This is completely wrong. McCain worked nonstop from 5am to 11pm everyday up here in NH and never once appeared tired. Reagan was an old man as well and I think I heard his named mentioned about 30 times last night. If you look at the realclearpolitics.com polls of potential matchups, McCain beats Clinton and Obama rather easily.
The far right wing does not deserve to have the final say in choosing a candidate...you are responsible for the loss of congress in '06 due to you unquestioned support of Rumsfeld and Bush's failed war planning (along with 25,000 needless casualties in Iraq until the surge was forced on them by moderate republicans). If the far right wins and puts up Thompson, then get used to President Hillary. Now is the time to build a center-right coalition in order to win. Yes you have to stray slightly from your core beliefs but do you think a Democrat president and congress would be better?
You can't have it all my friends on the far right, and you will wind up with nothing if you continue with the "my way or the highway" approach to this election.
Tell me friend, what am I going to have to give up to keep a Republican in the White House?
Lower taxes?
Less spending?
Right to life?
Marriage classified as being between a man and a woman?
The Second Amendment?
Resurrecting amnesty for illegal aliens?
Two (or more) of these giveaways will keep me from voting for a Republican. McCain, except for Iraq, has been on the wrong side of most conservative issues.
You call yourself a sensible centrist, but you sound more like a Democrat. You also sound like you've got your own "my way or the highway" attitude.
For a Center Rightist a Democrat Administration would be better then a McCain Administration.
For Conservatives McCain is the worst of all worlds.
From Tax-cuts to the War to Judges McCain’s whole strategy has been to be as Liberal as possible and stay in the GOP.
Politically there is very little difference between Hillary and McCain. McCain has done nothing for the Conservative movement in 8 years. Other then talking a good game on spending he has done nothing. He has actively worked against the Conservatives on Social issues, on the WOT, on Iraq, on Gitmo, against Rummy, on Immigration and on Judges, on Global Warming etc etc etc etc etc. McCain has far more in common with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama then he does with Tom Coburn or the Senate GOP.
McCain would be the worse of both worlds. A mislabeled “Conservative” Administration actively advancing the Democrat Party’s agenda while knifing Conservatives in the back daily. You could count on a McCain Administration to appoint Leftist Judges in order to avoid fighting with the Democrats in the US Senate.
McCain would fracture the few remaining GOP Congress critters into pro and anti McCain factions. McCain would be the worst of all world politically for the Conservatives.
At least with a Democrat Leftist Administration, as opposed to a McCain Leftist with a GOP Label Administration, the Democrats would get all the political fall out of their disastrous political decisions and the GOP would unite in fighting them. I do know who would be the worst of all possible worlds, that would be McCain.