And what if by chance McCain weren’t running this cycle? I bet they would’ve reluctantly endorsed (Rudy, no. Huckabee, no. Thompson, no. Paul, no.) — Mitt Romney. Would that’ve been the end of him for you too?
“I have concluded that McCain is beyond redemption and will hurt conservatism far more than help.”
No, losing to Hillary Clinton will hurt conservatism far more than help. She will put SCOTUS out of reach... probably for all time.
I’m convinced Romney’s chances of winning are too small to roll the dice. McCain can win and gives me 85% of what I want. I’m satisfied with that.
McCain comes nowhere close to 85% in my book. Other than the WOT, I don't see much difference between McCain and Hillary.
I agree that Romney's national numbers are dismal. But it's early and I think Romney has a better chance next November, due to his ability to unite the party, outsider, telegenic, etc.; than McCain. A small but significant number of conervatives will not vote for McCain and he does not unite the Reagan coalition or motivate the base to do all the scut work required to win a campaign. McCain's age will be a handicap against Obama and to lesser extent Hillary.
I'd rather take my chances with a lower probability but higher quality candidate than the reverse.