Putting on a brave face, Governor Mitt Romney last night promised “We’re going all the way to the convention and we’re going to win this thing, and we’re going to go to the White House.” Who’s writing the Governor’s speeches, John Edwards? Romney will attend the convention, no doubt seated in a prominent place, to watch John McCain’s coronation. Mike Huckabee is now running for the bottom half of the ticket. It’s a done deal; Senator McCain is our man. Yikes.
For conservatives, a choice between McCain/Clinton or McCain/Obama is painful at best. His protestations notwithstanding, no amount of spinning, flip-flopping, or rewriting history will convince Reagan-Republicans the Arizona Senator is anywhere near the conservative mainstream. Don’t agree? Then consider: his participation in the anti-free speech McCain-Feingold bill — his consistent opposition to drilling in ANWR — his description of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito as “too conservative” — his promotion of the trial lawyer’s Bill of Rights (aka Patients Bill of Rights) McCain-Kennedy-Edwards — his opposition to waterboarding, Guantanamo, and support of constitutional rights for foreign terrorists — his participation in the amnesty for illegal aliens, open borders McCain-Kennedy bill — and his opposition to repealing the Death Tax.
Need more? During the run-up to the 2004 election, ABC’s Charles Gibson asked McCain “if [Senator Kerry] came across the aisle and asked you [to be his Vice Presidential running mate], would you even entertain the idea? Or will you rule it out for good and all and ever right now?” Senator McCain replied, “John Kerry is a very close friend of mine. We’ve been friends for years. Obviously, I would entertain it.” If McCain’s a conservative, Stalin was a moderate.
Still and all, McCain may be the Republican’s best hope of holding the White House in 2009, assuming conservatives bother to vote. It all depends on who the Democrats select as their standard-bearer. McCain vs. Clinton presents a good match up for Republicans. McCain vs. Obama elects our first black President, not counting Bubba of course.
Exit polls confirmed that ”change” is foremost in voter’s minds. McCain has been in Washington since dirt was invented, but Hillary keeps harping about the good old 1990s. Only Hillary’s sex represents something new, a whopping development to be sure, but probably not enough to offset her national prominence for the last 16 years. Obama, on the other hand, is the personification of change, something his campaign is taking full advantage of.
McCain’s age will be much more of an issue compared to Obama than to Clinton, no offense ma’am.
About half the nation hates Hillary Clinton. Republicans will mortgage their homes, sell their firstborn, and vote for a maverick to keep her and the first First-Husband out of sight and, please God, out of mind. Aside from the 17 surviving KKK nut jobs in America, the vast majority of voters are neutral toward or like Obama on a personal level. After all, he’s got a nice smile.
McCain voted for the war, supported the surge, and wants to win in Iraq. Hillary voted for the war, voted for the war, voted for the war. Obama — I know this may come as a surprise — was against the war from day one.
All of this means McCain stacks up well against Hillary, but will be shellacked by Obama. On the other hand, Romney stacks up better versus Obama than does McCain. Being a Washington outsider and having made a living in the real world, Romney can better nullify Obama’s monopoly on ”change.” Romney is older than Obama, but appears to have many more miles left on the odometer than does McCain. O, one more thing; Romney can actually pass for a conservative, if you overlook a tax hike or two.
All things above considered, here’s my message to Republican National Headquarters. Do not nominate our guy until after the Democrats commit to their guy, or gal. If the Dems pick Hillary, we run McCain. If Obama is their choice, we run Romney. Any other course of action is asking for a 1964-size drubbing, resulting in the election of either the most liberal or scariest President in history, maybe both.
Republicans cannot afford to be Bob Dole-dumb again.
Posted by Jerry Pomeroy in Campaign 2008, Politics