John McCain – Wrong Place, Wrong Time

John McCain would have made a good president. Unfortunately, his sense of timing has not matched up with the electoral mood of the country. The wrong place, wrong time phenomenon is not unique in American politics, just ask Senator Ted Kennedy, whose numerous runs for the White House met with defeat.

In 2000, McCain ran up against the party mechanism in their coronation of George W. Bush. In 2008, after morphing himself to become the Republican nominee, McCain faces the shadow of an unpopular eight years of his former adversary. In looking at past elections, the one that comes to mind is Richard Nixon’s win over Hubert Humphrey in 1968. Humphrey faced an electorate that was tired of policies initiated over eight years of a Democratic administration including an unpopular war (Vietnam), a high profile domestic social issue (Civil Rights), and the economic policies of Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” (including Medicare and Medicaid). In 1968, Humphrey lost to Nixon by a narrow margin. McCain faces similar obstacles in 2008 such as the War in Iraq, Gay Marriage and a stagnant economy.

It is not a question of if the Democrat nominee will win but how the coattail effect will impact House and Senate races across the country. The Democrats could easily pick up 15 to 17 House seats and, with the indictment of Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), possibly reach 60 members in the U.S. Senate. The cloture threshold would be in effect and allow the Democrats to control the possibility of a Republican filibuster in the 111th Congress.

Unfortunately, McCain is in the wrong place at the wrong time. McCain’s only hope is that a “magic bullet” comes along to derail Obama’s historic campaign for the Presidency of the United States. Does anyone have Arlen Specter’s number on speed dial?