“Electability” Seen As Key To McCain’s Rising Support
PHOENIX (Reuters) - John McCain has vaulted from long shot to the front-runner to win the Republican nomination for U.S. president. The reason? Voter confidence he can beat the eventual Democratic candidate in November’s election, according to interviews with some of his supporters.
McCain defeated close rival Mitt Romney comfortably in a hard-fought nomination vote in Florida this week, giving him crucial momentum going into the big round of votes on “Super Tuesday.”
Twenty-four states are holding nominating contests for one or both parties on February 5 to pick their candidate for the November election.
Allies and voters said that key to the Arizona senator’s success has been convincing supporters that he has the greatest chance of winning in November and handing Republicans another term in the White House when two-term President George W. Bush steps down.
Voters said McCain, who is a fiscal and social conservative but who has crossed swords with his own party over issues such as immigration reform, was the Republican’s best bet for winning over independents and even some Democrats.
Those votes could be crucial to a Republican win in the general election.
“There’s no ifs, ands or buts, the election will be decided by independents, and he has the greatest chance of winning their votes,” said Todd Hutcheson, an Orlando real estate dealer and one-time Rudy Giuliani supporter, who voted for McCain in Florida.
McCain’s ability to draw support from beyond his party was seen on the campaign trail across Florida, where he was joined at one packed rally by Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, a former Democrat who was re-elected in 2006 as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to an anti-Iraq war candidate.
“I’m not going to let party labels stand between me and doing what I think is best for America,” Lieberman told Reuters as he left the rally in Lady Lake, Florida, on Sunday.
A DIVISIVE FIGURE?
The race to win the Republican nomination is very far from over — with McCain, Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul battling across the country next Tuesday — and McCain faces formidable obstacles in any race for the White House.
He is hawkish in his support for an unpopular war in Iraq, calling withdrawal “surrender,” a stance that is likely a turn-off for a number of independent voters and otherwise dissident Democrats weary of the nearly 5-year-old conflict.
But some of his other stances, while giving him appeal outside the Republican core, make him unpopular in his own party. McCain, who has been a U.S. senator for more than 20 years, was beaten in 2000 for the Republican presidential nomination in a bitter battle with Bush.
McCain faces strong opposition from Republican conservatives who dislike his opposition to bedrock Republican positions, such as opposing Bush’s tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, sponsoring campaign finance reform and supporting an overhaul of immigration laws.
Conservative talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh rail against him on widely syndicated shows, and former Republican House of Representatives leader Tom DeLay, for one, has said he would not vote for McCain in a general election.
But some prominent Republicans within the McCain camp believe that they will come into line if the senator continues to gain momentum on Super Tuesday.
“Electability is a very big issue,” supporter John Lehman, a former secretary of the Navy, told Reuters last week.
“A huge majority of Republicans want to win, and they would rather have victory than total litmus test purity,” he added.
On polling day in Florida, McCain was confident of his ability to win over that support in the months ahead.
“Oh, they’ll rally behind me,” he said. “Most Republicans respect the process, most Republicans say ‘he’s the nominee of our party … I’m going to get behind our candidate to make sure a Democrat doesn’t come in.’ It’s a fairly natural evolution.”
(Editing by Frances Kerry and Eric Beech)
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Media hype . . . and uninformed voters.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:25 pm“The reason? Voter confidence he can beat the eventual Democratic candidate…”
Eh? I thought he WAS the Democratic candidate.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:26 pmLet me get this straight. He wants to outlaw waterboarding, bring the terrorist from GITMO to the US and put them through our court systems (never before done). He thinks Hilary would make a good President, he’s for amnesty for illegals, opposed to the fence, opposes tax cuts, against Free Speach (Feingold/McCain act), once considered switching parties and some think he’s a Conservative. Can we all say we are fked?
February 1st, 2008 at 3:04 pmThe only problem, no voters. I wonder how that is going to turn out.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:05 pmGood Article . . . by Michael Reagan
Friday, February 1, 2008 8:26 AM
Until last night, when I watched the Republican debate, I had no idea how much John McCain dislikes me and just about everybody else but Rudy Giuliani, who, if you believe The New York Times, is a pretty good hater himself.
As I watched McCain and Gov. Romney go at it during the debate at the Reagan Library, I was struck by the huge gap that separates McCain — whose contempt for his fellow humans is patently obvious — and my dad, Ronald Reagan, who had nothing but the deepest affection and respect for the American people.
The feeling is mutual between McCain and me. I don’t like the way he treats people. You get the impression that he thinks everybody is beneath him. He seems to be saying, “I was a war hero, and you had damn well better treat me as your superior.”
He has contempt for conservatives who he thinks can be duped into thinking he’s one of them, despite such blatantly anti-conservative actions as his support for amnesty for illegal immigrants, his opposition to the Bush tax cuts which got the economy rolling again, and his campaign finance bill which skewed the political process and attacked free speech.
I am appalled by his contempt for the intelligence of his listeners when he flat-out lies and expects them to believe what he says even when the truth is staring them in the face.
A prime example cited by columnist Robert Novak was McCain’s denial that he had privately suggested that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was too conservative, insisting that he recalled saying no such thing, adding that Alito was a “magnificent” choice.
“In fact,” wrote Novak, “multiple sources confirm that the senator made negative comments about Alito nine months ago.”
In last night’s debate, McCain stubbornly defended his charge, false on the face of it, that Romney wanted a deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
“I have never, ever supported a specific timetable” for withdrawing troops, Romney said, adding that McCain’s accusation on the eve of Tuesday’s primary “sort of falls into the dirty tricks that I think Ronald Reagan would have found reprehensible.”
What Romney said last April, was merely that U.S. and Iraqi leaders “have to have a series of timetables and milestones that they speak about” in private, which in no way suggests he was in any sense talking about troop withdrawals.
Despite the evidence, McCain charged that “of course he said he wanted a timetable” for a withdrawal, even though he had never said any such thing. It was McCain daring to ask us if we wanted to believe our lying eyes or his demonstrably false allegation.
McCain must think conservatives are dumb enough to allow him to get away with claiming he’s one of them.
This is from a man who opposed drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and who twice voted against President Bush’s tax cuts and sponsored the campaign-finance reform legislation that Romney claimed “took a whack at the First Amendment.”
In John McCain’s eyes, conservatives are the Viet Cong of this generation and he treats us as such. It’s either his way or no way.
I despise his habit of talking down to us, like a wise father to an idiot son. He’s just at a loss to understand why everybody doesn’t grovel at his feet and accept his every word as wisdom handed down from his lofty perch atop Mt. Olympus.
I can’t help it. I know in my heart he hates me, and every conservative. If he gets the nomination, the only way he could win against Hillary or Barack Obama would be to be part of a McCain-Limbaugh ticket.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:12 pmIf you can’t beat um - - - uh - - I just can’t do that.
Even his mom said “conservatives will vote for him (with their noses plugged) they have too”.
What a great idea start the campaign early.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:13 pmJust got this off of Ann Coulters site
February 1, 2008, 4:49 AM
MCCAIN ATTACKS GUN OWNERS! -
McCain “sponsored the McCain/Lieberman gun show bill, which would have given the federal government the administrative power to prohibit all gun shows, and to register everyone who attends a gun show.”
– Dave Kopel: 2d Amt Project
ALSO:
Supported anti-gun Schumer amendment: Sen McCain voted for an amendment offered by the anti-gun Sen. Charles Schumer of New York that would have restricted the legitimate transfer of firearms over the internet. (Source: Congressional Record 5/14/99, p. S5327.)
Voted to expand The Brady Law: McCain voted to extend the restrictions of the Brady bill to pawn shops and gun repair shops.(Source: Congressional Record 5/20/99, p.S5642.)
Supported Clinton Gun Control: John McCain voted AGAINST efforts to kill the Clinton gun control package, which contained al kinds of new gun restrictions, including a ban on many kinds of private gun sales. (Source: Congressional Record 7/28/99, P. S9451.)
– Gunowners of America
February 1st, 2008 at 3:20 pmhttp://777denny.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/mccainfordemprez.jpg
February 1st, 2008 at 3:32 pmElectability ?!!
Wait till the general election and all his good friends in the press turn on him. It’s gonna be like watchin wild dogs tear up a rabbit !!McCain will be destroyed, he wont understand the press are not his friends and he’ll go into meltdown. McCain is not a conservative, he never was a footsoldier in the “Reagan Revolution” the msm knows this and are setting him up for a slaughter. I predict he’ll lose all 50 states!!!! He doesn’t have the deep, rock solid support of the Republican base. You heard it here ” McCain loses all 50 states”
February 1st, 2008 at 3:43 pmblastdad,
I think you are right about McCain losing all 50 states.
I just heard Denny Hastert on Mark Levin and he said that he thinks the media is setting McCain up for a big fall. Rick Santorum was on Hannity earlier and talked about how the Senate conservates could never count on McCain for support. Everyone knows that Santorum is the classic conservative and he said that he ran into one of McCains “people” after Florida and the McCain person exclaimed: “We beat you!” . . . Don’t fall for McCain claiming to be a conservative . . . conservatives don’t get excited about beating conservatives.
Hastert also talked about how hard it was for conservatives to work with McCain. Levin suggested that McCain was punishing conservatives for losing in 2000 against Bush and Hastert agreed.
We are being punished - We are being punished by McCain and the media is helping.
BEND OVER . . .
February 1st, 2008 at 3:56 pmMom:
McCain’s biggest problem (besides himself) is the conservative base just doesn’t trust him. He’s the darling of the msm because he’s known to stick it to other republicans and cozy up to the demms. It’s all gonna change in the general election. The msm’s going to go with the dems candidate no matter who it is. The sweetheart treatment will end and he’ll get the same treatment that George Bush got. Any and all dirt and inconsistancies will be thrown in his face. I don’t believe he’ll be able to take the heat, on some show or debate somewhere he’s going to lose it and that video clip will get played endlessly on the evening news shows.
McCain will be destroyed and conservatives/republicans will be screwed for a generation or more
Just my never to be humble prediction
February 1st, 2008 at 4:13 pmBLASTDAD,
When McCain pulls a FK-U on the black man or the woman or some reporter on national television, he will be over . . .
You are so right and it is just going to be depressing for the rest of us. I hope a miracle happens for Romney; if not, it is going to be just frightening for the next four years.
February 1st, 2008 at 4:21 pmMom:
Bet you the msm has seen McCain go off behind closed doors and may even know his hot buttons.
I, like you am not to hopefull if we have a McCain ticket to vote on. I believe at some point our RINO will blow it all to heck. I seem to remember some footage of McCain after I think his SC primary loss to “W” and he was ugly tempered and beligerent. Look for a replay of that somewhere!
Bdad
February 1st, 2008 at 4:34 pmI recall last summer when my Texas senator John Cornyn, questioned that nasty McCain/Kennedy shamnesty bill in a meeting and stated how it gave too many legal appeals in the American court system for illegal immigrants, McCain went off on a FK-U rampage directed at Cornyn that was reported in the press . . . Cornyn used to be the Attorney General of Texas and I would consider a legal expert, but McCain thinks that he is an expert on everything . . .
Yep, he will blow - it is just a matter of time.
February 1st, 2008 at 4:44 pmHo Chi McCain would like to take away our guns so that he and Juan can take advantage of unprotected borders and all the other shit he wants to cram down our throats.
McCain is a wolf in sheeps clothing that will sell his soul and our country to the highest bidder. He is nothing more than a fucking mole.
February 1st, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Paslode
February 1st, 2008 at 5:08 pmI did have a few firearms I was interested in picking up on my wishlist, maybe it’s time to change the list into “buy it now”
Amen to all. McRINO will lose to the D’rat if he’s nominated. That D’rat will be Hitlary. Invest in 7.62.
February 1st, 2008 at 5:27 pm“Confronted with his lie on Wednesday night’s debate, McCain blustered and filibustered in a manner reminiscent of Captain Queeg in “The Caine Mutiny,” when he was caught in a lie during a navy inquiry.
When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back on his record as a war hero in Vietnam.
Let’s talk sense. Benedict Arnold was a war hero but that did not exempt him from condemnation for his later betrayal.
Being a war hero is not a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card. And becoming President of the United States is not a matter of rewarding an individual for past services.
The Presidency is a heavy responsibility for the future of the nation, including generations yet unborn. Character and integrity are major qualifications.
The passing years and a friendly media have allowed Senator McCain’s shortcomings in the character and integrity department to fade into the background.”
Short, blunt sentences is his version of straight talk? Mine is telling the truth something McCain is not real good at doing.
February 1st, 2008 at 8:24 pmWhere was all this talk when McCain first started running? Why wasn’t he immediately chastised for the things mentioned above? Oh, I know, because now that he has all the attention and the best chance to win the democrats who run the MSM want to destroy him publicly. They will bring up any slight leaning towards more liberal ideas and blow it out of proportion to get conservatives upset. I tend towards the middle of the road on issues which makes McCain a great choice in my eyes.
So what if he worked with democrats on some issues…oh no he’s not ultra conservative which means he’s not smart? The country as a whole needs someone more moderate…not a staunch liberal or a staunch conservative. The problems in the US are not going to be fixed by someone who will not compromise. You can see compromise as a weakness if you want but when it comes to the division we have in America it is the only way to get things that must be done, done. Remember all the time democrats wasted in congress trying to pass their plan of pulling out of iraq immediately?
I recognize McCain as a candidate who leans more to the right but also is not against working towards more left leaning ways. I disagree with his position on immigration but i accept that rounding up millions of people is a bit out of the question.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:05 pmThis is just so depressing. God help us all when GWB leaves. I hope Romney can pull off a miracle and beat McCain.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:37 amMany on this site have been posting the depressing facts against McCain for as long as I have been here . . . I also freqeunt Michelle Malkin, Free Republic, many others - same thing - many posting the truth about McCain - don’t know where you have been . . . perhaps the main stream media or Moveon.org.
We are screwed if McCain is the Republican candidate. There are too many “Joe” voters who don’t care about the facts and too many so-called Republicans who don’t understand conservatism and who lean left with their head up Ted Kennedy’s ass.
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:29 amOnce again:
I dont care about conservative or McCain-Feingold (dont even know what it is). But, if any of you whining little bitches lets a Dem get voted into the WhiteHouse while I am in Iraq next year, I am going to be pissed. I don’t care what your problem is with McCain or Romney or Huck, get off your ass, go down town and vote for one of them. The shit-bag dems are going to get a lot of people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan if they manage to weasel their way onto AirForceOne. DONT LET IT HAPPEN!
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:08 am