The McChameleon
Based on the way the Democratic candidates spoke during last week’s debate about John McCain as the likely Republican nominee, it seems he has more than resurrected his candidacy from the media-created grave it lay in just a few short months ago.
If the Republican party can mobilize its epic organizational powers behind the “Straight-Talk” express, McCain may be unstoppable, despite the swamp of the Bush legacy and the historical moment of the candidacies of the Democratic front-runners.
The key lies in how he is successfully tempting moderate Republicans, undecided centrists, and even confused Democrat fence-sitters who are consistently maddened by the choice between fresh-faced idealism tempered by a lack of experience (Obama) and an extensive knowledge of the system balanced by being the system at times (Hillary).
Consider the following breakdown of the New Hampshire primary based on the results of an Associated Press exit poll:
“Romney edged out McCain among the half of Republican primary voters who called themselves conservative, but McCain won more handily among moderates and the roughly 10 percent who were self-described liberals, according to preliminary results of surveys conducted for The Associated Press and television networks…
“Registered independents, who could choose between the two parties’ primaries, had been seen as a key to victory in both races in New Hampshire but they were more of a factor on the Republican side…A third of Republican primary voters called themselves independent, and McCain easily outpaced Romney among them. “
McCain’s immigration bill, which almost doomed his campaign in the early running because fellow conservatives were repulsed by the dreaded blanket amnesty it supposedly offered every illegal/undocumented, actually contained a great deal of appeal to the middle-of-the-road pack. He is the only one of all the Republican candidates who has expressed any sort of progressive opinions on the climate-change crisis and the need for a cap-and-trade system to offset carbon emissions as well as stimulate the economy. Check out Grist.com’s fact-sheet on McCain for proof of his party-ruffling positions on the environment. His opposition to the US’s treatment of prisoners and his call for a ban on torture, as well as his insistence on campaign finance reform are also documented in recent New York Times Op-Ed piece.
But don’t be fooled. Rarely does one hear McCain mention his pro-life stance, especially since primary season has been in full-swing. Even more perplexing is McCain’s appeal to voters who oppose the war in Iraq, which the same Associated Press exit polls from above revealed. Consider this snippet from McCain’s own website concerning his position on Iraq:
A greater military commitment now is necessary if we are to achieve long-term success in Iraq. John McCain agrees with retired Army General Jack Keane that there are simply not enough American forces in Iraq. More troops are necessary to clear and hold insurgent strongholds; to provide security for rebuilding local institutions and economies; to halt sectarian violence in Baghdad and disarm Sunni and Shia militias; to dismantle al Qaeda; to train the Iraqi Army; and to embed American personnel in Iraqi police units. Accomplishing each of these goals will require more troops and is a crucial prerequisite for needed economic and political development in the country.
That is the first paragraph in the section on his site on Iraq. The “we started it so we have to finish it” mentality is understandable - even honorable - but it is ultimately short-sighted. This position is a means to the end of securing Iraq as a US-friendly stronghold in the Middle East. It has little regard for regaining any of the political capital among Middle Eastern governments and people that has been pissed away over the past 5 years. They want us out. The US populace wants us out. Right or wrong, that seems to be the end of the story according to any basic “democratic” principles.
While all of the other Republican candidates are constantly scrambling to prove their conservative mettle, McCain is keeping it lowkey. His conservative stripes are well-documented and don’t need to be played up. His moderate appeal is sparse in terms of breadth, but is drawing the ire of conservative pundits. As fellow P+Per John Tomasic posits, “the Limbaugh types have helped a great deal in preaching against him (for his not being a true conservative) to stoke his image as a moderate and to make him attractive to non-idealogues and undeclared undecideds.”
So far, it seems to be the perfect-storm of shrewd campaigning and media attention McCain has needed to pull a smattering of voters large enough to place him as the front-runner amongst a Republican candidate pool of fair-weather flip-floppers.
For those of you moderates on either side who are tempted by McCain’s straight-talk siren calls, just pause for a second to consider what a McCain presidency would mean. What would he would do with an impending Supreme Court justice appointment? Who he would install as Attorney General and will that person offer more than a whimper of protest when the Patriot Act is up for renewal? Or perhaps most pressing, how much longer can a struggling US economy prop-up the inept Iraqi government and its unwillingness to set aside religious differences for the sake of rebuilding infrastructure?
Stumble it!
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