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MCCAIN WINS.
Obama won Vermont, Hillary won Rhode Island. Big states being truculent as of 10 pm. It's worth remarking, though, on John McCain's win tonight, which finally secured him the Republican nomination. His has been among the most remarkable political comebacks of our age. A few months ago, his campaign was dead, his staff fired, his bank account dry, his name a punchline. Tonight, he's the Republican nominee, and particularly as the Democratic race drags out, he looks fairly formidable. And whatever else you want to say about the guy, he didn't win by capitulating to hardcore xenophobes, like Romney attempted to do, or by running a campaign of blatant fear mongering, like Giuliani. He won by being solidly wrong on just about every issue facing the republic, and unaware of a couple others, but he wasn't venal about it. And in the Republican primary, that's something.
COMMENTS (11)
He looks fairly formidable? What funhouse mirror are you looking into?
Conservatives hate him. The ostensible leader of his party has an approval rating in the thirties. He has money problems. He's old. He espouses continuation of a war that most people want over now, if not yesterday. He's cantankerous, and mean, in a country that prefers nice, and upbeat. His economic policy is hash, and the country is already into a fairly serious recession with a crisisin hme mortgages that he has no answer for.
Again... formidable? how?
Posted by: weboy | March 4, 2008 10:33 PM
When liberal voters disagree with McCain but respect him, that creates an opportunity to win some votes. Obama has the same dynamic in his favor. Conservatives disagree with him but are open to voting for him because he's not nasty about it.
Unfortunately, in most primaries, the various competitors go out of their way to not just demonize their political opposition, but their political opposition's voters as well. Howard Dean's disrespect for conservative voters in 2003 and 2004 was a big example.
Posted by: Adam herman | March 4, 2008 10:51 PM
Ohio called for Clinton. MSNBC speculates her campaign will say Texas is insignificant if Obama wins it, or at least will say "irregularities" make it questionable.
Posted by: Unapologetic Andrew | March 4, 2008 10:54 PM
He will continue to look formidable as long as the democratic pillow fight continues on. What are we on now round 27? Yeah Wyoming!
Posted by: jenga | March 4, 2008 10:56 PM
Still reminds me of Kerry in '04.
Posted by: dbt | March 4, 2008 10:58 PM
Howard Dean's disrespect for conservative voters in 2003 and 2004 was a big example
Howard Dean was the candidate who said that confederate-flag waving whites should be the ones supporting Democrats, because that's where their interested lay, and that he could make the case to them.
Now, of course, Howard Dean had much disrespect for the policies of conservative presidents, but I should hope he would have.
Posted by: Tyro | March 4, 2008 11:12 PM
weboy: "He looks fairly formidable? What funhouse mirror are you looking into?"
Yes, he is formidable! Very, very formidable. I don't know what world you're living in but Hillary Clinton is one of the most reviled people in America and Barack Obama is a black man with an exotic name. This election is going to be tough.
Posted by: Korha | March 4, 2008 11:15 PM
Korha, the fact that the race will be tough, or hard fought, does not mean McCain is formidable (indeed, if he were formidable, we wouldn't have a chance); it means a lot of people have strong points of view. Democrats - be it "the most hated woman in America" or "the colored fellow with the funny name" - are extremely well positioned, and dare I say... formidable opponents. We know it, and they know it. Let's not mope until we have something to mope about. McCain has tremendous flaws and even at his successful moment, looks surprisingly weak (56% in Texas, more than a third for Huckabee, and he was the presumptive nominee going into tonight - that vote was entirely protest; not a good sign). Tough race? Sure. Not in our favor? Please.
Posted by: weboy | March 4, 2008 11:47 PM
Tough race = formidable. Don't play games with language everyone understands. I think Clinton and Obama both have >50% chances of winning the general election vs. McCain. That doesn't change the reality that McCain is still very formidable and still well positioned to win the race--as you admitted when you agreed the race will be tough.
Posted by: Korha | March 4, 2008 11:58 PM
Then, I should be clearer, Korha - I think the race will be angry and full of harsh rhetoric, which is my notion of "tough" - politics ain't beanbag, and this race promises to be mean and hard fought. However, I don't think - and see nothing much to change my mind - that McCain is "well positioned to win the race. Indeed, I think the general national mood, his against the grain stands on a number of issues (both domestic and foreign), and the internal divisions within the GOP make him extremely poorly positioned. Were he in a better position, the race would not, in fact, be tough. It is tough, because he is weak, and I'm not worried, because he is likely to lose.
Posted by: weboy | March 5, 2008 12:08 AM
It's interesting that the GOP race came down to most likeable, seemingly principled candidates, knocking out the phonies, the jerks and and fear-mongerers.
Yeah I know, McCain isn't pure as snow as he pretends, and he's running on a Iraq war forever platform. And yes Huckabee is a chemically pure theocon. But he is an appealing guy who actually seems to understand the struggles faced by the Wal Mart voters that GOP has cyncically used for years.
This guy came in second place in the GOP presidential primary using the resources of a city council candidate.
Posted by: AMH | March 5, 2008 11:29 AM