Posted on 06/03/2008 6:36:54 AM PDT by shrinkermd
...More fundamentally, McCain’s problem is that his party is unfit to govern. As research from the Republican pollster David Winston has shown, any policy becomes less popular when people learn that Republicans are supporting it. If the G.O.P. sponsored the sunrise, voters would prefer gloom. Many Republicans are under the illusion that they are in trouble because they’ve betrayed their core principles. The sad truth is that if they’d been more conservative, they’d be even further behind.
I’ve spent the past few years trying to find conservative experts to provide remedies for middle-class economic anxiety. Let me tell you, the state of free-market thinking on this subject is pathetic. There are a few creative thinkers (most of them under 30), but for the most part, McCain is forced to run in an intellectual void.
Today, he is scheduled to give a forceful speech on why “reform” is better than “change.” He plans to describe how to remobilize government and address economic anxiety. But McCain’s reform message is only being carried by him and a few bloggers. Obama can draw on a coherent body of economic work and 10,000 unified voices.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
No one, especially the NYT, is giving McCain any chance at all even though Obama remains unpopular with the working and middle classes.
If it’s Obama vs. McCain, McCain wins.
If it’s Clinton vs. McCain, it’s going to be close.
Brooks definitely brings up Obama’s problem with working/middle class (I hate those terms)Here;s three paragraphs on it from the article:
Since effectively wrapping up the nomination, Barack Obama has lost 7 of the last 13 primaries. Obama’s confidants say that this doesn’t matter. In states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, primary election results are no predictor of general election results.
That’s dubious. Though voters now prefer Democratic policy positions on most major issues by between 11 and 25 points, Obama has only a 0.7 percent lead over McCain in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. His favorability ratings among independents has dropped from 63 percent to 49 percent since late February.
Furthermore, Obama has spent the past several months rolling up his sleeves and furiously courting working-class votes. It doesn’t seem to be working. Ron Brownstein of the National Journal calculates that Obama did no better among those voters in a late state like Pennsylvania than he did for 26 out of 29 earlier primary states where he lost the working class.
So it will be “Reform” vs “Change” if those are the themes, then whichever candidate seems the most plausible may win in November.
I’m surprised it took Mad Jon this long to hit on “Reform” as his theme, in order for that to work, he has to have not only Independents buy into it, but Republicans as well.
Brooks seems to believe that Conservative issues are out of favor, I disagree but haven’t seen consistent polling one way or another on that..has anyone?
Don't be so sure. Obama and the democrats are much stronger than you are admitting or giving credit for.
>If it’s Clinton vs. McCain, it’s going to be close.
Heh. No, it is not.
It is going to be McCain vs ALGORE.
That's because the constant anti-Republican rhetoric from the mainstream media assaults them 24-7-365 until they start believing the "big lie."
If, on September 12, 2001, we could have seen into the future and learned that:
1. There would not be another attack on American soil for the remainder of George W. Bush's eight years as president.
2. The Taliban and the terrorists that they supported would be routed from Afghanistan.
3. Saddam Hussein would be overthrown, and he and his ruling cadre would be killed in battles or executed.
4. Tens of thousands of terrorists would be drawn to Iraq from all over the world to pursue their Jihad, and most of them would be killed, captured, or forced to hide in caves.
We would have been happy to have anointed Bush as president for life. Indeed, if he were a democrat, the big rigs would already be at Mt. Rushmore, carving his image into the hills.
Well said.
Conservative issues are only out of favor to the extent that the GOP has failed to sell them, and when they’ve sold them they’ve failed to deliver.
Ronald Reagan was conservative, but moderates and old-line Democrats liked him because he showed them why conservatism was a good, American thing to do. He sold conservatism to the public.
No Republican candidate since then has succeeded in doing that, instead of selling conservatism, they simply try to be a mushy moderate.
Now, I’m one of the more pragmatic people here on FR, and I do realize that ultra-evangelical style social conservatism is a tough sell, as is the Tom Tancredo or Duncan Hunter brand, at the moment, but even they could have more success had they had Reagan’s charm and charisma...
Brooks tries the "on-one-hand-and-then-on-the-other-hand" approach but comes down to being in Obama's hand.
No one, especially the NYT, is giving McCain any chance at all even though Obama remains unpopular with the working and middle classes.
The Republicans are right. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while.
Republican senators have contempt for Obama’s post-partisan image
That's because we know that he's as partisan as any other two bit politician, maybe more so.
But Obama is far from a lightweight, as Republicans will learn if he agrees to do joint town meetings with McCain.
I can't decide here if Brooks is doing a bad comedy routine, or is just whistling past the graveyard (no subtle assassination insinuations intended). Obama is, as someone else on this board pointed out, Jimmy Carter with charisma.
More fundamentally, McCain’s problem is that his party is unfit to govern.
Funny, the American people have disagreed with you in large numbers over the last twenty years or so. Wonder who's right?
Obama can draw on a coherent body of economic work and 10,000 unified voices.
"Das Kapital" and "The Communist Manifesto" are dull, thoroughly discredited economic works that were the catalyst for an estimated 100 million deaths in the twentieth century. Those are the only body of economic works that I have any confidence whatsoever that Mr. Obama has knowledge of.
If its Fauxbama v McCain.. McCain doesn’t only win, but the dems will be lucky to see 40% of the popular vote. Fauxbama will not only lose, he’ll implode and drag down the D undercard with him.
Conservatism and Common Sense went hand in hand, now it seems to be viewed as mere ideologist.
I disagree with that of course, the idea that somehow people want to see more taxes taken out of their paychecks while believing themselves as less safe with a corrupt DC apparatus running their lives seems unbelievable to me.
In other words, the more Rush Limbaugh reminds people that John McCain broke with his party, the less effective Obama's strategy against McCain will be.
John McCain should thank Rush Limbaugh for telling the truth about him.
“I’ve spent the past few years trying to find conservative experts to provide remedies for middle-class economic anxiety.”
Has this guy ever heard of self reliance?
Whenever the MSM says something negative about Republicans/Conservatives, it is getting to be a sure bet that they are talking about a problem that the Democrats actually have. (It's called projection).
Yes, I agree. Other than government employment or handouts, how can a government really increase the the financial well being of its citizens? Easy, do nothing or —eliminate or reduce taxes and eliminate or reduce regulations.
>> ...More fundamentally, McCain’s problem is that his party is unfit to govern.
It’s a sad day when I agree with the NYT... but in this case I do.
EXCEPT for Iraq and Afghanistan, the (Bush)McCain-Boehner-McConnell-Duncan GOP has gone wobbly on the WOT. Iran kills our troops with impunity. The NoKos and Chinese laugh at us as they trample on our interests. Rice’s state department is a left-wing snakepit.
Pork, corporate welfare, and big Big BIG government rule the day in the GOP. They can’t stop themselves on earmarks, even with the harsh light on them. Indistinguishable from the Donkees in this regard.
They have drunk the Global Warmism koolaid, and will bankrupt the country for it. Why? Follow the money — so they can have a few trillion more $$$ to slop around in. Indistinguishable from the Donkees.
They wussed out big time on confirming conservative justices (Alito and Roberts notwithstanding). And that was when they held the majority in both houses. Anyone who believes McCain (if elected) will fight harder or fare better is delusional.
The GOP, like the Donkees, is all about incumbent-protection insider money-thieving self-interest-promoting big government.
The seeds of their poor governance are at the local and state levels, where, again, they spend money like drunken sailors and are NO better than the Donkees. Municipalities and state “government” is where the roaches that crawl in Congress breed.
The GOP sucks. Long and hard. A pox on them. May they rot. Oh excuse me — they are ALREADY well on the way to rotten.
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