Posted on 11/05/2008 8:09:28 PM PST by neverdem
McCain was hoisted on his own petard.
The arguments on why McCain’s candidacy failed are good ones.
However, while McCain’s nomination may have owed something to media cheerleading, I don’t think he benefited much from crossover voters in the primaries. True democrats were all voting in Hillary v. Obama contest. The real problem is that conservative voters were divided between three or four candidates, while McCain had the ‘moderate’ voters all to himself.
The only candidates who were reliably conservative on national security, economics and social issues where Duncan Hunter and Fred Thompson. Hunter didn’t have the name recognition or financial backing to be successful, and Thompson just didn’t have the energy or commitment. Huckabee was a strong social conservative, but wobbly on economics and foreign policy. Romney was good on economics, but was hamstrung by his Massachusetts record on social issues. McCain appealed to national security conservatives and had a good record on the most important social issue (abortion). By the end of January, it was too late to stop McCain.
Had the election been fought primarily on national security/foreign policy issues, as it appeared in January that it might have been, McCain might have been a successful candidate. However, it ended up being fought on economic issues, and McCain had no coherent economic philosophy, other than generally favoring low taxes. McCain’s a good man, but the was the wrong candidate.
One of the lessons of this campaign is that conservatives need to unite early around a consensus candidate.
Yes it does.
"...has just been trounced by the callowest, least-accomplished, most far-left candidate in modern history."
That's why.
Great analysis actually, and I concur with fixing the GOP primaries once and for all.
McCain’s problem is that he had to campaign on “change”, just like the new guy. And why would people choose old change when they could choose new change?
George Bush sat there like a punching bag for eight years, never having the guts to stand up and defend himself as lie after lie after lie from the rats and their newsrooms went unanswered. Bush’s unwillingness to stand up and fight was an eight-year slap in the face to his bewildered supporters.
The result was that the rat candidate could successfully tie his opponent to the easily smeared Bush and the Republican candidate had no choice but to distance himself from Bush. What, McCain was supposed to defend a man who refused to defend himself? This situation left McCain between a rock and a hard place.
So yes, Tuesday’s Republican slaughter was Bush’s fault.
Bush defeated McCain in 2000 and now again in 2008. Whew....
Here is a video of the Change we will get:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og4UHIACEN0&feature=related
Another lesson we need to learn from this election is to understand the tactical techniques that the democrats executed well. The democrats studied republican GOTV techniques that have been successful in 2000 and 2004, and may have beaten us at our own game. And while they may have played fast and loose with some of the donation rules, there’s no doubt that one can raise a large war chest in small donations made over the internet. 5 million conservatives times 200 dollars each = $1 billion. We need to make sure that four years from now we are playing on an equal field.
BS, those moderates that mccain loved during the primaries voted for the liberal when push came to shove as many here said they would.
I respectfully disagree. When he is presented with a rare and truly challenging question, he had a habit of sputtering and making hesitant replies. Also, when you have a fawning and slobbering crooked media unwilling to ask-tough questions, of course he will appear to be smooth and cool. He wasn't called the Teleprompter Kid for nothing.
I agree...Bush sat there and allowed a narrative to be set...you wouldn’t believe how many people think he went into Iraq all on his own...that the Dems were just as gung ho at the time, or that Tony Blair was just as fervent. One thing i admired about Bill Clinton, he fought like hell, no matter the circumstance.
and now his people are going after Palin and blaming her for them running a lousy campaign. I had a lot more respect for him until today and the fingers all started being pointed at her. HE refused to let people in his audiences criticize Obama and he refused to criticize Obama and he is letting everyone savage Palin... McCain just sealed his demise as a AZ Senator, hope he plans to retire in 2010.
YES, the real lesson we conservatives must learn and implement is that the real conservative candidate must already be identified, with support mobilized and coalesced nationally, BEFORE the first primary is even approached!!
Otherwise we end up in this grim situation of several candidates splitting the conservative votes while the media works to undermine all of the conservative candidates so that a candidate more acceptable to them emerges victorious.
Question is HOW to do it?
I wonder if there needs to be a serious pre-convention before the primaries approach, sometime during 2011, with a wide enough representation from the party to be decisive, but NO RINOS ALLOWED.
Really identify and solidify support for THE conservative candidate. Kinda like a 3rd party within the Republican Party (b/c I really don’t think 3rd Party movements can lead to national success in our system). We now have 3 years to prepare for and choose our real conservative candidate before 2012 even arrives.... and of course we need to identify and support many emerging candidates for as many other offices as possible all over the country.
Did you ever think that Sarah may have been part (not all) but part of the overall problem?
Dead on the money! One of the biggest shortcomings of GW Bush was that he could barely talk. That matters when you are trying to govern during difficult times, and have to defend yourself against an endless onslaught from the left and their friends in the media. Watching his speeches is like watching a high wire act. You are on the edge of your seat, waiting for him to stumble.
Though McCain wasn't as poorly spoken, he was a horrible speaker. Totally uninspiring. What made it all the worse for McCain was that he was running against Hussein, who is great at speeches, if nothing else.
It helps when Obama's fellow-traveler interviewer is lobbing (likely pre-arranged) puffballs to him as opposed to constructing trick-question ambushes for Sarah.
Nevertheless, GOP candidates have to understand that that is MSM SOP, and prepare accordingly.
Certanly not to the level his people decided to go after her today. He would not have made even 40% without her, she is who excited the base and started drawing the crowds to the campaign... and for all their saying she couldn’t put two words together, I heard all her interviews with Sean, Rush, Ingraham, etc. They NEVER should have sent her in with Gibson for her very first interview... the campaign totally mishandled her.
Very simple the only thing in the middle of the road are yellow stripes and dead skunks. McCain is a perfect fit for both!!
So called moderates will vote for the liberal every time over a moderate.
Only true conservatives can attract the moderate vote.
As far as Sarah is concerned, she is the only reason that I voted for McCain.
I would never have voted for the communist but would abstain from voting for President.
Your point is well taken. Perhaps “masterful” was too generouos.
He did have some near melt down moments when asked direct questions on specific policy points. I will say that he usually was able to move back to his message in a manner that wasn’t too obvious - at least to the average viewer/listener. This is what Palin can’t yet do.
Sometimes I think we (political active/curious) lose sight of the fact that many people - the undecideds - aren’t nearly as perceptive as those on the active. Subtleties are lost on the political disinterested.
I supported him, and so did almost every Freeper, because of the alternative, and because he seemed to be wising up on energy and other matters, and because he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate.
But I’m afraid this analysis is on the money. The only thing I’d differ on is that I thought McCain gave an excellent acceptance speech at the Convention. At least it was excellent toward the close, if weak at the start.
He made a convincing case that he was, as the excellent campaign tag had it, “Country First.”
But he did a lousy job in the debates. He let Obama get away with murder and said virtually nothing.
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