Flight Pundit

From dr at Campaign 2008 - Commentary

What McCain did to draw such ire from the self-described “traditional conservatives” I’m not quite sure, but this morning’s program did lend credence to a previous post that discusses the likelihood of a McCain type figure running as an Independent after finding the Republican nomination to be unwinnable.

McCain has blocked, trampled, and generally voted against most conservative initiatives over the last decade. Senator McCain is a great American and deserves our respect. But that respect does not mean we need to support him when he is not representing our views.

This scenario was outlined to me [E. J. Dionne Jr.] recently by a shrewd and loyally Democratic political operative with personal ties to the McCain camp before Mark McKinnon, one of the president’s top media advisers, publicly confirmed that he would help a McCain presidential run if it materialized.

Personal ties? with a political operative? WTF. OK this is a WaPo leftist propaganda rag. Can we believe this?

More from the WaPo:

The standard view of McCain’s choice, especially among Democrats, is that he sold out to Bush for nothing. This assumes that McCain can’t win the 2008 Republican nomination because of the intense opposition he will face from the Republican right, especially from Christian conservatives. It also assumes that Bush will never lift a finger to help McCain.

We must be the EVIL Republican Right? Is there a republican left? wait, that is the McCain followers. The followers of the wind. the believers in a global government (ie.UN). the people that are not based in reality…While I applaud his support for the War on Terror, I don’t like the (implied) reason behind it.

Before you go, however, consider for a moment what I heard this morning on CSPAN’s Washington Journal during a segment devoted to a potential McCain-Bush ticket. Every single caller said that they loved (insert either McCain’s or Jeb’s name here) but absolutely hated (insert other name here) and could not/would not vote for the ticket as a result.

But how many callers were for McCain? How many of them were republicans? The left loves McCain because he is a Republican in Name only. So what does this prove? Nothing

But McCain made a crucial decision to alter the relationship in 2004. Courted hard by John Kerry as a potential running mate, McCain said no. He decided he wanted to be president and that it was unlikely he would ever get a Democratic nomination — and implausible that he could win as an independent. His one shot was as a Republican.

Which way is the wind blowing again?

And here is where Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president’s brother, could be the deal-closer. Jeb Bush has said he will not run in 2008. But that does not rule him out as a vice presidential candidate. If McCain won, Jeb would be the No. 2 to a president who will turn 72 on Aug. 29, 2008, and might well serve only a single term. If McCain lost, Jeb would have enhanced national recognition for a run in 2012.

1 Comment »