Comments on: Maverick No More?

By: wj

wj — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 21:08:57 +0000

JS, I’m not saying that a governor would necessarily do well in the job. Just that some kind of executive experience seems to be necessary to actually get elected. (I think Kennedy is the only exception in a century or so.) So if you want a candidate who might actually win the general election, governors (and perhaps mayor of major cities) and other executives are the pools that you start looking in. In short, not a sufficient criterion, but apparently a necessary one.

By: Jim S

Jim S — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 04:41:35 +0000

Of course if you just look at what we got the last time people voted for a Republican governor…

By: kilroy

kilroy — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 02:07:51 +0000

As a definition of what “moderate” means, I think Alan’s last comment says a lot.

By: Alan Stewart Carl

Alan Stewart Carl — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 23:54:36 +0000

I should have said that Democratic options also exist for moderates … I was speaking only about the Republican side of things.

By: Alan Stewart Carl

Alan Stewart Carl — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 23:53:30 +0000

I think moderates are left with Giuliani and maybe Mitt Romney (although I wouldn’t vote for the man). Giuliani has, of course, stumped heavily in favor of Bush but if your criterea is a Republican that hasn’t loudly backed Bush, then you’ll hit a dead end pretty fast.

By: wj

wj — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:51:13 +0000

McCain is basically a Western conservative. As opposed to the big-government “conservatives” currently controlling the Republican party. That makes him a maverick. It does not, however, make him a liberal, or even a moderate on most issues.

I think too many of us took his resistance to the Bush Republican corps, and perhaps his willingness to speak with more frankness than most politicians, and from there projected our own hopes for the Republican party onto him. I know I did; I suspect that Dennis and Andrew did as well.

So, is it time to start looking around for another Republican for 2008? Yes, I think so. To have a chance to win the general election, it has to be either a governor (current or ex-) or at least someone who has demonstrated some executive ability elsewhere. To win the primaries it probably has to be someone who is noticably right of center on most issues.

Of course, the Democrats have the same needs, except left of center rather than right. Whichever party manages to find someone who meets both the criteria will elect the next president. Forget the various senators (unless they have a governor’s mansion in their past) and pick your choices now….

By: m.takhallus

m.takhallus — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:32:36 +0000

He’s been dead to me for some time. As Jon Stewart says, he’s been driving the straight talk express to bullshittown.

Would I vote for Hillary over McCain? Yes. Now, I would.

By: tik2roo

tik2roo — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 20:52:51 +0000

It’s like he’s become a pod person or something. When will the center become cohesive enough to prevent these god-awful melt-downs?

By: Eural

Eural — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 20:07:39 +0000

I’ve spent the last several years trying to figure out what’s “maverick” about McCain other than he keeps saying he is. Just like Bush keeps claiming to be a “uniter” and Delay keeps claiming to be “innocent”. The proof is in their actions not their words.

By: sleipner

sleipner — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 19:24:51 +0000

I’m with Gary – McCain used to be the Republican I despised least, now he’s in the middle of the pack.

By: gal

gal — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 19:08:04 +0000

I’ve lost a lot of respect for him. But I am concerned for his health — he does not look well in recent TV appearances.

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:52:28 +0000

I used to have a little respect for Mc.Cain. I even voted for him in New Hampshire when he beat Bush, but now, I’ve lost all respect for him.

By: machete

machete — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:50:33 +0000

big fan of mccain. not a fan of what he’s doing in this ad.

By: Alan Stewart Carl

Alan Stewart Carl — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:28:07 +0000

The sad thing is, try as he might with this kind of pandering, the rightwing of the Republican party simply does not like McCain. He’s reaching for support he just won’t get while losing support he could have won.