Well, I thought the problem with McCain was him not having such a good record on conservative policies. Personally I found him to be qualified for commander-in-chief and strong on pro-life issues, so I was never a big McCain hater. Was the issue of his divorce a big factor with social conservatives?
The question I have for social conservatives is who would they support, Obama who has a squeaky clean family life but supports abortion, dictating what churches can do, etc. or someone like Newt who had personal moral issues in the past but has a strong pro-life record, signed the traditional marriage pledge, etc.? Would these people actually stay home instead of voting for one or the other?
I just simply don’t understand that type of voter. To me you vote for the person who can best do the job you want them to do, which in this case is directing our tax money to the projects we support, defunding the ones we don’t, paying off the debt, and giving the rest of our money back to us. I might use a candidate’s complete lifetime history of moral decisions as a tiebreaker if two candidates were very similar on policy, but it’s simply no contest when there are huge policy differences between the candidates.
McCain’s biggest issue was his credibility. He had too many cases of espousing opposite views when he wasn’t up for election, coupled with compromising with the other side when he had the chance. The inability to trust him on issues is what did not sit down well - his infidelity, as it were.
(Things like joining people on the Left for CFR and such left many wondering if he would really be better on judges. Just as Santorum is “too good” and “too compromising” for some, Newt suffers from fidelity issues, both in his own life and in his politics. Because of the positives and negatives attached to them, Santorum is in a better place currently.
The latest polls I’ve seen show Santorum the same or up, Newt up slightly, and Romney all over the place. It is as if the attacks on Santorum are reflecting back on Romney and hurting him. I’d be pleased to see Gingrich and Santorum as the two remaining choices, but with high negatives, it will be hard for Newt to come back. Not impossible, mind you, but very difficult. At this point, either of them dropping only helps Romney.