This campaign needs to come down to four issues--energy, the economy, national security and illegal immigration. These are all winning Republican issues. This is not complicated.
1. Energy - Doesn't want to drill ANWR. Wants to have a cap-and-trade system.
2. The economy - voted against Bush tax cuts. Didn't want to "increase the deficit". So when all his friend across the aisle refuse to cut spending, will he just abandon his pledge to get the Bush tax cuts made permanent? I think so.
3. National Security - can't have that with wide open borders. He'll probably do a pretty good job of defending the national security of Iraq, but that's not the same as the US of A national security AT ALL.
4. Illegal immigration - McCain hasn't been on the right side of this issue in this in his adult life, and he won't suddenly get right in 2009.
What a pickle.
The problem is that the Presidential candidate for the Republican Party is against drilling and believes in global warming, he believes in the cap and trade nonsense that will kill the economy as well as doing nothing about high gas prices (i.e. drilling, building refineries). I suppose he’s for national security as far as fighting terrorists as long as they aren’t crossing from the Mexico border, which leads us to your last issue.
They would be, if GOP legislators would actually DO something about illegal immigration, energy, and the economy. They had all three houses for 6 years... and did what? Nothing. Coburn is correct. Until the GOP finds candidates who will "walk the talk", they deserve to become more and more irrelevant. If they don't turn it around, eventually the voters will simply find a new party. I know I'm certainly paying a lot more attention to third parties than I have in decades.