Posted on 04/17/2008 6:10:40 AM PDT by tlb
WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans are no longer underdogs in the race for the White House. To pull that off, John McCain has attracted disgruntled GOP voters, independents and even some moderate Democrats who shunned his party last fall.
Partly thanks to an increasingly likable image, the Republican presidential candidate has pulled even with the two Democrats still brawling for their party's nomination, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo news poll released Thursday. Just five months ago - before either party had winnowed its field - the survey showed people preferred sending an unnamed Democrat over a Republican to the White House by 13 percentage points.
Also helping the Arizona senator close the gap: Peoples' opinions of Hillary Rodham Clinton have soured slightly, while their views of Barack Obama have improved though less impressively than McCain's.
The survey suggests that those switching to McCain are largely attuned to his personal qualities and McCain may be benefiting as the two Democrats snipe at each other during their prolonged nomination fight.
By tracking the same group of roughly 2,000 people throughout the campaign, the AP-Yahoo poll can gauge how individual views are evolving. What's clear is that some Republican-leaning voters who backed Bush in 2004 but lost enthusiasm for him are returning to the GOP fold - along with a smaller but significant number of Democrats who have come to dislike their party's two contenders.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
Vote for McCain.... For the Children and the Troops and the Puppies...
And how do you do that now that Mccain has the required delegates?
Sorry Shryke,
This is about principles and my conscience.
This isn’t rhetoric by me.
I mean what I am I saying.
I cannot vote for McCain and still look at myself in the mirror.
A vote for McCain is meaningless to me.
And what will you do when Obama fills our SC with ultra liberal judges? And raises your taxes? And sends us into a depression? And loses the war on terror? What will you say when ALL of New York is a smoldering ruin? That you somehow saved conservativism?
“AP-Yahoo poll shows McCain winning back unhappy Republicans”
How’s he doing with pi$$ed off conservatives?
Compared to Hussein or Hillary, McCain is a god-send. That’s probably why he’s been winning back the “base,” the sheer insanity of letting hussein or hillary become president pales in comparison to voting for an independent/moderate republican.
Watch and see. McCain will not be the only dog in the hunt.
Why? What difference would that make?
As bad as you say McCain is would you rather have Obama or Hillary who are light years worse than McCain can ever be?
Yes, a Dem win would be preferable to McCain
I can’t believe people hate McCain so much that they wouldn’t vote at all or vote for some thrid party canidate and therefore help put Obama in the White House.
It isn't hate, It_is_principle, as always. If a Conservative rises up, either 3rd or independent, he will get my vote and my $$. If that is not the case, then I will write in a candidate.
I will never vote for McCain. He is without honor, and is not worthy of the office.
>> McCain will not be the only dog in the hunt.
Really? Who else?
Listen to the TRUTH.
I dare you.
Then it only stands to reason that you should rally to a 3rd or independent, attempting to energize the base around such, rather than trying to shove this nominee down our throats.
The point of decision is whether one believes McCain can win without Conservative votes (which he will not receive in any circumstance).
If you believe that to be highly unlikely, as I do, then a 3rd or (I) becomes the only feasible path to block a dem win, and the only means to get the Conservative base out to vote for lower offices, rather than staying home. That suggests coattails, where McCain has none.
>> Who else?
Ah... just as I thought.
The sound of crickets is deafening.
There IS no one else you can name.
Bob Barr is the likely candidate for the Libertarians, and Keyes is favored for the Constitution Party. Either of these are more palatable to Conservatives than McCain, with Keyes being the surest choice...
Nevermind... I get it. Alan Keyes.
FRiend, I LIKE Alan Keyes. I like Duncan Hunter, too. And Fred Thompson.
But to believe that any of these fine men stands even a ghost of a chance of being elected POTUS at this point is to engage in delusional behavior.
I have been through a round of delusional behavior myself, when I voted for a guy who had more of a chance and more critical mass than Alan Keyes. His name was Ross Perot, and my “reward” for taking that futile stand was... eight years of Bill Clinton.
I make mistakes, but I try to learn from them.
By the way, I like the “Business Ethics” on your homepage.
Not at all... I am working, and was on the phone with a client.
>> Bob Barr is the likely candidate for the Libertarians
Bob Barr is NOT on my list, anywhere.
He’s not in the same class as Alan Keyes.
Alan Keyes is solid, sensible, predictable.
Bob Barr is a nut case. Let me rephrase that: Bob Barr is a has-been nut case.
>> Not at all... I am working, and was on the phone with a client.
Ha ha! We’re out of phase — ‘cause now I have to go back to work! :-)
FRegards
As I said up thread, I don't think McCain can beat a ham sandwich without the Conservatives, and they (especially the Christians) won't be voting for him.
There is no 'critical mass' for McCain.
In the light of that, If a grassroots effort gathers behind behind another, we would be well off to support it.
Perot was a predictable failure, as he was not able to embrace the entirety of Conservatism. McCain is in that same position. Keyes (and Barr) are not. Keyes, especially, is a Reagan Conservative, certainly possessing the ability to speak to all three pillars. That is a difference of gigantic proportions.
If Perot was able to garner 20% appealing to libertarians and fiscal conservatives, What more could a Reagan Conservative do?
While I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment, even Barr is more likely to stir the base than McCain. At least the base is not adamantly set against him.
That said, of the possible candidates we know of at this time, Keyes is certainly my favorite. If he is in the running, I will vote for him. As I consider myself a Reagan Conservative, I can do no other.
LOL! NP. FReegards.
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