Posted on 02/13/2008 4:44:50 AM PST by SJackson
JOHN MCCAIN AND Barack Obama swept the Chesapeake Primaries, as expected. With his victories last night, McCain further solidified his status as the almost-certain nominee of his party. Obama, meanwhile, has taken a lead among delegates to the Democratic convention and is now arguably the frontrunner.
With the outcomes last night widely expected, aides to both Obama and McCain had plenty of time to craft victory speeches that would reflect their candidate's thinking on the state of the race. And with varying degrees of intensity, both men used that freedom to begin to frame a McCain-versus-Obama general election contest, something that is starting to look more likely than not. If that happens, viewers watching the speeches tonight saw a preview of the coming debate.
McCain, for his part, borrowed extensively from Hillary Clinton's dualist critique of Barack Obama: Hope is no substitute for action, and experience matters.
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
If you look at individual states, I think California, New Jersey and Connecticut will all be in play for Republicans while no Red states will be in play for Obama.
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Virginia could be.
Me too. Those guys were Edwards supporters who wont be voting for Hillary either.
Romney’s gone. Get over it.
If Texas goes Dem because of Hispanics, the Presidential ballgame is over for a long time for conservatives. Can’t win with CA, TX, and NY in the Dem camp. Texan conservatives better start evangelizing for conservativism in the latin community, and better fight tooth and nail against amnesty, or . . .
I don’t agree with your charecterization of the Bork nomination. It wasn’t Reagan that was being polarizing. It was an unprecedented and unfair attack on Bork, primarily innuendo and subtext, huge orchestrated campaign against him by the Dems. Unexpected because it was something new; unfair because it was untrue in its essential charge of racism.
The Democrats will tax the snot out of me. Based on his voting record, McCain will, too.
The democrats will confiscate my firearms. Based upon his voting record, McCain will, too.
The democrats will grant amnesty to illegals swarming into this country. Based on his voting record, McCain will, too.
The democrats will restrict my first amendment rights. Based on his voting record, McCain will, too.
Seems to me, if I vote for McCain, I AM voting for a democrat.....at least as far as the things I find important are concerned.
Are you so sure about that ... ?
McCain voted to defund Planned Parenthood last year, Clinton didn’t and would likely expand Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding.
McCain voted to ban partial-birth abortion, Clinton didn’t and would likely reverse the partial-birth abortion ban.
McCain voted for Roberts and Alito and made the case for them in the media, Clinton didn’t.
McCain has never voted for a tax increase, Clinton will increase taxes.
McCain will continue the Bush tax cuts, Clinton will end them.
McCain will end pork-barrel spending, Clinton supports the endowment of projects like the Woodstock Museum with taxpayer funding.
McCain will not cut and run in Iraq, Clinton will work with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid to do just that.
McCain sponsored legislation to keep the Fairness Doctrine from rearing its head again, Clinton has not and has signaled moves to revive it.
McCain supports school choice, Clinton does not.
Clinton will mandate health insurance, McCain will not.
McCain voted to convict Bill Clinton on impeachment, Clinton was a witting accomplice in President Bill Clinton’s scandals.
McCain has an ACU (American Conservative Union) rating of 82.3; Clinton has a rating of 9.
McCain has 0-percent rating from NARAL; Clinton has 100 percent.
— William J. Bennett is the Washington fellow of the Claremont Institute and the host of Bill Bennett’s Morning in America. Seth Leibsohn is a fellow of the Claremont Institute and the producer of Bill Bennett’s Morning in America
but Bork was polarizing. you want conservatives you can just slide right into the SC.
many conservatives don’t even try to reach out to hispanics and blacks. it’s a big problem
Now you do (unless a fight can be won and benefits you politically). At the time of the Bork nomination no-one dreamed that a person without personal scandals that come to light would have drawn the attacks that he did. It was a new thing (and one that is bad for the country . . . witness the results).
many conservatives don’t even try to reach out to hispanics and blacks. it’s a big problem
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Nod. There are more hispanic conservatives than black conservatives. They need to get busy.
You are so right, mossoaks! At the risk of being called a RINO or worse, I am getting behind McCain. We cannot allow these socialist freaks to take over our government. Obama allegedly has a Che Chevera flag at one of his campaign headquarters. This is what the American people want as POTUS?? The potential long term disaster of Obama or Hillary appointed supreme court justices should send shivers down the spine of any American. Hold your nose,go into the voting booth this November and save what’s left of this once great republic. Vote for McCain!
The Che flag was in a volunteer office for Obama not officially one of his campaign offices. But it does let you know who the hard left is supporting; the gulags for those pesky Christians and gunowners and homeschoolers types of leftists. They will cheer persecution.
“Sorry, you can’t blame the “establishment”, whoever thay are, for lousy turnout.”
It’s the party’s job to get their electorate excited. That is done by offering a choice. The Republicans didn’t offer a discernable choice in 2006, and they’re offering even less of a choice in in 2008. Every election, they are offering less and less of a contrast between themselves and the Dems. That’s no the way to win elections.
After eight years of one party, people are ready for something different. It’s very rare for a party to hold POTUS for 12 years. Reagan did it for Bush I, but he was the most popular president of the modern era. It is exceedingly unlikely to happen again.
Obama will paint McCain as a third Bush term. That may pull a few conservatives back toward McCain, but it will move independents and moderates who want “change” toward Obama. Obama has his base, so he will be free to play to the middle. McCain will spend the whole election season seesawing between playing to the base, risking losing the moderates, and playing to the moderates, risking losing the base. In the end it is unlikely bordering on impossible that he will be able to hold both. He’s not that good of a campaigner. Barring something unforeseen, this election goes to the Dems.
At this point it matters not. A McCain victory would only be a symbolic win since the Democrats already won the WH when McCain was (more or less) nominated. What matters now are the House and Senate.
On a plus side if Obama won the generals, the race baiters should shut up once and for all (which they wont) and also the masses of blacks that think America is still a racist country should get a new perspective.
McCain will get crushed in November. When Obama addresses a crowd it is electric in the room and the crowds are HUGE. When McCain speaks the vibe in the room feels like the early bird hour at Piccadilly’s.
Romney would have stood a chance.
IMO 2008 will be compared to 1972, Nixon vs McGovern:
Nixon, proclaiming that peace was at hand in Vietnam because of his policies, ridiculed McGovern as the radical candidate of “acid, amnesty, and abortion.” The election took place on November 7, 1972. Nixon won the election in a landslide, with a 23.2 percentage points margin of victory in the popular vote, the 4th largest such margin in Presidential election history.
Have to puncture the hot air balloon. Hope McCain knows how to stick a knife in . . . or knows someone that does.
Unless McCain can galvanize and enthuse the conservative base, he will be crushed like a bug.
That is a lie. The fact is that Romney was a left winger when he ran for governor. He tried to portray himself as a born again conservative. Maybe he was, but he didn't convince enough people and ultimately decided to throw in the towel and ensure McCain's ascendancy.
Romney's Mormonism was the least of his problems. He did not come off as a real human being. He was robotic and wonkish to the max. He could not connect with people on a personal level and as a result he could not spend enough money to get people to get excited about him.
FWIW, I voted for Romney because I thought he was saying the right things, even though I had no real reason to believe him. My vote was based on nothing more than the "audacity of hope."
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