2008
MAKES NO SENSE
By: John LeBoutillier
Here we are seven weeks away from the November Congressional elections and all the Sunday morning shows talk about is the 2008 presidential race!!!
And all those inside-the-beltway hosts and talking heads agree on two things: the likely GOP nominee is John McCain and the likely Democratic nominee is Hillary Clinton.
Not only that, these self-chosen ‘experts’ - who are almost always wrong - actually are rooting for McCain and Hillary! You can hear it and see it when you watch them fall all over themselves analyzing a race - before this year’s crucial elections have even happened!
McCain vs. Hillary. Hmmmm... How much do you want to bet that at least one if not both of these candidacies does not make it to their party’s nomination?
The mood of the electorate is angry and disconsolate about the direction we are taking. Yes, there has been a slight up-tick for the GOP and President Bush lately undoubtedly due to the 9/11 anniversary and lower gas prices.
But, overall, the American people are restless - and it seems unlikely that today’s status quo of McCain and Hillary as the front-runners will stay that way for another 18-23 months.
For McCain, the path to the GOP nomination is tougher than his media acolytes understand: McCain is at odds with GOP primary voters over so many issue - especially immigration. How can Teddy Kennedy’s pro-amnesty partner get the GOP voter to support him? It just makes no sense!
And McCain is wrong on other things, too, such as campaign finance reform. Plus, he is a rude, condescending, arrogant little man who revels in insulting people who dare to disagree with him.
Along the way he has gone to great extremes to insult conservatives - the very people he is now wooing for the nomination.
Now, in order to defeat McCain for the Republican nomination, a dynamite conservative challenger has to emerge. And he has not so far. George Allen, even when he is re-elected in Virginia, is now damaged goods and exposed as a light-weight; he isn’t the man to take on McCain.
As of today, that leaves us with Governor Mitt Romney. A very attractive candidate, it is still to be determined if he can grab the title of Mr. Conservative and take on McCain and rip him apart. He wants to, that’s for sure. But will his Mormonsim hurt him among GOP faithful? We don’t know.
Or, perhaps another conservative challenger will emerge to take on McCain.
Rudy Giuliani’s name scores well in polls, too. But he is way to the left of McCain and it makes no sense that he can be the Right’s man to take on McCain.
As for Hillary, the Democrats must be terminally stupid to nominate another Northeast liberal (see Dukakis and Kerry). And she is a liberal - no matter if she is from Illinois or Arkansas (see McGovern and Gore).
If the Democrats want to win the White House, they need to look at Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton: both southern moderate governors.
But the media - rife with 1960's social leftists - wants this “first woman president” campaign so badly they can taste it. As if that issue has anything to do with what is ailing our country.
Hillary may win her party’s nomination. But maybe saner heads (if they have any left over there) will realize that she is another Kerry or Dean or Dukakis waiting to be diced and spliced by the GOP. Maybe they’re so desperate to win the White House back that they’ll come to their senses and coalesce behind another candidate who could win in a general election.
Whatever happens, we can all count on many, many changes of direction in the next weeks and months.
The odds of McCain vs. Clinton in 2008 are less than these TV Talking Heads think.
Maybe the American people should - and will - have some say in who our next president is.
"Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
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