November 8, 2007
John McCain is Hitting Stride at Right Time (Frank Donatelli)
Evidence continues to accumulate that Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) is making progress in his comeback effort to secure the Republican presidential nomination. McCain and dark horse Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are on the upswing, while the support levels for other candidates are either flat or actually declining.
Consider these recent developments:
First, McCain won the endorsement of Sen. Sam Brownback, the conservative, pro-life senator from Kansas. Brownback will campaign for McCain and be very helpful among social conservatives, especially in the caucus state of Iowa. Thus far, Sen. McCain has not been able to get traction with social conservatives, despite boasting the most pro-life voting record of any of the top-tier candidates. Brownback will remind conservatives that actions speak louder than words, and that only John McCain has by action demonstrated a real commitment to protecting human life.
Second, three national polls released in the last week confirm that John McCain is alone in second place among all of the GOP candidates. The ABC-Washington Post, Pew Foundation and Marist polls all show McCain moving into second place behind Rudy Giuliani while the others remain farther back. This represents a substantial gain for McCain in the last several months.
Third, a number of state surveys confirm that it is McCain, not Giuliani, who runs best against Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.). It is true that Rudy does better in very blue states like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but these are long shots for any GOP nominee. The better test is who does best in real Midwest battleground states such as Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and the evidence suggests that McCain runs better than Rudy in those key states.
Fourth, the continuing threat of some social conservatives to refuse to support Giuliani, or even to back an independent candidate in the general election against him, represents the continuing problems that a Giuliani candidacy will have in keeping the Reagan coalition of social and economic conservatives together. The best road to a GOP victory next year is to keep the base intact and add moderate and independent voters who like the GOP candidate’s expertise on national security and foreign policy issues and his willingness to work with the other party to fashion legislative solutions to our problems. That profile fits Sen. McCain much more than Rudy Giuliani.
The election season is just now beginning. Voters are looking hard at the choices available. John McCain is hitting his stride at just the right time.
Permalink TrackBack
Email This Post
Share this post
What's This 12 Comments
»
The Hill welcomes comment from anyone and will almost always post it whether it is favorable or critical, as long as it is substantive and advances debate.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
John McCain failed on the immigration issue, and failed hard. As the memory of the amnesty debate is receding, the voters with the attention span of 10 seconds have "forgotten". They will be reminded, and this hasn't happenned yet. Watch out when they will recall his indiscretions.
Comment by Igor R. — November 8, 2007 @ 11:42 am
I couldn't disagree with Igor R. more on the immigration issue. John McCain is a tough leader who tackles tough problems. He didn't fail miserably on immigration, he saw a problem and worked to fix it. If that makes him a failure, then what does that make the other candidates who have done nothing to solve the problem. John McCain said himself that the bill was not the one he would have drafted alone, but the far right wing of the U.S. Senate decided to work against the bill rather than improving it through the normal order of amendments. Not to mention, the concepts of the bill itself were absolutely correct. McCain sought to stop illegals from coming over the border by deploying tens of thousands of border agents, and then, and only then, deport and register illegals who are in the U.S. When you have a broken pipe in your house you don't start cleaning up the water before fixing the pipe. While the far right wing thinks they "won," we all lose as the status quo continues on for at least another Congress. Disgraceful that we have to politicize our biggest problems rather than working to resolve them.
John McCain is one of the greatest visionaries and leaders of our time. And the fact that the lunatic Pat Robertson endorsed a former mayor who was married to his cousin for 14 years, who practiced adultry, allowed a flood of illegals into NYC with open arms, said "I am a Republican Mayor of NYC, but I'm really not," who is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage, should pretty much say it all. McCain is the only true conservative in the race who can win. Once Fred Thompson is out on DVD, McCain should surge quickly. Plus, I don't know how Giuliani can lose the first 6 contests and win. I really don't. I hope people stop pointing to now irrelevant issues of the past and see McCain for who he is, a great leader and the right person for this critical time in our history.
Comment by Screamin Armenian — November 8, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
McCain worked to support amnesty and denied that it was amnesty. He is a war hero who suffered enormously for his country, but this time he came close to destroying its very fabric. He brought us to the edge of the precipice, and this will not be forgotten.
Comment by Igor R. — November 8, 2007 @ 4:01 pm
Senator McCain has proven over and over he is the only true "Presidential Candidate" on the Republican side of the ticket. I am not just talking on issues…I am talking on Leadership. Let's remember…had 9/11 not happened in NYC then Rudy Guiliani would not be a Presidential Candidate. Thompson has shown that his bid for candidacy is a failure and he is NOT ready to lead. Mitt Romney…are you kidding me? The most liberal candidate the Republicans have ever put up. John McCain knows war, he knows foreign policy, he knows economic policy and he knows how to work with both sides of the aisle to get THINGS DONE! McCain has co-sponsored more bills than any other Senator I can remember and that proves a record of working with people to get the job done. That is why I am voting for him!
Comment by Brian R — November 8, 2007 @ 4:38 pm
Why is it that I can be pretty sure that Igor R. has never read the immigration bill, as I have? Why is it that he seems to be repeating the same nonsense spouted by the media rather than the true substance of the bill? If you read the bill, you would not be calling what was proposed "amnesty." It was punitive and logical, simple as that. By the way "edge" and "precipice" mean the same thing. And how do you destroy the fabric of the country by trying to solve a problem that is destroying that very fabric? And what is your solution? Round up the illegals in UHauls and ship them back across the border, all while not doing anything about the pourous border? You see, people like you love to spout off about problems and criticize those who try to lead. But what exactly is your solution? Bottom line is we're in a situation where we've ignored illegal immigration so long that we're screwed. And the most logical choice among the menu of bad choices at this point is to make them all go back, punish them financially, and make them get at the back of the line for citizenship like everybody else who wants to enter this country. In addition, we need their labor because our economy has become mistakenly reliant on them. So we have to create a situation where they can work temporarily. That's all McCain tried to do.
Comment by Screamin Armenian — November 8, 2007 @ 5:11 pm
Screamin Armenian, give me a break. While I admit that using 'edge" and "precipice" together is a semantic faux pas, I will not so readily admit that gradually tightening pressure on the illegals by imposing employer sanctions and selective raids and deportations will not work. They will self-deport in vast numbers, and everybody knows it. If the country wants to get rid of them, it's a piece of cake, and if it doesn't it's very difficult.
What the illegal immigrants would've gotten out of the deal is immediate certainly of legally staying in the country if they followed the right procedure. This is vastly different than what most of the world's population gets, which is this: if you're at the back of the line, you're highly unlikely to make it to the front, and while you're waiting in line you're not in the US. Don't kid a kidder.
Comment by Igor R. — November 8, 2007 @ 9:59 pm
The Immigration Reform Bill was amnesty. So was the Dream Act. These politicians may all learn a hard lesson in 2008.
Comment by Robert Rosencrans — November 9, 2007 @ 8:52 am
Despite what Igor and Robert think, McCain is working to do the right thing for America. Secure the borders was then and is now his first priority when confronting illeagle imigration.
His record of 20 years in politics and 20 years of military service proves he does what he says and can be trusted.
Comment by Michael H, Alexandria VA — November 9, 2007 @ 2:10 pm
I do not agree with everything McCain stands for, but he is a principled leader whom I can trust to do what he says, even to his own political detriment. I am proud to support Senator McCain.
Comment by Alex Kowaleski — November 9, 2007 @ 4:57 pm
Igor, thanks for the spirited debate. Had we had this in the U.S. Senate, we might have had immigration reform. But again, the hyperbolic members on the far wings of both parties didn't allow it to happen, and we will all suffer the consequences, unfortunately. But please do not fault McCain for starting the debate. Putting himself and his candidacy on the line to do what he believed was best, which is reforming our broken system of immigration. Keep in mind, we are in the minority, and in order to pass anything a Republican Senator must have a Democrat on board. And while the bill was not nearly perfect, and McCain stipulates that, it was a starting point that was never given a chance to succeed. So our problem will continue for years to come. Don't fault a man for putting the country ahead of his personal political future. We should be applauding him. He did the same on the war. And said, "I'd rather lose an election than a war any day of the week." That's patriotism and political courage. Unlike Romney, Thompson, and Giuliani who will tell you any damn thing you want to hear.
Comment by Screamin Armenian — November 9, 2007 @ 5:45 pm
This is the sort of nonsense that will tear the Republican Party into pieces, and hand this country over to a liberal sound-bite spewing hack like Hillary Clinton. The plain and simple fact is that you CANNOT build the greatest nation in all of human history right next to a developing country, not secure the border, and be surprised when people start walking in here. We have unfortunately allowed this to happen for decades now, and any solution will not be easy. It is our fault their here! We simply did not have the collective political will to build a fence and beef up security, because of PC race-baiting nonsense. The Democrats would love to sink their claws into another minority group like they did to Afro-Americans, and I for one do not intend to allow that. This situation requires a tough leader to make tough decisions. And that leader is John McCain
Comment by Corey Cronrath — November 10, 2007 @ 1:13 am
I'm an Italian, I live in Italy. I'm following your nominee campaign and I hope John McCain will get nomination. I know his engagement in US politics, I appreciate his views in foreign policy and his leadership. Most of all, He is one of few politicians who follow his ideas even in trouble. Keep going, americans!
Comment by Massimo — November 17, 2007 @ 8:55 am