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RSS icon Comments on The Contenders: John McCain

1

Full disclosure: I am at this point in my life a die-hard Democrat, and it will be a cold day in hell before I vote for a Republican.

That being said, McCain used to be one of the few Repugs I grudgingly admired. I served 8 years in the military, and have a great deal of respect for his military service and sacrifice. He used to seem pretty independent and moderate, for a Republican, and has on occasion stood up and refused to tow the party line. While imperfect, you have to give him credit for his efforts at real champaign finance reform.

But honestly, in the last couple of years, I have lost all respect I once had for the man. He publicly denounced Bush's abandonment of the Geneva Conventions, but later basically caved. He used to resist the worst of the right wing crazies, but now openly courts them. It seems obvious that he is now willing to sell his soul, and any credibility he once had, in a last attempt to run for president.

It is way too early to tell, but everyone seems to tout him as the presumed Republican front-runner at this point. He could very well win the R primary.

I'm gonna cry if this weasel ends up being our next president. I would not have said that in 2000. (I would of course still have preferred Gore over McCain in 2000. But if we had to have a R, McCain would have been better than Shrub.)

Right now it seems unlikely to me that he could win a general election. His support of the idea of sending yet more troops to Iraq will cost him a ton of votes, with the war being so unpopular, and getting less popular by the day. But the primaries are a long way off, so who knows?

Posted by SDA in SEA | January 3, 2007 3:55 PM
2

That is the weirdest hug I've ever seen.

Posted by keshmeshi | January 3, 2007 5:02 PM
3

status - McCain is dead in the water. won't happen. not gunna be Pres.

Posted by Will in Seattle | January 3, 2007 5:02 PM
4

John McCain is far right on economic and social issues; please correct this misconception. He is against choice, very against marriage equality for gays and lesbians, and also against allowing us to serve openly in the military, to name a few. In fact, he recently stated that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is working well even after the GAO reported it has been a fiscal and practical disaster. Name a social justice or civil rights issue and you'll discover that he's against it.

That picture of him almost sucking at the teat of Bush II is sick, sick, sick, especially when you consider the despicable lies that Bush II and Karl Rove spread about him during the 2000 primaries. The manly simply has no principals or honor.

Sorry, but McCain is as regressive and backward as a Kentucky Klansman --he just has better PR.

Posted by Original Andrew | January 3, 2007 5:10 PM
5

I don't know if I believe the studies which show that the presidential winner comes down to physical appearance, e.g. presidents are always above average height, and we clearly vote for actors like Reagan and Schwarzenegger and buy into Bush's fake Texas commoner image, and some said that Dukakis lost because he looks too greek. With women such as Hillary Clinton, they are constantly described by their clothes and appearance. If it's true that this is an important principle, McCain isn't quite as beautiful as Clinton, Reagan or Bush, although Giuliani has a lisp. Perhaps they'd have to set him against a funny looking democrat.

Posted by Trudi | January 3, 2007 6:14 PM
6

Inexplicably, the mainstream media loves McCain. He still has this phony rep of being a maverick and the pundit shows treat him with kid gloves. His great PR will make him tough to beat if he isn't destroyed by scandal or a speaking graff.

Posted by neo-realist | January 3, 2007 10:08 PM
7

He sold out the people who liked him to court the people who will never fully embrace him.

He's Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls.

Posted by monkey | January 4, 2007 11:48 AM

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