[Delphinium]

Shawn Hannity for one. He promoted him on his radio show and TV regularly.

As the polls proved, most people thought McClintock was the best man for the job but were convinced he couldn't win.

They had been told this over, and over from the beginning.

[ohioWfan]

How about Rush Limbaugh? He has a much larger audience, and he was a severe critic of Schwartzenegger as a non-Conservative from the beginning.

I don't think Hannity has the power to do what you surmise he has done.

The conservatives in America saw that Arnold could win from the beginning, and most of us made the decision that a partial win was better than a complete loss......and so, obviously did the conservative voters in California who helped elect Arnold.

What I think ended up happening, was that McClintock kept conservative principles at the forefront of the discussion, and perhaps moved Arnold to the right. He never had a chance to win. His numbers never moved above 13% in spite of his strong campaign. It wasn't the GOP's fault.....it's the basic make-up of the California electorate that created the reality that the only Republican who could win was Schwartzenegger.