[gridlock]

A lot of the “smart” people on our side figured out early on that the Republicans were going to lose this time around. They looked at the generic ballot numbers and the popularity rating of President Bush, and figured it was a Democrat Year, and the best thing the Republicans could do about it was to lose quietly.

So John McCain - 2000 Edition, is their ideal candidate. In 2000, McCain was upright and positive, didn’t make any waves, and lost with class. Kind of like the New York Yankees for the past eight years. This was the country-club, blue-blood prescription for 2008 from the git-go. McCain was supposed to run a nice, quiet, centrist campaign, and move the center of the Republican Party over to the Left. In doing so, he would get pasted by whomever the Democrats ran, of course, but to the Centrist Wing of the Republican Party, moving their own party to the Center was the only thing they thought they were likely to achieve this time around.

But nobody told John McCain that he was supposed to lose. John McCain is out there trying to win this thing, and John McCain is no fool. McCain realized that the Center means defeat, and that the only way to win this thing was to give people a reason to vote Republican by promoting Conservative principles of thrift, strength and family values. So he skipped over all of the boring Centrist get-along types, and for his biggest decision, he tapped Sarah Palin.

Now, McCain is being soundly criticized for this choice. But when you hear this criticism, you should apply this simple test: Would John McCain be anywhere near competitive in this race if he had picked Tim Pawlenty for a running mate? Or Olympia Snowe? Or Mitt Romney? These picks would have signaled to one and all that McCain was happy to lose with class to Barack Obama, and it would have been broadly acceptable for that very reason. But when McCain picked Palin, he signaled that he was not ready to lose with class, and that he was, in fact, not ready to lose at all. That is the real reason people got enthusiastic about the Republican ticket for the first time. Because with the choice of Palin, McCain signaled for the first time that he would not be happy to lose.

Now, I have a lot of Democrat friends, who have picked the name next to the (D) in every election all their adult lives, who are complaining that John McCain is not the John McCain of 2000. They say that they might have actually voted for McCain if he had run a Centrist, dignified campaign. This is complete nonsense, of course. In November, they are going to pick the (D) just as they have for the past 30 years, and just like their parents did the 40 years before that. Gaining their vote was always a mirage, and John McCain is smart enough to know that.

[Cedric]

Bravo!

[Dr. Thorne]

Great analysis! And don’t give up on the Yankees.

[Guenevere]

Well said!

[houeto]

Now, I have a lot of Democrat friends, who have picked the name next to the (D) in every election all their adult lives...

...who, after hearing Obama's preacher say "G** D*** America!", will be pulling the R lever for the first time in their lives. Some of them in their mid 70's.

[mlocher]

John McCain is out there trying to win this thing, and John McCain is no fool.

Your analysis (entire article, not just this line) is pretty darn good. McCain is doing what he thinks is best for the country, and in fact, I think a little bit of Palin is actually rubbing off on him.

I did not think McCain the best Republican choice, but will support any Anit-obama candidate. I believe that the media helpd McCain gain the nomination as the most centrist of the candidates. McCain was the media's Plan B if Obama is not elected.

[Tallguy]

I like your analysis. I still think that McCain makes too many tactical mistakes by pulling his punches with Obama. Strategically it’s hard to find fault with what he is doing. If he wins this year it will go down as a masterful piece of campaigning.

[houeto]

Now, I have a lot of Democrat friends, who have picked the name next to the (D) in every election all their adult lives, who are complaining that John McCain is not the John McCain of 2000.

So, tell me, who are folks gonna vote for?

Last night I sat down with a 77 year old Democrat that has never voted for a (R) in his life.

I asked him who he was voting for. He said, "I can't believe what I'm about to say but, I'm voting for McCain."

In November, they are going to pick the (D) just as they have for the past 30 years, and just like their parents did the 40 years before that.

You are wrong.

I asked the old man why he would not vote for Obama. He said that Obama is a communist and tied in with the terrorists.

The word is getting out.

Thank you Jeff Head and MANY others!!!

[Jeff Head]

I'm talking to democrats daily...and there are a LOT of them who will be voting for McCain-Palin...a lot.

The Obama campaign fears this, as well they should. The vast majority of them are not voting for Obama for one of two reasons: 1) Like houeto's friend says, they see who is associations have been and what his positions are, and they understand they are fundamentally anti-American, or 2) They do not like at all the way Hillary was treated and they want to punish him for it in the hopes he will lose and open the door for Hillary next cycle.

In the mean time, Sarah continues to draw huge crowds everywhere she goes and Obama, the DNC, and the complicit MSM fear it.

SARAH PALIN DRAWING HUGE CROWDS ALL ACROSS AMERICA