"The dems will turn out because they love HilLIARy, and the repubs will stay home because McCain is an a$$hole"
Absolutely not true--I live in the South and my Dem buddies roll their eyes at the mere mention of Hillary--But mention McCain, and they say-"Ive always liked him..." Dems will flock to McCain if he runs against Hill, and you heard THAT here first...(unless somebody else said it already:)
You're right. McCain will pull Dems from Hillary.
Like me. I've always said that in 2000, if McCain had been the GOP nominee, the race would not have been close and Gore would have been trounced.
I (a Gore voter) would have voted for McCain over Gore.
I, who don't find Hillary particularly offensive, would vote for McCain over her. Why? Well, for one, I like McCain. I also find McCain far more honest. It's rare to find someone in politics who calls a spade a spade, which, I think, McCain has done. (With the exception of the flag thing in SC in 2000.)
I also think if we had another Clinton term, the Clinton-haters would make sure we spent the entire time embroiled in investigations and grand juries. We can debate the relative merit of that until the cows come home (and, before anyone flames me on this point, I thought WJC should have resigned or been removed), but it would be a huge distraction for the country and not get anything done.
I have a feeling that, as the race heated up, I'd find myself pinching myself from time to time saying, "I'm really gonna vote for this guy?" I disagree with McCain on many major issues. Yet, I still believe, when the curtain was securely pulled behind me, I'd vote for him. Because I would trust him to do what he thought was in the best interest of the country, and not what was popular.
And, yes, I am completely prepared for the posts saying that because I would vote for him, it's a good reason he should never be the nominee. :-)
PS: And if it's not McCain, I would vote for Hillary.
(And before anyone calls me a "sleeper" or a "troll" or something like that, please check my links and you'll find out I've been scrupulously clear on who I am and why I joined here: I'm a Democrat who greatly appreciated the concern Freepers had over the Shiavo case, and appreciates FR as a source of information and thought.)