Posted on 06/15/2008 1:28:36 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
John McCain has cursed and bullied fellow Senate Republicans on a host of issues over the years. Yet McCain's colleagues are setting aside any hard feelings to embrace his White House bid -- for their own good.
In doing so, many are also distancing themselves from Republican President George W. Bush, widely derided for the unpopular Iraq war, ailing economy and soaring gas prices.
"We are going from rallying around one of the most disliked guys in the world, to a guy who is very well liked in America, but not so popular in the Senate," a Senate Republican leadership aide said. "We'll take that."
Republicans hope McCain, long popular among independents, will give them a boost and hold down anticipated Democratic gains in the November congressional elections.
A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC Poll found that Democrats enjoy a 19-percentage-point lead over Republicans, 52-33, when voters are asked which party they want to control Congress.
By contrast, polls show Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama holding, on average, about a 5-point lead over McCain.
"McCain is running well ahead of his party," said Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center, which conducts polls on the congressional and presidential contests.
While Bush's approval rating has dipped below 30 percent, a recent Pew poll found 48 percent of respondents have a favorable opinion of McCain, with about 45 percent unfavorable, despite his dogged support of the Iraq war.
"Republicans have a stake in McCain," said Stephen Hess, a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution. "They hope he helps energize their party."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
The subject discussed is McCain, not Weasley. McCain seems to want to prove something. My take on him is that he would love to manage a war. That said, I did not say he would start one on purpose.
Remember he was all for sending ground troops into Clinton's war.
I am glad we did not follow that advice. So, in order to keep your feathers from being overly ruffled, McCain may beat Barry, maybe.
Crickets wil probably be chirping at the polls in November, after all the hype. LOL
I was waiting on the poster who accused me of attacking McCain's military record to point out where I attacked his military record. I guess he couldn't find it in my posts.
I was more or less giving my take on how I view McCain and his behavior. Guess he didn't like it. Oh well:)
Right and move the GOP further to the Left so it becomes indistinguishable from the Dems. We don't need no stinkin' principles.
Right. I grudgingly tolerate McCain. I respect G.W., even when I disagree with him. I trust G.W. to do what he thinks is best, even if I don’t come to the same conclusion...the same is not true for McCain.
Those issues are important to me, too. I do trust him on the WOT. I do not fully trust him on judges because he has taken legislative positions that track with what activist judges would approve of...CFR to name just one. As for abortion, while I’m anti-abortion a president has no effect on the issue, so a president’s views on that are not as important to me.
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