Watch The Atlantic’s Matthew Yglesias and conservative author Ramesh Ponuru diavlogging about a wide range of issues: from immigration to Barack Obama, from Barack Obama to Hillary Clinton and from Hillary Clinton to John McCain; from John McCain to Rudy Giuliani, and from Rudy Giuliani to Iraq.
Oh, and they also talk about Gore and “how the right’s lost its centrality.”
I think that Ponuru has a point when he says that Republicans probably fear Obama more than they do Clinton; but I agree with Ramesh when he says that they should fear Hillary more. Not only has Hillary Clinton proved in the past, that she and Bill can defeat Republicans, Hillary is also battle-hardened. If there is one thing Hillary is does very well, it is fighting back.
McCain and immigration: I agree with Matt that having the immigration debate open is bad for McCain. Ramesh adds that many conservatives feel like McCain “doesn’t really like us,” and is more happy when he’s able to work “with the other side.” McCain is, quite simply, detested by most conservatives.
Ramesh also explained that there is one big difference between McCain and Giuliani: although conservatives might agree with McCain in 80 percent of the cases, conservatives have the feeling that he is never down in the trenches with them. When Giuliani, however, agrees with the conservative base, he is willing to fight it out publicly with progressives and he is willing to be criticized by the media.
What matters is, of course, not whether it is true or not: it is all about perspective. If this is how conservatives feel, McCain will not win. Simple.
Although I understand that both believe that conservatives might stand by Giuliani for a long time to come, they should not forget that, by now, Romney is leading, both in New Hampshire and Iowa. Giuliani may still lead in the nationwide polls, but Romney is leading in the states with the early caucuses. What he wants, what he needs, is to create momentum.
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