Very astute Mad as heck.
The conservative base is what nominates the republican standard bearer as does the liberal base what nominates the democRAt nominee.
No way McCain passes the smell test to the vast majority of conservatives. Especially after his support for amnesty.
At this point the conservative sense of smell has been honed to blood hound like sensitivity. We have been burned by one too many RINO and bowed to the "lesser of two evils" dodge one too many times.
If we want a real conservative that isn't insane or yachting buddies with Ted Kennedy we need to make sure we get them in the primary. McCain ain't the real deal...