My completely unsolicited $0.02? McCain had his golden opportunity and blew it.
During all of the flap over gov't bailouts....rather than parroting the party line, if he had said "Look, I've (talked to my constituents / examined the bill / whatever excuse is convenient) and I can't - in good conscience - vote for the bailouts."
Instantly differentiates him from BO, and pulls the conservatives home. IMHO, it turns an Obama victory into a close contest.
For what it's worth, though, I think that we might be better off without him. McCain get elected, there's no tea parties. There's no conservative blowback. AND, we'd just wind up with roughly the same crap being shoveled at us. For instance, instead of BO passing a 800 billion dollar bailout bill a couple of months ago.....the Dems would have started at 1.2 trillion. Then there would have been "negotiations", the bill would have gotten trimmed down to "only 750 Billion" and McCain would have signed it. People here on FR would be saying "WOW! Be glad there's a Republican in the White House or things would be REALLY bad!" ....and we'd be in roughly the same boat as we are now, minus the conservative public activism.
Negotiations schnegotiations. McCain (with Palin running public interference for him, remember) would promise, and deliver, a veto. Americans would be intensely angry at the Congress so we would still get the Tea Parties. But we would be without the rest of the Rat Ship of Fools that passes for an American administration today.
“For what it’s worth, though, I think that we might be better off without him. McCain get elected, there’s no tea parties. There’s no conservative blowback. AND, we’d just wind up with roughly the same crap being shoveled at us.”
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Agreed. I got duckered into voting for Bush the second time on the lesser of 2 evils argument. I look back and wonder what would have been so different with Kerry.
Bush called those who wanted the borders secure ‘vigilantes’, pushed for amnesty of the 30 - 40 million illegal in the US, ‘changed his mind’ about signing on to Kyoto (cap and trade), abandoned Ramos and Compean, signed TARP, etc.
The difference between Obama and McCain is mainly window dressing.