The impulse to suspend his campaign was brilliant.
And had he toughed it out, McCain could have consumed all the media oxygen by grabbing the reins of the financial crisis while Obama callously continued to campaign.
But McCain blinked.
McCain’s campaign was a weak sister to begin with. He drifted right in order to shore up his base, but many weren’t buying it. We knew who and what he was. We had respect for his wartime sacrifice, but his political career left us cold. Then came Sarah Palin. She was not only a lovely woman, but a successful governor, well spoken, and displayed a good mix of political rightism. It was after her pick that people really started attending rallies. She was the draw. There was excitement in the air. Finally!
But then McCain did his bailout quickstep just before the election. That negated anything Sarah had accomplished. In fact, it likely knocked him back a few more points. There’s no way he could ever overcome that mistake in judgment.
Had he used the opportunity to go to Washington to argue against the bailout, against further government intervention into the economy, argue for tax cuts and incentives to business (especially small business), he’d have been seen as a hero. But that was never to be.
There are any number of people on this thread, on this forum, arguing in favor of the McCains, Romneys or Huckabees of this world as being our only hope of reclaiming the presidency. I say to them, look at McCain’s folly in the last election. That’s what we can expect from RINOs. And the reaction America had for him is what you can expect in the future. We’ve had enough. RINOs are no different than Democrats. Their beltway mentality doesn’t play any longer. We want change and we’re going to get it. RINOs aren’t change. We won’t vote for them. If this can’t be understood, then it’s your problem.