Posted on 07/11/2007 7:59:23 AM PDT by hardback
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is down and nearly out in his quest for the GOP presidential nomination.
Several factors contributed to the one-time Republican frontrunner's demise.
*McCain was never a favorite of social conservatives, a key voting block within the party. In McCain's 2000 campaign much of his "straight talk" appeal lay in the fact that he took on that faction, endearing him to independents and for awhile the news media. McCain realized he'd need social conservatives if he wanted the '08 nomination and he strongly courted them this time around. The plan backfired. He appeared to be flip-flopping, still never won over the religious right and his media coverage turned negative.
*McCain never got traction when it came to fund raising, which was a huge problem because the eventual winner of the race will likely spend north of $500 million.
*And, ironically, McCain was ultimately doomed by his close association with President Bush. Bush took out McCain in 2000, and the Arizona senator was bitter about what he saw as nasty moves made by those who backed Bush. It surprised some that McCain became such a strong supporter of the Iraq war. Most Republican candidates are now distancing themselves from the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, but McCain became linked in the public's mind with that unpopular conflict.
So all this is good news for Rudy Giuliani, right? Maybe not. The former New York mayor has been leading in the polls, but an unannounced candidate- the actor-turned-politician-turned actor Fred Thompson - is gaining on him and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is running strong in Iowa and New Hampshire.
As the National Journal writes in its rankings of GOP candidates:
Mr. Electable (Giuliani) has map-changing capabilities that no other Republican would dare claim. And he's still popular among Republicans, as evidenced by those national polls. But while everyone's been obsessing over how low John McCain will go, it's Giuliani who has seen his national numbers cut in half since April, and his leads in Iowa and New Hampshire erased by Romney. Does Rudy Inc. realize that the window is closing on his own ability to define his biography? Get some paid media up soon, Mr. Mayor.
Fred is getting too many donations to announce right now, I’m assuming.
This doesn’t even begin to suggest the real reasons why McCain lost. It certainly wasn’t because he supported victory in Iraq. I notice that there is no mention of McCain Feingold or the McCain Kennedy amnesty bill, or old albatrosses hanging around his neck like the POW-MIA betrayal, because that might give leftist readers the wrong ideas.
...one could only hope....
He is toast.
It will be Romney or Thompson.
I believe this story is way off base. (consider the source)! Rudy doesn’t seem to have any of the results that McCain is showing. Rudy is a proven leader...McCain tried to show leadership in his speeches, but you can’t do that after having betrayed your base (where the money is).
Unspoken is McCain’s sleeping with the enemy on issues like the amnesty bill and his signature abomination, McCain-Feingold. It is not the appearance of flip-flopping, it is an inescapable record that no amount of media protection can overcome. There are many similarities between John and Rudy, including their strong national defense credentials. However, they are also similar on the social side and that will prove to be as detrimental to Rudy as it was to John.
I think Mitt supporters and Fred supporters should keep their powder dry because it is looking more and more like the 2008 ticket.
McCain sealed his fate with the ‘Gang of 13’ in the Senate
Never mentioned Immigration.
That was another nail in his campaign coffin. but the lid was closed well before then.
I agree, Rudy does not mesh well with the Conservative agenda, and nothing can change the stripes on that tiger. He is a good man and a good leader, but not a true Republican. Republicans don’t need to change their stripes to accomodate Rudy, we know what we stand for. McCain was toast before he even started. I also think it will boil down to Fred vs. Mitt, and I would be happy with either. I’m just hoping we can mop the floor with the weakness and idiocy of the Dem opponents, despite the media’s relentless campaign for the Dems.
More likely he is getting more value in free publicity from Law & Order reruns and appearances on the Late Night Television circuit than he could earn with donations. All of this will go away when and if he announces his candidacy. Then he has to compete on equal footing with everyone else on the rubber chicken circuit in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
He has to earn the nomination, not have it handed to him. Reference what happened to Lynn Swann in Pennsylvania when the nomination was handed to him.
For me, he sealed it way back in the Keating Five era...
Duncan Hunter has great hair like Mitt, a similar hard work ethic and a better track record as a conservative.
The writer of this Seattle Post article is a big time liberal. Sounds to me like Rudy worries him.
Or the Gang of 14.
Leni
This story is way off base. It never mentions immigration, campaign finance reform, gang of 13. The only thing keeping him ali ve was his strong support against the War on Terror and what feeble support he was garnering from the MSM. He’s toast.
Guiliani is no where near McCain. This is wishful thinking from some liberal hack out in Seattle. Nice try, go sell your Republican doomsday scenarios elsewhere.
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