Posted on 12/27/2007 9:04:34 AM PST by shrinkermd
Sen. John McCain, given up for dead a few weeks ago as he ran a cash-starved, disorganized campaign, today is viewed by canny Republican professionals as the best bet to win the party's presidential nomination. What's more, they consider him their most realistic prospect to buck the overall Democratic tide and win the general election. Indeed, if Mike Huckabee holds on to win the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, the road forward could be clear for McCain.
Mitt Romney's lavishly financed, meticulously organized campaign has always operated with a thin margin of error based on winning Iowa and the New Hampshire primary five days later. If Romney loses to Huckabee in Iowa, he becomes vulnerable to McCain in New Hampshire. If McCain wins there, he will be favored to sweep through subsequent primaries despite his meager finances and organization.
This scenario does not connote a late-blooming affection for McCain among the party faithful. Indeed, he remains suspect to them on global warming, stem cell research, tax policy and immigration controls, not to mention his original sin of campaign finance reform (with authorship of the McCain-Feingold law). Rather, his nomination would result from him being the last man standing, with all other candidates falling. Rudy Giuliani's baggage is getting too heavy to carry. Fred Thompson never got started. Huckabee's Republicanism is even less orthodox than McCain's and seems unviable beyond Iowa. Romney is burdened with anti-Mormon prejudice and with the accusation that he is "plastic
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Same here. I’ll take McCain because he’s the best guy on the most important issues of our time. He’s still a pain though but he’ll protect our country.
The DNC's MSM propaganda branch sure is fond of the herd.
no
Initially diagnosed by Bob Dole.
I don't put much stock in individual polls but RCR is a compilation of several national polls.
RCP..Real Clear Politics.
McCain just said that if he was president he’d have called the U.N. right away for an emergency security council meeting. The UN!!!!! That’s his idea of leadership. Down with John McCain!!!!
What the hell? I’ve seen like three articles already like this... “Did this death in Pakistan HELP some candidate”.
The correct answer to this IS NO, it doesn’t HELP anyone. It doesn’t HELP peace in the middle east, it doesn’t HELP Carter, Bush, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, or any wannabe Presidential candidate.
It doesn’t HELP Pakistan, and most importantly it doesn’t help the United States and western civilization - AT ALL.
Pakistan has more than 100 nuclear weapons sitting there. Rioting has broken out as of a few minutes ago.
There are two major competing factions over there, and neither one is “Western”. One group is extremist muslim, and I don’t see Mussaraf not having an attempt on HIS life now by the other side.
The country is about to break out in major civil war, and Taliban as well as Al Qaeda factions are involved.
WHO do you think will control the nukes if the US, England or France doesn’t go in and do something about this?
The Terrorists will.
It’s a matter of time, before one of those weapons blows up in Tel Aviv or Washington, or even London.
A short matter of time.
We need a Thompson or Hunter surge.
McCain flipped on the Bush tax cuts.
Most conservatives believe the biggest domestic success of George Bush's first term were his tax cuts. John McCain voted against them, more than once, before finally flip-flopping and voting for them this year.
McCain flipped on gay marriage.
Voted NO on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
McCain flipped on ethanol.
McCain was anti-ethanol when he was skipping Iowa in 1999. In 2006 he was pro-ethanol while campaigning in Iowa . Now he's pretty anti-ethanol again that he's decided to bypass Iowa. (THIS ONE IS A TRUE FLIP FLOP . . . Been on both sides of the issue multiple times)
McCain flipped on Roe.
In NH in 1999 McCain told reporters that "in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade." He explained that overturning Roe would force "women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations." In 2006, campaigning for the GOP nomination as a conservative, McCain said the opposite.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me ask one question about abortion. Then I want to turn to Iraq. You're for a constitutional amendment banning abortion, with some exceptions for life and rape and incest.
MCCAIN: Rape, incest and the life of the mother. Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So is President Bush, yet that hasn't advanced in the six years he's been in office. What are you going to do to advance a constitutional amendment that President Bush hasn't done?
MCCAIN: I don't think a constitutional amendment is probably going to take place, but I do believe that it's very likely or possible that the Supreme Court should could overturn Roe v. Wade...."
McCain flipped on climate change:
Kyoto By Any Other Name Would Still Smell As Rotten: John McCain proposed a radical bill, the McCain-Lieberman Stewardship Act, that is not all that different from the Kyoto Protocol. McCain's bill would do cataclysmic damage to our economy. In the name of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by an insignificant percentage, that not even the biggest proponents of Kyoto believe would have a significant impact on the weather, here's the damage John McCain would be willing to do to our economy (from an article by Marlo Lewis in National Review).
McCain flipped on stem cells.
Initially supporting the President's restriction as to federal funding, McCain then asked for an expansion to include wider research saying, "I believe that we need to fund this. This is a tough issue for those of us in the pro-life community. I would remind you that these stem cells are either going to be discarded or perpetually frozen. We need to do what we can to relieve human suffering. It's a tough issue. I support federal funding." Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
McCain signed a letter from 58 Senators to the President
" Dear Mr. President:
We write to urge you to expand the current federal policy concerning embryonic stem cell research.
Embryonic stem cells have the potential to be used to treat and better understand deadly and disabling diseases and conditions that affect more than 100 million Americans, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and many others. ..."
McCain flipped on faith
The Associated Press broke a story about McCains statement in Sept 2007 saying that he is in fact a Baptist, despite his past comments that he is an Episcopalian. The news hook is that McCain made these comments while he was in South Carolina, which happens to have a lot of Baptist voters. In a June 2007 interview with McClatchy Newspapers, the senator said his wife and two of their children have been baptized in North Phoenix Baptist Church, but he had not. I didnt find it necessary to do so for my spiritual needs, he said. He told McClatchy he found the Baptist church more fulfilling than the Episcopalian church, but still referred to himself as an Episcopalian. Uh huh.
McCain flipped on guns
Senator McCain supported the interests of the Gun Owners of America 100 percent in 2006.
Senator McCain supported the interests of the Gun Owners of America 0 percent in 2005.
Based on lifetime voting records on gun issues and the results of a questionnaire sent to all Congressional candidates in 2004, the National Rifle Association assigned Senator McCain a grade of C+ (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F).
McCain flipped on the virtues of Evangelical Leadership
McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as "agents of intolerance" in 2002, but has since "reconciled" and has cozied up quite a bit.
McCain flipped on the Law of Sea Convention
Long-time vocal supporter of the Law, now (just this last month) he's against it.
Go Fred (You too Duncan!)
The point is it may very well be McCain by default. Everyone has had a chance to look at the candidates and they are all found wanting. McCain now gets a second look. Like it or not this scenario very well may play out.
I still think we have a brokered convention and who knows what will happen.
It sure as heck won't be McCain!
Oh NO! We just cannot have a sensible, moral, married congressman with an impeccable record as a conservative patriotic American serve as our candidate for the presidency. What if he were to actually win? It could mean chaos in newsrooms across America!
No, my friend, we must do as the pundits tell us. Of course, I would be unable to make these remarks if Fred Thompson were alive.
That is straight up. Right now, I think McCain could for sure beat Hillary! because women wouldn’t feel bad voting for him and he gets the independent vote.
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