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MAC A FLASHBACK TO GOP'S 1996 DOLE-DRUMS
New York Post ^ | April 4th, 2008 | Charles Hurt

Posted on 04/04/2008 1:17:17 PM PDT by The_Republican

WASHINGTON - A great old war hero - arms man gled by battle and known as an acerbic straight shooter - is picked by Republicans to be their nominee to make darned certain that a Clinton doesn't get back into the White House.

John McCain?

No, Bob Dole in 1996.

And it didn't work out very well for Republicans.

Dole lost after a campaign vexed by senior moments such as when the nominee fell off a stage, or when he referred to the Los Angeles Dodgers as the Brooklyn Dodgers.

All along, President Bill Clinton showed extreme deference to Dole, heralded his "long service" to the country and talked about what a war hero he was.

That's exactly how Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama begin every reference to McCain these days.

"The guy's a war hero," Obama likes to say, heralding McCain's captivity. When he goes on to talk about the "fierce urgency of now," Obama leaves McCain coughing in the dust.

With McCain, who turns 72 later this year, all we get is the "fierce urgency of yesteryear."

Even before settling on their own nominee, Democrats have begun ridiculing the Republican challenger as a kooky old man.

A recent Democratic campaign video shows McCain during a press conference in Iraq veering wildly off-message, only to be publicly corrected by his friend and colleague, Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Only five years older than Lieberman, McCain looks rattled and confused by comparison.

To mark McCain's appearance on David Letterman this week, Democrats drew up a Top 10 list of reasons to vote for John McCain.

No. 7 was "Early bird specials at the White House cafeteria."

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 1996; 2008; bobdole; dole; kooky; mccain; old; rino
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1 posted on 04/04/2008 1:17:17 PM PDT by The_Republican
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To: The_Republican

Dole lost because some doofus wrote him a convention speech that said “I want to build a bridge to the past...”

Okay, that’s only part of it. But I don’t think the age factor will play the same for McCain as it did for Dole.

Not sure ~why~ I think that, but I do.


2 posted on 04/04/2008 1:21:15 PM PDT by Corin Stormhands
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To: The_Republican

Anyone with a modicum of objectivity who did not snore through the debates could see that John McCain did not seem to be all there.

That coupled with his horrendous record on almost all things conservative and his temper towards anyone willing to correct him on his wrong positions on the issues makes him unfit in my book to be CIC.


3 posted on 04/04/2008 1:23:23 PM PDT by SoConPubbie (GOP: If you reward bad behavior all you get is more bad behavior.)
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To: Corin Stormhands

Never forget, either, that Clinton never received 50% of the popular vote in either election, yet won anyway.

I’m trepidatious that this will happen again, given the conservatives’ dislike of McCain.


4 posted on 04/04/2008 1:28:29 PM PDT by MrB (You can't reason people out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place)
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To: SoConPubbie

We can only hope that under a Demo president people will wake up and come to their senses. Then maybe Repubs will take back Congress, this time by even larger margins.

One difference between ‘96 and ‘08 though is that Bill Clinton is not an incumbent. Hillary is no Bill, and Obama has some weaknesses Bill did not have. Still I think the Dems have the edge in this election. Reading this piece makes me think that even more.


5 posted on 04/04/2008 1:28:51 PM PDT by TNCMAXQ
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To: The_Republican
All along, President Bill Clinton showed extreme deference to Dole, heralded his "long service" to the country and talked about what a war hero he was.

Bull! The Klintoon campaign savaged Bob Dole at every turn and their media sycophants made sure his fall off that stage was played endlessly. Meanwhile, nary a mention was made of the Klintoons incinerating 84 American citizens, ignoring terrorist attacks in 1993 and 1996, giving missile technology to the Chicoms through Loral and supercomputers by relaxing controls on computer exports including moving jurisdiction to the Commerce Department from the State Department.

6 posted on 04/04/2008 1:34:07 PM PDT by Dahoser (America's great untapped alternative energy source: The Founding Fathers spinning in their graves.)
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To: Dahoser

... and killing Christians in the Balkans to help the Muslims who were allied with Al-Qaeda.


7 posted on 04/04/2008 1:36:01 PM PDT by wildandcrazyrussian
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To: The_Republican

And so it starts. RINO McPain will be compared to osama obama or the hildebeast, and the voters will be asked “which one will bring you change?”


8 posted on 04/04/2008 1:39:54 PM PDT by lilylangtree (Veni, Vidi, Vici)
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To: The_Republican
I have never believed that history will repeat completely. While surely there are similarities between Dole and McCain, there are also many dissimilarities. Dole was not considered 'maverick' that might attract independent to vote for him. Dole was against an incumbent president, which at that time not yet tainted by, err... a certain blue dress. And so on...

Similarly, I am not buying that to turn things around the GOP needs to be crushed first, like some people around here suggest.

9 posted on 04/04/2008 2:07:03 PM PDT by paudio (Michelle Obama: a Typical Black Woman)
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To: The_Republican

Bob Dole lost because he had the personality of a turnip.


10 posted on 04/04/2008 2:22:27 PM PDT by LiberConservative (Part of the "Vast Typical White Guy Conspiracy")
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To: The_Republican

Both Bush I and Dole lost because of Perot. It’s that simple. Unless another third party conservative-leaning candidate runs again, McCain has a real shot.


11 posted on 04/04/2008 2:28:49 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
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To: The_Republican

Bill Clinton would still be chasing trailer trash in Arkansas if it hadn’t been for Ross Perot, both times.

That said, watch the Obamanators of the MSM turn “feisty, straight-talking maverick war hero John McCain” into “Naasty, stubborn, clueless old coot deranged by commie torturers Bob Dole redux”.


12 posted on 04/04/2008 2:31:11 PM PDT by Argus (Obama: All turban and no goats.)
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To: The_Republican
The ageist attacks are predictable, but McCain has already taken the sting out of them by stating flatly that he will select a highly qualified VP, given his age. I think attacking him on the basis of age is a very poor move and may backfire.

While we're making personal observations, I wonder if anyone else finds Obama's thinness rather striking. There's something odd about his languid temperament and slender build, uncharacteristic of a man nearing fifty (also uncharacteristic of a man whom old photographs reveal to have been chubby in childhood).

Michelle Obama works with a personal trainer and looks athletic. Obama may be athletic also, but I don't think exercise alone could account for his appearance. He says he never smoked heavily and is now a non-smoker. He says he long ago gave up cocaine. How do you account for it?

13 posted on 04/04/2008 2:33:43 PM PDT by Tea in the Harbor (Cannibals elect cannibal kings.)
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To: Tea in the Harbor

Fasting during Ramadan.


14 posted on 04/04/2008 2:42:48 PM PDT by hedgie
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To: The_Republican
Another article written by a guy who MUST write regularly, therefore he has to say SOMETHING. He CAN'T say the truth which is that this election will be over the second Barack McGovern accepts the nomination.
The only interest I have in watching the “experts” on TV lately is listening for the most ridiculous explanation of why this is a “Democrat” year.
15 posted on 04/04/2008 2:45:46 PM PDT by jmaroneps37 (Conservatives live in the truth. Liberals live in lies.)
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To: The_Republican

Another article written by a guy who MUST write regularly, therefore he has to say SOMETHING. He CAN’T say the truth which is that this election will be over the second Barack McGovern accepts the nomination.
The only interest I have in watching the “experts” on TV lately is listening for the most rediculous explanation of why this is a “Democrat” year.


16 posted on 04/04/2008 2:46:10 PM PDT by jmaroneps37 (Conservatives live in the truth. Liberals live in lies.)
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To: hedgie

LOL That happens only once a year. :-)


17 posted on 04/04/2008 2:49:06 PM PDT by Tea in the Harbor (Cannibals elect cannibal kings.)
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To: Zhang Fei
Both Bush I and Dole lost because of Perot.

Bush I lost because he ran the sorriest re-election campaign in history.

After he lost, in an interview, he was asked why he failed to run a more aggressive campaign.

His response: He thought he would win anyway because he was the incumbent.

==

McCain's problem is that, in the primaries, he ran on his support for the surge in Iraq. That may be his downfall in the general election, because being war-military did not help Bush I in his re-election, nor Dole, nor Gore, nor Kerry.

McCain is going to have to show something more. And he has admitted he doesn't know much about economics. So, he better hope the economy has turned around by November.
18 posted on 04/04/2008 3:22:25 PM PDT by TomGuy
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To: Tea in the Harbor
I think attacking him on the basis of age is a very poor move and may backfire.

They don't have to attack him. All they have to do is show a few videos like the one below, that shows McCain a doddering old guy.

This is the best the GOP has to offer?

The video at the link below shows McCain as a tottering old guy who stammers and makes significant misstatements even in this short speech.

In politics, one misstatement or misstep can ruin a career. A Lazio encroachment. A Deaniac scream. An Allen macaca moment.

McCain made 2 slip-ups in this single video. He stumbles on the word dispirited and then replaces it with spirited. Then, he stumbles by calling himself a conservative liberal Republican and replaces it with conservative Republican.

Then, McCain ended this short speech by vowing to continue to infringe on and quell First Amendment rights, when he says that 527's should be outlawed.

This is who the GOP is sending to challenge Obama or Clinton??????

McCain a 'Proud Liberal'? (Video)

Watch this Must See video and then visualize this guy going up against Obama in a series of debates.

19 posted on 04/04/2008 3:25:15 PM PDT by TomGuy
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To: Corin Stormhands

Dole was horrible in the debates; his wife told him not to go for the jugular because she did not want to miss all those social gatherings in DC.

McCain is not afraid to debate the libs and he is quidk witted.


20 posted on 04/04/2008 3:30:29 PM PDT by DLfromthedesert (Michael Steele for VP)
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