Posted on 11/04/2008 1:55:06 AM PST by Stingray
Yes, I'm afraid after all the hope poured out onto these pages, John McCain will lose. There are at least two very important reasons for this (and they have nothing to do with media bias).
The first is - simply put - that McCain ran a lousy campaign. There was no focus on any one particular message that resounded with voters until Joe The Plumber came along (too little too late?) despite the fact that Obama's own voting record in the Senate said at least as much about his plans to "tax and spend" this country into bankruptcy faster than any president before him!
Why McCain was so hesitant to call Obama out on his liberal views is simple: McCain shares many of them! McCain believes - like Gore and Obama - that unless we do something about co2 pollution, we're doomed to suffer the ravages of global warming! In fact, McCain has often stated the need for tighter legislation aimed at curbing greenhouse gases, and has voted for those that have come before the Senate! Nevermind the fact that anthropogenic global warming is "junk science", McCain has bought into it and that is just one area where his "Maverick" stance in the Senate has actually put him on the side of the most liberal senator there is!
There are other issues that were taken out of the McCain playbook because of his record and past indiscretions in the Senate. Can't raise Obama's associations with Wright, Ayers, Khalidi et al without having to defend himself from his disastrous association with Charles Keating. Is it any wonder McCain didn't want to touch Obama's associations with a ten-foot pole?
McCain can't bash Obama for wanting to "bankrupt" coal companies, when his own plan to convert the country to natural gas (for the same green purposes as Obama) would've had roughly the same effect! Yet another issue taken off McCain's plate.
And how can you decry Obama's "socialism" when they both voted for the biggest socialist bailout of investment banks the world has ever seen? McCain's vote for socialism at that level is no less aggregious than Obama's desire to "spread the wealth", and is especially vexing in light of the fact that the bailout legislation doesn't solve the underlying causes of the latest finacial meltdown in the first place!
So you can't attack Obama for being "green", for his past associations, and for his socialism because of McCain's "glass house" record on these issues.
So what's left?
Let's see: you start to make promises to the American people that make Obama's sound downright fiscally conservative! In a race to see who could give away more of the store, McCain and Obama were running neck-and-neck. Remember McCain's promise to tap 300 billion dollars of the bailout money to help homeowners stave off foreclosure??? Obama had been promising something similar for weeks ahead of McCain finally chiming in on the great taxpayer gravy train!
Tax cuts? Both were promising them. I cringed whenver I heard McCain start to talk like a fiscal policy wonk. It literally made me change the channel!
And please, John, the fundamentals of the economy were NOT sound when you made such a ridiculous statement at a time when foreclosures and bank failures were starting to mount! How can anyone seriously criticize Obama and Biden for their gaffes, when McCain provided the greatest bulleting board material of all time?
To this day, McCain continues to resort to the only trump card he has: his military service. While not enough can be said about his sacrifice for this country, most people - who just want to see us get out of Iraq and Afghanistan - don't want to see the same things, or worse, happen to their kids or friends. His greatest positive was a reminder to people of the brutality of war and why - depsite the fact he's the best qualified to be Commander-in-Chief - they don't want to be in one.
The second reason is, simply put, most Americans want change and feel - somehow - that Obama is the best one to bring about that change. Nevermind that "change" is a word completely devoid of any meaning without context, people want it. Obama's use of the word in making it the cornerstone of his campaign simply illustrates - again - how he was able to tap into this desire and play it consistently for all it was worth. McCain never had anything remotely resembling a message like this he could stick to through this campaign.
On a closing, personal note, I find two of the McCain campaign's most glaring errors revolved around their public announcement to pull out of Michigan, and the way they fed Sarah Palin to the wolves (the Couric and Gibson interviews).
On Michigan: even if you can't justify the expense of making another trip to the state, you have to keep in mind that you have coattails upon which other candidates are riding. The worst thing to do is tell the press you're pulling out of a state like Michigan weeks before the election! Pull out if you must, but keep your freaking mouth shut about it! McCain's decision to pull out early, and announce it to the world, has screwed a number of GOP congressional candidates, leaving them to fend for themselves, where they are being outspent by a large margin!
On Palin: the biggest mistake the campaign made in letting her do those post-convention interviews was that she simply was not ready for the kind of sleezy "gotcha!" questions she would have to field from people who were clearly in Obama's back pocket! They were going to go for the throat on her (never intending to ask Obama what qualified him to be president!). The final insult of those interviews was to reduce her to a punchline on Saturday Night Live, a show which mercilessly lampooned her even when she was there! She was clearly not ready for the kind of campaigns on the national stage that gets run down here in the lower 48, and it showed. She could've been a tremendous asset if handled properly. Instead, she became a national joke, undeserving as it was. I blame the McCain campaign for that.
So gear up for 2012 all. We're simply going to have to field a much better candidate then.
Rather late for that smear, wouldn't you think?
go post your predictions of doom and gloom elsewhere. Has Senator McCain EVER given up? Had he in the 70s, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
It is very clear that the ONLY reason you posted this at this time is to try to undermine McCain, and try to keep conservatives from voting for McCain, thereby helping Obama win.
You tactics are despicable.
Like one poster said He would blame Bush for Mccains failure, I will blame Hucksterbee for Arkansas failures. both started out good but both ended up destroying the republican party.
They never came together...a bunch of ego-centric, selfish, “me-first”ers.
Excellent post.
If Obama wins, the GOP is headed for a meltdown- the Palin types vs. the elitist RINOs. Alredy the finger-pointing has begun.
If Obama loses predict a lot of tension internaly anyway. The backbone of the party is tired of being marginalized.
This is prime opportunity for a serious third party effort, now that Palin has brought the elitist dirtbags to the surface. Rush was even making noises in that direction the other day. If he breaks off, watch out.
no, it wasn't it was compromising, it is like "I know the guy is no good but he is our guy cuz he has a little r by his name".
Yes. The written word has tone too.
This is why I am hoping Mccain pulls a fast one a resigns due to health issues in Feb. In fact the party needs to push this, and start squeezing the rinos out, they should realize how close they are to loosing this. I think fear is keeping some of us voting for rino senators and congressmen, I really hope we clean house there.
“It is very clear that the ONLY reason you posted this at this time is to try to undermine McCain, and try to keep conservatives from voting for McCain, thereby helping Obama win.
“You tactics are despicable.”
No, I posted this to keep people - like you - from drinking the Kool-Aid when the worst-case scenario happens. Here’s a little history lesson:
When the Japanese were planning the Battle of Midway, their military planners were so confident of overwhelming victory, that they threw aside any possible mention of defeat and even gave in to euphemistically raising previously sunken vessels from the Battle of The Coral Sea for the fight. They could not countenance losing, and their hubris led them to do stupid things.
In short, they lost all perspective on their own ability to bring about victory.
I see that same - often laudable - “can do” spirit here on FR. There’s no doubt that there are some dedicated, die-hard people here, many of whom I’ve counted as “friends” over the years.
But sometimes there is an unwillingness to face the possibility of defeat until it’s too late, and then everyone gets on a serious downer for awhile.
If you can’t even handle the mention of a McCain loss without viciously attacking the messenger, how in the hell are you even going to function if it happens?
I am reacting to a lack of perspective I sometimes see here, and that’s what prompted my post. I’m not asking you to vote for Obama. I’m going to vote for McCain. I’m simply applying some perspective to this election, so that if McCain should lose, you’ll know why from MY point of view.
I have nothing but the deepest respect and love for many of my fellow Freepers. I just want you to know that - should McCain lose - he’ll have nobody to blame but himself, despite all your best efforts.
Yes, I believe he will lose, but my belief in that should no more affect your decision to vote than my lack of belief in Santa Claus should cause you to stop believing in Christmas.
And if I should be proven wrong, I’ll celebrate a McCain win with the rest of you.
I have decided to actually get involved with the GOP at the county level. I met a few campaign workers that actually admitted to me their libertarian leanings. I can hang with these guys. I want to make an effort to drive the RINOs out of leadership as much as possible.
We’ll have plenty of time to dissect the campaign tomorrow and many days later.
Let’s focus on getting out there and voting!
Couldn’t this thread have waited a couple of days? Don’t unneedlessly demoralize the troops. I for one say it’s going to be damn close.
“He will be the least qualified yet most powerful president in history. And he is the ruination of our great country.
God help us.”
Obama’s international Marxist handlers have the experience on how to change free governments into totalitarian governments.
God help us.
“Don’t unneedlessly demoralize the troops.”
If you’re demoralized by the mere mention of a McCain loss, how are you going to function should it happen?
Know what my preacher always said? “Pray for the best but prepare for the worst.”
Consider yourself “prepared.”
Wow you are clueless aren’t you.
“Wow you are clueless aren’t you.”
You know, it’s often been stated here that Liberals are the equivalent of Nazi Brownshirts, burning books or shouting down opposition to whatever they didn’t want to read or hear.
Well dude, if the Brownshirt fits, wear it.
What is the point of this post? Are you actively trying to depress republican turnout? We know the media sure are and we know the media sure aren’t on our side. The media are pushing hard to convince McCain-Palin supporters that the race is already over and to not bother waiting in line to vote.
Et tu?
Unfortunately if your post is any indication then they are winning the psychological war.
As for the polls, we have to keep in mind that pollsters need to please the media in order to get their polls noticed. Hence, there is a strong motivation to be biased toward the bias of the media. Especially this year with the media casting aside all pretense of objectively in order to promote and protect Obama at every turn. Therefore, a poll unfavorable to Obama is a poll totally ignored while a poll ridiculously in favor of Obama is a poll that is regurgitated over and over by the media.
The internals of these polls reveal that they are banking on democrats turning out in far larger numbers than republicans. And the media and the pollsters have been effectively working side by side (master and puppet) trying to make that a reality......so let’s not continue to help the enemy, okay?
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