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McCain Unadorned
Granted, I might be the last remaining McCain fan among TMV’s authors and readers, but I still believe there’s something to be said for the elegant simplicity of his latest campaign ad, including its marked focus on his record rather than his opponents’ flaws. Then again, I’m not sure even I want a candidate proficient at angering people. Yes, I think we need a President with McCain’s integrity, but we also need one (desperately) who can be an effective bridge builder. [H/t RCP.]
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7 Responses to “McCain Unadorned”
McCain is the only Republican that can win the general election in 2008. I no longer believe Giuliani can do it. McCain polls better in general election matchups than Giuliani (and both run far better than Romney, Huckabee or Thompson). But McCain has no money and no support in the GOP. He can launch a last-minute burst in NH but barring that, he’s toast.
I tell everyone that I have been in both parties, and a conservative and liberal over the years and my last party affiliation was to register as a Republican in 2000 to vote for John McCain in the CA primary. I know of one very prominent blogger who is a Democrat (who some think is a Republican) who did the same thing and actually worked as a volunteer for McCain. I’ve done lots of posts on McCain’s new incarnation. I see a kind of parallel between him right now and Fred Thompson. Both are running much better campaigns then they did out of the starting 2008 gate earlier this year. They both stubbed their toes and the media (and blogs) covered ad nauseum their political gasps of pain. It’s unfortunate, but our politics does now seem to entail where candidates early are are defined by media and blog coverage (including my own posts) because media and blogs cover events quickly now as they unfold. And when a candidate is defined in X way it’s hard for them to “undefine” themselves as the campaign goes on.
The irony is that John McCain after all of this effort to woo the GOP base and convince them he is really one of them finds it didn’t work at all, he lost a lot of the independent voters, lost some of his appeal among the young, lost his media “maverick” aura. He would have been better sticking to his 2000 guns. But, then, he probably would not have had a chance at the nomination anyway. The fact is: to a certain extent both parties demand cookie cutter candidates who fit into neat slots (much as the blogworld increasingly does) because if you don’t fit into one, others will try to shove you into one, whether you belong there or not. Giuliani has been something of the teflon candidate. McCain has been the velcro candidate. (I”m still in CT and my blogging is limited and will be completely back to normal later in the week). GREAT POST and You
Tube above!
Doesn’t that pretty much eliminate all of the GOP candidates, who have been running as hard to the right as possible?
Maybe. But ironically, the more I think about this, despite McCain’s clear pride in that ad about making certain people angry, he has in many ways proven to be a bridge builder in action if not in words, e.g., on immigration. At least, I think he’s more of a bridge builder than almost any of the other GOP candidates (with the exception maybe of Huckabee).
I admire McCain tremendously for his bridge building attempts. If it were up to me, I would award him one of theose seemingly plentiful medals for his work on the immigration compromise, for example.
There is one issue that prevents me from voting for any current GOP candidate, including McCain. I’ve been resisting bringing it up for fear of stirring up a hornet’s nest at TMV. The temptations just keep coming, however, and I give in and say it: it’s abortion.
Wars have consequences, but so do social policies.
We are now debating the consequences of the Iraq war, but no one so much as mentions the consequences of a ban on abortion. I have to do my own litmus test, then.
For several decades, I’ve been involved with an orphange, and I’ve seen what happens when the ‘unborn’ transfer into the born, but unwanted, neglected or abused class. With those experiences under my belt, any candidate who is not comfortable with the ‘rare, but legal’ position fails to pass my litmus test.
If what we really need is a bridge builder, shouldn’t Ted Stevens be running for the nomination?
*rimshot*
Jazz,
Thanks for that one. I laughed.