McCain can appeal to the squishy middle all he wants, but unless he has the base he will lose. Think about it...the last few elections have come down to 0-3% differential between the winner and loser. Hillary or Obama would at least have the liberal base and would really be fighting for the independent vote. The independents are going to pretty much split down the middle between Republican and Democrat. McCain is already at a disadvantage because if he even loses 2% of the conservative base vote, he loses the election. I think he’ll lose more than 2% based on how much conservative voters hate him. They’ll stay home on election day.
Yup. Another way to look at it, look how excited the Democratic Party is - they’re base is rallying and are coming out in huge numbers. Face it, a McCain nomination is a nightmare. Get ready for 8 years of President Hillary. Last night was a very depressing event. The Republic Party is going off the cliff.
and you may be absolutely correct, i am just saying that i believe the theory that McCain runs better in a general election matchup is partially based on the polls and partially based on his attracting independents and some dems.