McCain Gearing Up To Start Taking On Dems
One long term consequence of the protracted Dem contest is that it's now clear that Hillary and Obama will simultaneously be battling each other while likely GOP nominee John McCain starts sharpening his attacks on Dems in preparation for a grueling general election.
McCain adviser Charlie Black made a very compelling case today that it's mathematically impossible for him to lose at this point. And McCain himself said at a presser today he was cancelling a trip to Europe to wrap things up and start taking on the Dems.
How disadvantaged will the ultimate Dem nominee be by the ongoing intra-party struggle and by McCain's head start? As Ben Smith notes, Obama didn't appear worried about this when asked about it today, saying: "It would be a problem if Senator Clinton’s voters disliked me or my voters disliked Senator Clinton -- I don’t think that’s the case."
Exit polls do bear out the fact that for all the acrimony surrounding the contest on blogs and the like, large majorities of each candidate's supporters view the other fondly. But with the fight inevitably getting more intense, and McCain uniting the GOP behind him and training fire on the Dems, this dynamic will only get more pressing.
The problem that McCain will have is quite simply that he won't know who to attack. He'll need two entirely different rhetorical positions to attack each of the candidates, and will have a steadily more difficult time getting coverage in a prolonged Obama-Clinton battle. Frankly I don't see how it helps him, except with fundraising.
February 6, 2008 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok. Oh well.
February 6, 2008 1:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
How come we don't have a comment about Obama running away from the debates????
February 6, 2008 2:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, here's a comment for you:
So what? How many debates do we need?
February 6, 2008 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I want to know all there is...I want to know all the issues....don't you?????
February 6, 2008 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Brother, I've watched all of the debates since they started last year. How many has it been? 12, 13? Something around there? What issues are left?
Besides, we can look at the issues ourselves. It's called looking at their policy positions on their websites and remembering what they said on all of the debates. You see, I have solid faith I can figure out who to support based on that.
Or, do we need more debates because that represents more free press time for candidates? Isn't that the real issue?
you see, I need to get back to my life after one year of delving into this. You are such an HRC partisan, that there is no way a debate will help you decide in any way. Besides, we all agree that debate formats effectively dilute messages and positions than actually expose them.
No, thanks. I'm done with debates. but if Barack decides to participate in them, more power to him.
Question: If Edwards were still in the race, do you think there would be a chance in hell that HRC would be wanting a debate on FOX? Puh-leeze.
February 6, 2008 2:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
To this very day, Senator John McCain agrees with Hillary Rodham Clinton that her vote to authorize the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq was not a Reckless,and Catastrophic mistake by Hillary.
February 6, 2008 2:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Then go back to your life....that's what make America great....I too am a vet not a angry vet but to a vet. It's true I know all I need to know I want America to know all it needs to know.
February 6, 2008 2:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Then convince me.
February 6, 2008 2:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Uh-oh. Not good, not at all. This problem is for real. This is no tinfoil hat shit. Obama’s got serious issues. When old McCain gets his hands on this and shoves it through the GOP attack machine, oh my! “I’m a war hero and the Democrat is a crypto Muslim who is connected to Saddam Hussein”.
The DNC should intervene now and pull Barack Obama out. If he goes on he’ll derail the whole election for the Dems.
The trial in Chicago hasn’t even started and yet there is seemingly no end to ever increasing Obama/Rezko shit. Obama’ll be worse off than Dukakis ever was come November.
February 6, 2008 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Richard:
From what I read, there are connections to Rezko and this character. But what I didn't see were connections between Obama and this character. By your logic, Obama should be implicated in Rezko's schemes with the governor. I mean, he knew Rezko, and Rezko is implicated in these schemes.
That's not how a scandal works. There would have to be some actual connection between the deals Rezko and this character had and Obama. There aren't any. No matter of wishful thinking is going to create them. Until there is evidence pointing into that direction, suggesting that mere knowledge of the man implicates Obama in all of illegal/wayward schemes is tinfoil hat shit.
February 6, 2008 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Kefa, if you don't know "the issues" yet you are a complete idiot and there is no hope for you no matter how many debates we have. I'm frankly tired of hearing the same shit over and over again. If people haven't figured it all out yet, they can go research it the old fashion way. The debates aren't going to give us anything new.
February 6, 2008 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey Colson,
Do you have anything besides innuendo?
...
No?
Do you really want to play gotcha politics? Okay, I'll give you the Clintons, I'll take Obama plus the point spread.
February 6, 2008 3:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
And Colson, I hope that link was a joke, because that crap on there is the most ridiculous thing I've heard all season, much more so than the Muslim crap or the Reagan loving crap...that is beyond laughable. I'm embarrassed for you. How shameless you Hillbots are.
February 6, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's the line that made me stop:
...McCain uniting the GOP behind him and training fire on the Dems, this dynamic will only get more pressing.
Really? McCain uniting the GOP? I'm not seeing it.
This is 1996 all over again. McCain is Dole, the guy nobody really wants but will settle on because, well, he deserves it for being around longer than the others.
The difference is that Romney is a more effective Steve Forbes and Huckabee is a more effective (by orders of magnitude!) Alan Keyes.
February 6, 2008 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry, but I think this is nonsense. McCain will have a tougher time 'gearing up to take on the Dems' because he won't know which one to target. Furthermore, the Democrats will be getting most of the publicity, since the continuing primaries in this very tight contest will be extremely newsworthy.
This nominating process is the best thing that could have happened for the Democrats. It's got a lot of people interested, and a lot of Democrats all fired up. We could have settled on the assumed winner last summer,... and we would have picked the wrong one. Would we be better off now? Hardly.
We're on a roll. Let's enjoy it. Go, Obama!
February 6, 2008 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
too bad no one in the chicago press ever examined obama's connections; then we wouldn't have this unheard-of bombshell sandbagging our nominee, coming out of nowhere because no one's ever heard of tony rezko before.
February 6, 2008 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I’m sure the Ripublicanswill play nice this fall. They won’t concoct anything that could possibly hurt Obama. Absolutely not. Positively negative. Not a soul will hear the whispers of Rezko, Auchi and Giannoulias. Everyone will come together to sing Kumbayah and worship the Obama.
Riiight…
February 6, 2008 10:15 PM | Reply | Permalink