McCain’s campaign is in trouble
July 3rd, 2007 – 7:05 AM by D.J. Tice
campaign is in crisis, slashing staff and narrowing its strategy to a point — Iowa. A champion of reducing the role of money in politics, McCain apparently can’t bring in enough to stay competitive.
He’s probably finished. This sort of news will send donors and supporters scurrying for a better place to invest their financial and political capital.
What happened? Who knows? Maybe he’s simply passed his telegenic peak, which matters so much now. But there’s also long been something disjointed about McCain on the issues, something that makes it hard to perceive the unifying idea in his politics. It could be a sign of pragmatic brilliance, but one has to be able to convey it.
What do you make of McCain’s trouble?
27 Responses to "McCain’s campaign is in trouble"
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that McCain’s campaign is in trouble. One of the most important issues we have today is protecting our borders from the massive illegal invasion which includes Muslim terrorists who also easily sneak across, and McCain is on the wrong side of this issue along with Bush and virtually the entire democrat party. We need a true conservative in the White House who will seal the borders BEFORE any talk of amnesty.
Long Live the USA!
McCain wouldn’t get off the Iraq war bad-wagon, frankly, so he has no crossover appeal, and none to the two moderate Republicans that still exist.
or rumored to exist.
And then he has other pragmatic positions on immigrants, domestic programs, and so forth that would appeal to the two moderate Republicans still rumored to exist and to crossovers.
in other words, McCain is a candidate that has negatives in all camps. he’s a pretty good match for the Arizona voters, which explains his longevity in Congress.
but in the Divided Attitudes of America, he’s just not a national candidate.
Um, it’s the fact that McLame is simply deranged and unhinged on the Iraq occupation, has been for some time, and envisions attacking Iran as our next “move”.
Kind of a tough sell, but keep on trying!
Mm-yeah–dat McCain’s in dutch, real bad–
(Okay, okay, I’m not gonna do that accent anymore.)
You want the unifying principle in McCain’s politics? It’s that “John McCain would make a great president of the United States.” And up until he went nuts on the issue of the war, he might have convinced a lot of people of that.
But he went out on a limb with his “surge” idea, and Bush sawed that limb off by actually ‘doing’ a surge (escalating.) After that, it was all down hill for McC, the “surge boy,” “the let’s bomb Iran” boy.
If all McCain cared about was getting elected, he should have shut up about possible plans and just damned the administration’s garbage performance, like everybody else in government these days. But McCain’s the true believer type–he really had faith in his own judgment: which, on this issue, turned to be awful, in terms of policy and politics.
And that’s why there ain’t no money comin’ in and why top McCain staffers are announcing they’ll have to work for free from now on.
Dare2sayit:
I would challenge you to find any credible evidence whatsoever that the Mexican border has been used by al Qaeda or any extremist group to send operatives into the U.S.
And it’s the Democratic Party.
As for the actual substantive issue here…
Mr. Tice, I’m inclined to agree with you that McCain is past the point where he can depend in any part on good looks and a smooth approach, especially with people like Mitt Romney in the GOP field. Eight years ago, he might have kept a reactionary base at bay had he somehow defeated George Bush in the GOP primary, but in today’s campaign world, there is simply no way for his maverick reputation (whether that reputation has anything backing it up) to gain him any traction with an empowered base.
And refusing to wear some light makeup doesn’t help him much either.
If the borders are “sealed,” how will we breathe?
Michael Blaine
http://www.rudelystamped.blogspot.com
why, good ol’ Yankee American air, of course, michael.
not that silly foreign stuff.
“the air that made L.A. famous” is good enough for Patriots, yes, sir 
Bill P says:
You want the unifying principle in McCain’s politics? It’s that “John McCain would make a great president of the United States.â€Â
*****
Give that man a cigar. Also glad that you’ve decided to stop channeling Leo Gorcey….
Yeah, but don’t forget Bill’s next sentence:”And up until he went nuts on the issue of the war, he might have convinced a lot of people of that.”
Stick a fork in McCain. He’s done. The only question is when will he finally drop out.
Well Dora, I don’t think McCain ultimately would have made the sale. You oppose him on the war; I oppose him because of McCain-Feingold. We all have our reasons but they all go the same point – the unifying principle that McCain has always believed he should be president. If the only thing you really believe in is yourself, you won’t get there.
Even Bill Clinton, whose self-regard is probably greater than any other politician, had a coherent worldview. I didn’t happen to agree with it, but it was coherent.
John McCain’s Iraq/Iran positions are strategic and military in nature, and, at this point, conform with recommendations by most Clinton- and Bush- era foreign policy advisors. He simply hasn’t pandered to the unilateral disarmament left on this.
The next President will face the same ugly predicaments: an al Quaida infested Iraq; and Iranian nuclear weapons development. The next pres will, regardless party, arrive at variations on the same conclusions: disengagement/withdrawl from Iraq; and military air strikes on specific Iranian targets. Even Clinton and Carter ordered the latter when required. McCain has recognised these difficulties.
The sad drop-off in support seems to have more to do with a reputation for poor legislation (illegal immigration, McCain-Feingold, and general non-partisan compromises).
John McCain does have outstanding qualities, especially collegiality, decency and humanity, and deep foreign policy understanding.
These, unfortunately, are not assets during primary season, as noted by others above.
Too bad primary funders and activists demand an idealogue, a messiah — or worse, a desperate politician groveling to them.
John McCain’s Iraq/Iran positions are strategic and military in nature, and, at this point, conform with recommendations by most Clinton- and Bush- era foreign policy advisors. He simply hasn’t pandered to the unilateral disarmament left on this.
The next President will face the same ugly predicaments: an al Quaida infested Iraq; and Iranian nuclear weapons development. The next pres will, regardless party, arrive at variations on the same conclusions: disengagement/withdrawl from Iraq; and military air strikes on specific Iranian targets. Even Clinton and Carter ordered the latter when required. McCain has recognised these difficulties.
The sad drop-off in support seems to have more to do with a reputation for poor legislation (illegal immigration, McCain-Feingold, and general non-partisan compromises).
John McCain does have outstanding qualities, especially collegiality, decency and humanity, and deep foreign policy understanding.
These, unfortunately, are not assets during primary season, as noted by others above.
Too bad primary funders and activists demand an idealogue, a messiah — or worse, a desperate politician groveling to them.
I’ll duck and run now…
I agree, McCain’s trouble comes from being too liberal, not from showing strength in dealing with Islamist lunatics.
McCain cooked his own goose when he flip-flopped on the fundies, then cozied up to the man that swift-boated him in the 2000 primary. His age doesn’t help.
Of course, the eventual Republican nominee has about as much chance of winning as Alan Fine did in MN-5 in 2006.
bsimon says:
Of course, the eventual Republican nominee has about as much chance of winning as Alan Fine did in MN-5 in 2006.
****
Has the U.S. electorate suddenly become 60-65% Democrats? Must have missed that. The D’s have an excellent shot of winning, but it’s in no way guaranteed. I don’t sense there’s any great enthusiasm for the Democrats right now, either.
If the war in Iraq were going well McCain would be on top. His other negatives (to many conservatives) — immigration and McCain-Feingold — would be forgiven if the war wasn’t a failure. But as the candidate most associated with Bush & Co. foreign policy he finds himself roundly rejected. After all, the right considers overlooking Rudy & Romney’s moderate ways. Being distant from Bush is necessary for electibility.
Kissing Bush was the kiss of death.
If the war in Iraq were going well McCain would be on top. His other negatives (to many conservatives) — immigration and McCain-Feingold — would be forgiven if the war wasn’t a failure. But as the candidate most associated with Bush & Co. foreign policy he finds himself roundly rejected. After all, the right considers overlooking Rudy & Romney’s moderate ways. Being distant from Bush is necessary for electibility.
Kissing Bush was the kiss of death.
yep, I agree with bsimon. I don’t support him for more reasons than the Iraq War.
By the way, nice to see you posting here again.
Roy,
Part of the war on terror is sealing our borders immediately, but the left and a few on the right fail to realize that. Anyone who voted for the recent amnesty bill doesn’t deserve to be in the White House, including McCain, Mrs. Clinton, and Barak Obama.
Mark sequel writes
“Has the U.S. electorate suddenly become 60-65% Democrats? Must have missed that…”
No, you haven’t missed anything. The electorate is not 60-65% Dem, they’re 65-70% anti-Republican. There’s a difference. Shoot, even Republicans don’t like Republicans right now. The Wash Post carries an interesting EJ Dionne piece today in which Evan Bayh (R-Indiana) is quoted saying the electorate is fed up with the misplaced priorities of gov’t (I paraphrase). Someone will undoubtedly now post the low approval rates for Congress, arguing that the elecorate doesn’t like Dems either, which ignores that the President’s approval ratings are lower still.
Yes, I agree the Dems are not a shoo-in for the Presidency, and I agree they aren’t impressively inspiring either. But, the GOP carries a much higher burden of disapproval. Even if they can distance themself from Bush politically, how do they distance themselves from a record of not challenging Bush’s priorities & policies? The whole party’s guilty of giving him & his administration a pass.
Perhaps comparing them to Mr Fine is an exaggeration. I will admit that, please forgive the hyperbole. But I don’t think I exaggerated much.
Dora- thanks for the kind words. Work is busy these days.
“Part of the war on terror is sealing our borders immediately”
Nearly six years later, facts fly directly in the face of this idiotic, paranoid, irrational statement.
“Someone will undoubtedly now post the low approval rates for Congress, arguing that the elecorate doesn’t like Dems either,”
Except that they still like them better than Republicans. A 6/22-24 CNN poll found that 51% had a favorable opinion of Democrats while only 36% had a favorable opinion of Republicans. And 57% said Democratic control of Congress is good for the country.
bsimon says:
Shoot, even Republicans don’t like Republicans right now. The Wash Post carries an interesting EJ Dionne piece today in which Evan Bayh (R-Indiana) is quoted saying the electorate is fed up with the misplaced priorities of gov’t (I paraphrase).
***
Uh, bsimon, Evan Bayh is a Democrat. Comes from a long line of Democrats, including his father Birch Bayh, who was part of the gaggle of Democrats who ran in 1976, along with Jimmy Carter and the immortal Morris Udall and Milton Shapp.
bsimon,
If you think that poor, uneducated illegal aliens can easily sneak across our border by the millions, but trained Muslim terrorists with backing from Al Quaida and other groups find it too much of a challege, you sir are nuts.
any guesses, then, on how many fringe muslim nutjobs are in sleeper mode over here right now? the British situation just keeps looking messier day by day, and it’s working upright doctors who they keep turning up. I’m willing to bet there are enough sleepers in the US to elect a fringe muslim nutjob president.
needless to say, the refugees who came over here to get AWAY from fringe muslim nutjobs, and who happen to be Muslim and professionals, have got to be shaking in their boots right now. because the creeping stain of fringe muslim nutjobs taints a hundred thousand honorable people for each nutjob out there.
and frankly, only the muslims can take care of their nutjob problem.
In the meantime, we need to do whatever we can to shut down the growth of Muslim fanaticism, including shuting the the Mosques that breed hate and terror.
Speculating may be fun, but in my opinion it’s too early to tell.
We don’t know what will happen in Iraq by next February. We don’t know what will happen on immigration. We don’t know what gaffs the other candidates will make.
We DO know money does not in the end determine the outcome — only the speculation on it.
We don’t know…We don’t know…We don’t know. Face it- we don’t know.
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