Could 2008 Be a McCain Landslide?

American Thinker ^ | July 13, 2008 | Kyle-Anne Shiver

[vietvet67]

Ah yes, dear readers, this title has nailed me.  I'm an unconventional thinker, a woman who is wont to go madly against the grain, in nearly all matters.  I'm usually in the unpopular camp, the one who disdains conventional wisdom and consensus science.  I'm just too darned independent-minded for my own good sometimes. 

And 2008 is one of those times. 

John McCain, the poor dear, is being characterized as the tired, old guy, not only by the media elites and the opposition Party, but nearly just as often, by his own prospective voters.  "We're all but doomed," say the naysayers.  Even if McCain manages to squeak through the White House door on the slimmest Electoral College majority, it will be by the skin of his ancient teeth, say the analysts.

Nearly all around the globe, the media trumpets are prematurely heralding an Obama victory with a fanfare fitting for the legendary phoenix arising from the ashes.  The American Obamaphiles are gleefully fondling all their golden eggs, and busily counting their chickens, positively certain that every single one of them will hatch on November 4.

Maybe; maybe not.   

Oh my, I can nearly hear the limb beneath my feet, straining and about to break, as I shimmy out to its farthest reach on this prognostication.

The 2008 Presidential election could be a landslide victory for John McCain.

I'm basing my assessment here on 3 factors:  Time, the Anti-Obama vote and Obama's own arrogance.

Time

It's only July 13^th, folks.  There are 113 days remaining until November 4^th.  In this internet era, when news travels around the globe faster than a speeding bullet, 113 days are long enough for even the most polished, eloquent orator in American history to put both feet in his mouth dozens of times. 

And every time Obama has one of his infamous verbal slips, it's recorded for profit or just plain fun, and spun into enough YouTube entertainment to last into the next decade.  Every gaffe, every misstep, every flip-flop, turn-around and attempted take-back that the candidate utters, every single day for the next 113, will be viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, who then take their impressions to the office, the diners, the bus stops, the hairdressers and the assembly lines.  The NYT could only ever dream of such influence.

Americans tend to be a forgiving lot, but each one of us has his own personal limit to the number of take-backs he is willing to allow a single person.  I'm predicting that as Obama continues to morph into new positions nearly every day, that a great many voters are going to reach the limit, the point where they stop listening to this candidate because they simply stop trusting his word.

Trust is usually proffered generously, but once lost, disillusionment rarely permits its return, at least not within the confines of 113 days.

How many voters will still trust Obama by November 4^th?  Perhaps far less than the conventional wisdom is predicting.  Time is not on Obama's side.

The Anti-Obama Vote

Discouraged conservatives and Republicans, even those who say now that they will stay home on Election Day, are at the end of the day, responsible citizens. They will, I predict, see well in advance of November 4^th, just how much damage could be done by Obama, especially if he gets a filibuster-proof Senate majority and an even larger majority in the House of Representatives. 

The Republican anti-Obama vote, I believe, will hinge on two issues, namely, the Supreme Court and our war against IslamoFascism.  Forward thinking Republican voters will vote for treading water with McCain for 4 years over letting the whole American ship go down to defeat.

Disillusionment among loyal Democrats has already begun and is mounting rapidly.  In the wake of Hillary Clinton's concession, a great many disgruntled Democrats started a grassroots groundswell under one banner group, PUMA, which stands for:  Party Unity My A**.  There are already more than 200 separate groups that are uniting under the PUMA banner, with only one thing in common.  They vow that, no matter what, they will not support Barack Obama.  There is already "Democrats for McCain" gear and all the hoopla that goes with it. 

Add to these renegade groups the fact that Obama currently has a web mutiny on his hands, occurring on his very own networking site.  The largest of these mutinous web supporter groups only formed the last week of June and already has more than 22,800 members.  This particular group, "Please vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA right," formed over the latest Obama flip-flop, reneging on his October FISA promise to "support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."  Obama voted for the FISA bill, with immunity still in it.

As I've said already, trust is a fragile commodity.  Once a person loses it, disillusioned followers can get mighty angry and even vindictive.  With 113 days to go, and this many folks already vowing that the Obama they see now is "not the Obama they knew," with some even demanding returns on their campaign contributions, the emotional winds that have carried Barack this far may turn on him.

And I'm predicting that they will.  By November 4^th, we could even see hurricane-force passions blowing against Obama and at McCain's waiting back.

Obama's Arrogance

There are few things in this life as satisfying to more experienced people than to see haughty pride get its comeuppance.  

How many working people in this Country have not had at least one experience with a young upstart, walking right out of college and into a position without a lick of hard knocks or humbling pragmatic necessity to be his guide?  He's the guy who's got the whole business figured out because he read a book about it, or the gal who thinks raising great kids is no harder than summarizing the mistakes of others.  And Barack Obama fits this stereotype to a perfect T.

He's 47 years old, but has spent the bulk of his adult life either coddled in an out-of-touch academia or perennially running for one office after another.  He has not even had to stare down or discipline teenage children, for goodness' sake. 

Yet, he's got it all figured out, down to the nuts and bolts of exactly why the rest of us "bitter" folks "cling to" our "religions and our guns."  His two books are little more than summations of what other people think, their motivations and their difficulties.  Reading his two autobiographical books leaves one with the uneasy impression that although Obama thinks he knows everything there is to know about us, he has yet to even figure out himself. 

So, this is the man who has all of life and everything about American politics so well mastered, that he thinks he is ready to be President?

The vast majority of American voters are over 30, and in the voting booth, a candidate gets no extra points for excitement.  No matter how thrilled some will be to vote for Barack Obama, their votes will count not one whit more than the old-fashioned, responsible votes cast for John McCain.

We've already witnessed Obama's highly fortuitous, completely unpredictable rise. 

I'm betting we may also witness his fall before November 4^th, and that his fall from grace will be every bit as phenomenal as was his rise.

Kyle-Anne Shiver is a frequent contributor to American Thinker.  She welcomes your comments at kyleanneshiver.com.

[vietvet67]

"Strictly speaking, this jasper is a lawn ornament."

Could be.

[George Smiley]

I’ve been wondering the same thing.

I recall an election not too long ago where there was this much youthful idealism-

And the candidate’s name was George McGovern.

[Finny]

She forgot reason no. 4: media-created illusion and the dumb dogs on long leashes who never figure out that it's an illusion.. Yes, illusion, the same illusion that had the majority of conservatives frightened and cowering in their boots, convinced that Hillary was a shoo-in, a no-brainer, that she had this thing sewn up, and that conservatives could think of NOTHING about their candidates except selecting him based on whether or not he could *beat Hillary,* every other consideration moot. They ignored and pshawed and ridiculed people like me, upon whom it had finally dawned that Democrates hated Hillary as much as we do, that something screwy was going on, that ... it was ILLUSION! And such it proved to be, but by that time, Fear of Hillary had put McCain in place.

The same thing is happening with Obama: his popularity is illusion, and the Republicans who buy into it and work up a lather of blind fear (again) are STUPID Republicans. Mark Steyn, in Rush's newsletter, said: "The media have got their dream candidate, but he's likely way too far to the left of Democrat voters." It is very nice to have a guy like Mark Steyn validate (more or less) my own assessment.

Here's the deal, people: DEMOCRATS WILL ELECT MCCAIN.

[Maelstorm]

I’ve been saying this for a while. McCain is headed for a coronation. The Democrats consistently confused public angst with politicians with fair winds for them who are uber bureaucrats. Obama is not magic, he is proposing the biggest increase in the size of government since FDR, he is proposing raising taxes into the stratosphere, he is beholden to a policy of retreat and defeat in Iraq when is clear we are now winning and will probably be able to draw down troops as the normal order of things. Obama who’s claim to fame is being a “Chicago organizer” and a lackluster Senator leaves even his most ardent supporters wondering “Is there not more”.

If Obama wins it will not be because he won it will be because McCain loses. I’m betting come the end of the day though that a young inexperienced politician who talks big and has a history of doing little will find himself begging for votes against a war hero who has real substance and experience.

[IM2MAD]

Dream on!

[LS]

For everyone who says, “The conservatives will come home at the end of the day,” they may be right, but the same is true for the disgruntled lefties disgusted at Obama’s move to the middle. Don’t think for a minute they will stay home on election day.

[TeleStraightShooter]

he's an experienced COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. AND A CONTITUTIONAL SCHOLAR AND PROFESSOR.

Well, not quite, he's an experienced STREET HUSTLER. AND A CONSTITUTIONAL CRACKPOT AND LECTURER.

[DakotaGator]

I'm betting we may also witness his fall before November 4th, and that his fall from grace will be every bit as phenomenal as was his rise.

Landslide? No. But I predict a solid victory for McCain...even though he's a Clothespin Candidate.

[Battle Axe]

I think Obamalamalamadingdong is the reason that there will be NO Pres. Obama.

Take the recent report that Obama’s daughters were interviewed, and then after it was over he suddenly reversed his view.

No more TV interviews for the kids. This is the kind of thinking and reaction we will get if he is ever elected POTUS. He doesn't think things through and then flip flops.

Americans will not stand for this.

McCain wins.

[adorno]

McCain will win 40 states.

I'm with you. That's been my predictionl

Obama's inexperience (only 143 days of real experience in the senate), his arrogance, his many flip-flops, his anti-Americanism, his personal relationships with America haters, his lack of spontaneity when off the teleprompter, his lack of knowledge of the issues, his ultra-liberal (Marxist) record on legislative matters (even as slim at it is), should all be enough for people to actually be turned off by Obama, and turned off enough to vote against him.

Then, the debates haven't even taken place yet, but I'm pretty certain that his inexperience and naivete will be his biggest undoing. And he won't be able to pick and choose the radio and TV stations as he's been able to do up to now and during the primaries. Once he starts being challenged on his positions, the people will start knowing him better and his inexperience will show dramatically.

Then, there's the enemies he made along the way, including Hillary and a large number of her voters who are vowing that they will never vote for Obama. Then, of course, there are always the people who will never vote for a liberal, nor a Marxist, nor a black person (that's racism, but it's a reality that there are still racists in America).

All in all, I can't see Obama winning at all. I see McCain winning handily. 40 states is not totally out of the question. I also see Mccain with at least 15 million more votes than Obama.

[zencat]

I don’t see a landslide based on the blue/red states that are a given and current polling. I do think McCain can win the election handily, as the Obama myth is already beginning to fade.

[TennTuxedo]

Just look at where the media driven polls are now. McCain and Obama are neck and neck with the media telling everyone that Obama will win this election.

All that is needed for McCain to win big, is for Obama to continue his "move to the right", McCain to change his stance on a couple of issues and voila....you have voters voting against Obama and others voting for McCain.

[Magic Fingers]

“...the most polished, eloquent orator in American history...”

BWAHAHAHAHA

[dforest]

If McCain wins in a landslide, it won’t be because people like him, it will be because they are scared of Obama.

[RobinOfKingston]

Great! I’m keeping that picture.

[rabscuttle385]

McCain...landslide...what a pipe dream...

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[csmusaret]

Since McCain will win in a landslide I won’t have to feel guilty for not voting for him.

[E. Cartman]

Two words: Pyrrhic victory :(

Best analysis so far this season. Even if MacCain does win, Teddy Kennedy and his friends will have him by his shriveled ball sack his entire single term in office.

[E. Cartman]

I see McCain winning handily. 40 states is not totally out of the question. I also see Mccain with at least 15 million more votes than Obama.

MacCain-Feingold, ironically, will be coming back to bite Juanito on his backside. (Who do you think the MSM will be working for before the election, and whyever do you think they were so hell bent on giving Juanito the nomination in the first place?).

Though I don't look forward to President Obama, this conservative will at least have the great peasure of of seeing Juanito "hoisted on his own petard."

[mewzilla]

Both candidates are ready and willing to flush this nation's sovereignty down the toilet.

And if we lose our sovereignty, all the rest of it ain't gonna matter.