McCain Begins to Look and Sound Presidential
"If we really want to do well in 2006, we need to have fiscal discipline like Republicans campaigned on. We have lost our way as a party. Our base is deflated and taxpayers don't see any difference between us and the Democrats."
John McCain is no public speaker, but these are the words of a conservative running for the presidency. At least he sounds conservative. Maybe its time we Republicans started to deal with the possibility that the Senator from Arizona may end up being our "lesser of two evils" candidate in 2008.
McCain and fellow-Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina were in Graham's home state campaigning for Republican state Attorney General Henry McMaster, when during an Associated Press interview he also said:
"The message in Iraq is we are making progress... we have to make progress and we regret the loss of every single young American. But the benefits of success are enormous."
Graham added:
"Democrats who have this cut-and-run strategy... the public doesn't want to follow that. They want to follow Republicans who understand the war is not going as well as it should but who understand that our security is better off with a successful outcome in Iraq."
Referring to Graham, McCain said:
"Some people have said this might be a very attractive vice presidential candidate."
I don't think so... what could Graham deliver to McCain's candidacy? South Carolina? If McCain didn't already have this conservative southern state he wouldn't be winning anything anyway.
Senator McCain, of the "gang of fourteen" fame, may desire to be president, but there will first have to be a great deal of fence mending with the conservative base of the Republican party before his run is feasible.
Maybe the fence mending has begun.
2 comments:
Well, I have to wonder if this is truly "fence mending" as you say or simply having the political savvy to understand that this is what the conservative base wants to hear and being willing to say anything to get elected. Of course, you could be right, but I tend to think it's the latter. I personally do not want to see McCain as the next President. I think he is too willing to follow polls and what is popular instead of doing what is right and needed.
I wonder sometimes if much of McCain's actions in the past five years has been due to anger and hurt feelings over his campaign against Bush in the 2000 election. I'm sure McCain is very competitive and being both a good and loyal loser may be very difficult for him.
One minute he is stumping with and supporting the President, and the next minute he is sticking it to Bill frist and weakening his (Frist's) leadership. I can't figure the guy out... which makes me agree with you about wanting someone else as our nominee in '08. And I think your characterization of his motivations may be correct.
Still, if its McCain against Clinton... I hope we can all find in ourselves a new affection for the Senator from Arizona... as we hold our nose and pull the "R" lever?
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