Hewitt vs. Hewitt on John McCain

In the waning days of the 2008 Presidential election, Republicans are manning the walls against waves of daunting news from the polls and a political climate where nothing seems to go in favor of the GOP. Clearly there is a need for a solid, trusted voice to shore-up support for John McCain as we prepare for the last two debates. Stepping into the breach is noted conservative radio talk show host, Hugh Hewitt. In a piece titled “With One Month To Go: Why McCain Will Close and Win” Mr. Hewitt delivers the much needed relief.

So, despite the rapture of college students and the registration of the homeless in Ohio, the common sense of Americans will override curiosity about Barack Obama and infatuation with his celebrity, and trust John McCain to pilot the country for the next four years.

This is the choice facing the country as absentees begin to be mailed next week, and it is the seriousness of the moment and the radical nature of the Obama candidacy that favors the tried and tested McCain and his populist, optimistic running mate.

America is a great and good nation, and it will not turn itself over to a party in the grip of its hardest left cadres, its most corrupt machine and its least experienced nominee ever.

Especially not when it has a man of enormous courage and proven devotion and sacrifice at the ready to lead through difficult times.

Strong medicine indeed. Hewitt is a well-known and trusted voice for the conservative Right wing and I’m sure people will heed this clarion call. Well… unless, of course, they’ve been reading Hugh’s words for more than a few months. I seem to recall something… what was it again? Oh yes, that’s right. Let’s take a look at what the stalwart Mr. Hewitt had to say about Sen. John McCain as recently as January of this year.

When [McCain] wandered through answer after answer it gradually dawned that he is indeed way past his prime, a Bob Dole without the energy. Sure, he tramps from event to event, but at 71 he is not the same maverick he was at 63 when the McCain phenomenon swept New Hampshire and Michigan before running into conservative reality in South Carolina. Even the McCain enthusiasts watch this aging warrior and know that he could no more win in the fall than Dole could in ‘96. Politics is not exclusively a young man’s game, but it is most definitely not an old man’s game either.

I will be curious to find out what new medical breakthrough has somehow undone the aging process for the Arizona Senator, which allowed Hewitt to change this concrete conclusion so abruptly. But I digress. I’m sure Hugh has more to share.

A GOP vote for McCain is a vote for a shattered base and a desultory campaign in the fall. It is a vote for lecture after lecture on global warming, campaign finance reform, and the bridge to nowhere. It is a vote for an old warrior way past his prime and the prospect of three debates against Barack Obama in which the age and energy gap goes unremarked upon while devastatingly obvious.

Interesting stuff. But tell me, would you like to quote any other conservative giants on the presidential qualities of Senator McCain?

“[W]e’re looking at the media trying to make Barack Obama the president, and make John McCain the shill for him,” Rick Santorum told me. “I think they know that John McCain can’t win this election,” he concluded.

Hewitt may not attract Rush Limbaugh numbers, but he is a well known figure among the conservative base. His presence on the radio and his writings at places like Townhall are frequently-quoted and seem well-respected. I have to wonder how many readers and listeners will recall his previous, unwavering opinions on Senator McCain upon hearing this new-found love and endorsement?