bright.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:54 am
Now that McCain has me thinking about what I don’t like about him…
1. He has never shown a lick of passion about protecting life or the sanctity of marriage. He just votes the party line.
2. He can mean and vindictive to the point that it clouds his judgement (like last night).
3. He is a really poor debater, and seems to not give much thought to anything besides waging war and regulating speech.
4. He is often more critical of conservatives (for their conservatism) than he is liberals (for their liberalism).
5. He appears to hold grudges, which I consider a serious character flaw.
6. He carries an air of entitlement towards the nomination.
7. He cannot make a coherent case for his presidency beyond “I’m John McCain. I’m a soldier. I can lead. I supported the surge. If that’s not good enough for you, then you’re a jerk.”
8. He demeans the private sector. I don’t mind occasionally taking Fortune 500 CEOs to task when they hurt the economy (like Huck does), but unlike Huck, McCain seems to have a problem with the private sector as a matter of principle.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:54 am
Greg,
Absolutely. You only have to look at intrade, and the 25% of people who think Huck will be McCain’s VP (more then any other single candidate), to realize that Huck’s hanging around in the hopes of being selected as VP. His continual worship of McCain makes this clear. Of course he won’t be VP. McCain’s going to select Tim Pawlenty, because between holding the convention in Minneapolis, and selecting a Minnesotan, Mac can wrap up a blue state months in advance. Not to mention his potential ability to help in the rest of the Upper Midwest. Huck offers no such advantages. But, given that there’s no conceivable in which Huck becomes the nominee, it’s a good a play as he has.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:55 am
#67 Civic Virtue
“You’re really getting boring with all these tiresome manifestos about what you will not do.”
Civic, you only speak for yourself. I don’t find it tiresome at all. Knowledge is power. This is exactly what many Republicans are saying. You need to listen. The Republican Party is in great trouble. I’m in the same place, voting for the Democrats this time is the only way to save the Republicans in the long run. Bush nearly destroyed us, McCain will make Bush look like Einstein.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:55 am
civic virtue, I am not the only one who wants to save our party. Nobody else is asking me to go away. I think there are plenty who feel exactly the same way. You may not care about our capitalist economy nor about the foundation of our party, but many of us do.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:56 am
Greg,
I disagree with who Huck hurts. The states which Huck has a chance of winning on Tuesday are all no-hopers for Romney. If Huck weren’t in, McCain would sweep every delegate in the South.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:56 am
McCain is the “Weekend at Bernies” candidate that is being propped up and made popular by collecting endorsements, not by anything he is doing or saying. When he is uncomfortable with a question he starts listing names and proclaiming himself a “footsoldier”. He is trying to surround himself with likeable people so he becomes liked. It is alot like that movie “Cant Buy Me Love” for those of you in my generation….he is Ronald….but not Reagan
January 31st, 2008 at 11:58 am
Matthew,
“You only have to look at intrade, and the 25% of people who think Huck will be McCain’s VP (more then any other single candidate), to realize that Huck’s hanging around in the hopes of being selected as VP.”
That’s a non sequitor. You’re saying that betters thinking Huck will be the VP is the motivation for Huck staying in? Do you truly think ANY of the candidates’ decisions are determined by Intrade betters?
January 31st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
The democrats will equate McCain with Bush. It’s an easy sell. Neither is very bright. Thye are both stubborn to a fault. It can go on and on.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I have analyzed the race and developed a model of delegate counts. On Tuesday evening I predict McCain will have 960 delegates, Romney 516, Huckabee 487. (This will have error, because, for example, I assumed DE would go McCain even though I think it will be close.)
The only McCain can be beaten is for Romney and Huckabee to join forces, combine their delegates, and unite the party’s left against McCain. If Romney and Huckabee continue to split the right, McCain will waltz to victory.
I disagree with idea that any GOP nominee will lose to Hillary (who my model suggests will clean Obama’s clock on Tuesday). She still has a ceiling of 48% which makes her beatable, even by McCain.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I have to say- as much as I distrust Romney- it is one thing for stupid fanboys like me who shill for another candidate to take pot shots and make unfair accusations. It is quite another for a sitting Senator who is asking to be President to do the same.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:03 pm
MWS – you are misunderstanding what Matthew is saying. The huckster is not staying in because of Intrade, but rather the betters are seeing why the huckster is staying in and that is to become the cranky old man’s VP.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I should also add that if there is a viable independent candidate, I would vote for that person rather than cast a demoratic vote.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
MWS,
No, I think the talking heads in general suggesting Huckabee as a VP choice is motivation for Huck to stay in. He’s young and talented, but he’s spent his first run for the presidency pissing off alot of the party faithful (his record notwithstanding, he could won the nomination by running as a more charismatic version of Fred Thompson). Arkansas is a pretty small pond and the only office left for him to pursue is Senator. Making a play for VP is smart manueveering, especially given that costs him little. What else would he be doing right now? No, it makes perfect sense. He’s the sole Southern candidate, and doesn’t even need to campaign to gain a significant amount of votes on that basis alone. Maybe that makes him a player, if alot goes South for McCain. Maybe he can force his way onto the ticket. It’s as good a choice as any.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:06 pm
#76 Greg
And they’re both war-mongers.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I have a question: What exactly is a hero?
January 31st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I’ll just leave it at this. McCain is not a conservative and dislikes capitalism. He has no experience in the real economy. When people disagree with him, he drops F-Bombs, insults them, and even physically scuffles with them. I don’t want him anywhere near a trigger.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
A McCain/ Huckabee ticket would basically be like dumb and dumber.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:14 pm
85: that’s funny! unfortunately, very true too.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Nice post mr. miller. right on.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:43 pm
can anyone really see mccain debating obama?!!!…mccain will look like a confused tongue tied old man in about 4 minutes against him
January 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
#88 – I do not think Obama has performed that well in the debates. It is one thing to talk about change and hope when you are on a stage with people that have vitually no policy differences. It is a much harder task to stay above the fray when your opponent and the questions are going to focus on the very real policy differences that exist between the two parties. He is going to have defend tax increases, spending, and Iraq withdrawel. McCain has the respect and legitamacy on all those issues to club him over the head with them.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
88…keep dreaming
January 31st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
whoops..89..keep dreaming
January 31st, 2008 at 1:48 pm
#35
You said,
“but the Rombots wanted McCain to win SC, because they thought things would play out better for them. Now you have Huck the spoiler to deal with.”
I have heard people say this in several places, but after thinking about it, I disagree. Romney actually takes more people away from Huckabee than McCain. I think he left SC to let Huckabee win, thus getting Jmac out of the way. It just didn’t quite work.
January 31st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Actually, Obama isn’t that brilliant at the debates.
January 31st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
OKcougar,
I’ve run the numbers myself, and you are assuming McCain will do far better than the polls would suggest. If you’re right, there is no way to stop him and all this moaning and groaning is perfectly justified….but there’s no way you’re right. Worst case scenario: McCain still falls short of 800 delegates. Best case scenario, Mitt is within 100 to 150 delegates of McCain, and we still have a viable contest. BTW, your totals for Huckabee are absurdly high. Have you seen today’s Georgia poll? If Huck gets smashed in Georgia, where is he going to win….outside of Arkansas, for example. All Mitt has to do on Super Tuesday is survive as a viable candidate. If he can do that, he can win.
January 31st, 2008 at 3:07 pm
#94 Thanks Dave, I’ve learned to trust your observations.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
McCain currently has 97 delegates. He’ll likely take NY, MO, AZ, NJ, CT, and DE which are winner take all states. That is another 312 delegates. He should do well in CA. Let’s give him 50% of the delegates there as I don’t think Huckabee or Paul are going to win a district. That is 86 more. He’ll also take all the delegates out of Maine this weekend which is 21. That totals 516 before the other 13 states which split their delegates.
Not sure about the these 13 states and how they go about splitting delegates. Polls released today show McCain with solid leads in four of them. (IL, GA, MN, and TN) Huck will win Arkansas.
A conservative uprising just isn’t going to happen for a guy like Mitt. Only thing that would change is a Huckabee endorsement and I don’t see that happening give the way Mitt treated him in Iowa. I think all these Romney supports that are vowing to sit out the general would be saying the same thing about Huckabee (fiscal issues) or Rudy (social issues) if those two had won the nomination. It is more about them losing and being bad losers then about the guy who is about to win.