Posted on 01/11/2008 11:24:25 AM PST by Checkers
If John McCain is somehow prevented from winning the nomination, it wont be because of his fellow candidates.
Last night, the rest of the field refused to lay a glove on McCain. Many conservatives I talk to still assume he will fall of his own weight. And, truth be told, the other campaigns visceral dislike of Mitt Romney is blinding them to the need for a strong voice to articulate the conservative bases deep distrust of McCain.
For McCain, a seemingly impossible confluence of events have had the effect of parting the waters for his previously treacherous path to the nomination.
First, McCain emerged from the back of the pack. The conservative establishment didnt know if this was serious or not, so they didnt organize. At the outset, Romney probably found this useful to knock off Rudy in NH. Then Rudy decided he didnt have the warewithal to challenge his friend McCain in a pro-choice, Northeastern state.
In Iowa too, Huckabee used McCain as a club to bash Romney. Romney only started attacking McCain in late December, and then only on McCains home field of New Hampshire.
Okay, I can see letting New Hampshire slip. That happened in 2000. But certainly South Carolina could be counted on finish him off for us. Is McCain getting any heat there?
Not much.
Mitt Romney has to save himself first, and hes doing that in Michigan. That probably necessitates a pivot to a more positive message. Like other cash-strapped candidates, hes counting on Huckabee to finish the job in SC. Its also probably too late for any 527s to get going.
(Excerpt) Read more at hughhewitt.townhall.com ...
McVain will self-destruct. He can’t help it.
Your hero, Mitt Romney, is not spending a single penny criticizing John McCain.
Why won't Mitt spend any money to criticize McCain? Is he out of money? Is it because people think Mitt's a liar and they don't believe his criticisms of McCain?
Why do the Mittbots continue to insist that Fred Thompson do Mitt's dirty work for him?
>> The effort last year to stop McCains Comprehensive Immigration Reform is becoming very clearly to be an eruption of effort that had no basis in principle.
That’s just silly. Don’t be melodramatic.
>> They are supporting a candidate who wont make the effort to stop McCain.
I’d say running AGAINST McCain qualifies as “making an effort” to stop him.
Incidentally, I remember Fred calling out McCain on his immigration plan last night. Granted, his statement wasn’t as scathing as his attacks on Huck ... but it nonetheless existed. Fred also released several statements specifically decrying CIR.
>> Hell, they might as well be supporting McCain.
More melodrama.
>> If it was petulance, then its not surprising at all they are letting McCain be nominated.
Supporting Thompson seems to be the antithesis of “letting McCain be nominated”.
H
Mitt went head to head with Huckabilly in Iowa, and lost.
Mitt went head to head with McCrazy in NH, and lost.
In Mi he is going against them both and....( third?).
It’s not going to get better Hugh.
Notice how McCain and Huckabee are so nice to each other.
I think they will join forces, and it just might work. McCain can pull indies and Huckabee the fundies. And I doubt anyone here is going to sit it out, esp. if Hillary is running. Romney won’t play second but Huckabee will and with McCain’s age and health issues may find himself in the catbird’s seat.
Assume, for the sake of argument, that Fred Thompson is trying above all to win the Republican nomination. Is it your opinion that attacking McCain now on immigration is obviously the best way for Fred to accomplish his goal? Do you believe that Fred is obliged to attack McCain on immigration now irrespective of whether this best helps him win the nomination? Even if it hurts Fred's chances?
I believe that Fred is trying to win the nominaton and that attacking Huckabee now and not attacking McCain now are part of his strategy for doing so. I want Fred to be the nominee and I support him in his efforts.
Got a link for that?
It appears more likely that he is allied with Arthur Branch. Arthur has had a 'hands off' approach to McCain.
That didn’t stop several fred supporters from the “dirty trick” of claiming Romney had “pulled out” of South Carolina.
Because the guy in 3rd place in the polls always pulls out to let the guy in 4th place have an easier time.
You guys know it. Each and every one of you know it. Thompson’s big last stand is to be South Carolina and he won’t even attack the front runner there.
There is no escaping this. There is no maneuver available to talk about Romney’s spending — because the subject of the moment is strictly, explicitly and specifically, Thompson. It is HIS failure to try to survive in South Carolina that is the subject of the moment. It is HIS betrayal of his donors who sent money to him that is the subject of the moment.
Much time is spent talking of Thompson’s behavior on FR, except when it is time to face the music and see that he won’t make the effort to take down the leader in the state he MUST have.
On the other hand, it would get McCain out of the senate, and into a position where he has no power.
>>
Assume, for the sake of argument, that Fred Thompson is trying above all to win the Republican nomination. Is it your opinion that attacking McCain now on immigration is obviously the best way for Fred to accomplish his goal?
>>
Of course it is. McCain leads in South Carolina and Thompson has HIMSELF said he is all in there. He HAS to win there, and he’s not trying to take down the leader.
He can’t win the nomination if he can’t survive past the state where he is all in.
He doesn’t care. Neither do his supporters. Last year’s immigration effort was petulance. They are supporting a man who is letting the leader of CIR win.
I disagree that Fred's best strategic move now is to attack McCain. I think Fred is smart to try to take down Huck now, let McCain and Romney battle it out in Michigan, and then try to beat McCain later after McCain has taken out Mittens.
People can have different views regarding strategy without having been corrupted.
The author is Patrick Ruffini.
That’s the disinformatsia we’re supposed to believe; the smokescreen to hide the real Myth/John alliance.
What is your reasoning for Mitt stopping all his ad buys in South Carolina and Florida?
Either he's running out of money and has only enough money left for Michigan and maybe Nevada, or he's preparing to drop out of the race if he loses Michigan.
Either way, he's not seriously competing in South Carolina.
If Huck wasn't just vying for a VP slot in a McCain presidency he would be hammering McCain on his liberal leanings, except they both lean the same way so he would have to hammer himself too.
I thought he did a rather good job on his self, he is a committed lier, if he really did want to stop ear marks the senate good time bill just past would still be pending. His amnesty plain, I'll let the governors sign on a paper bag we have a fence then we'll have amnesty. They should have convicted the turd mouth over the Keatin Five scam.
I would NOT want to see McCain anywhere near the Whitehouse. If McCain was the VP, he would go on doing everything he can to undermine the Conservative President. It would be insane to put McInsane as VP. He is too unstable to be anywhere near the Presidency. McCain rightfully belongs in retirement, hopefully never to be heard from again.
McCain is ahead in the most recent SC polls and he has put a tremendous amount of effort in the state, attending 69 events in the state since Jan 2007.
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