Jim, that says it as well as anything I’ve read. My guess is that by the time Saddleback came around, McCain’s campaign had discovered through their trolling of delegates just how abhorrent this idea was to mainstream Republicans. Thus, efforts such as Richard Viguerie’s, and ours yesterday here at FreeRepublic, simply put the icing on the cake.
Still, this exercise brings up questions about John McCain that may linger on into November. Just how committed is he to conservative principles? Was this exercise just another indication of his preference to campaign to the political middle (whatever that is) instead of firmly securing his base? Is his willingness to cross the aisle and work with the Democrat leadership a practice we can be comfortable with, or something quite portentous?
I know I’ve yet to decide whether I’ll vote for McCain come November. My wife, after his Saddleback appearance, flatly stated her support. But when I told her last evening about his trolling delegates regarding a possible pro-choice VP, she then flatly stated “He’ll lose the election. And he’ll lose me”. I still wonder if McCain really understands the mood that out there in Republican Land this year? And how little real, definite, rock-solid support he really has? He thinks the majority of Republicans are voting for him. We’re not. We’re (in my case...maybe) voting against Obama.
I think McCain may get too much enjoyment from poking the Republican Base in the eye. I don’t count on him to be true to conservative principles. I still can’t believe he is the Republican candidate.