Merged Thread: Romney Drops Out; Can McCain Defeat Democrats?

[Campbell17]

Hillary has slightly more delegates than Obama. However on the republican side McCain is in the clear lead by a signifigfant number. Do you think he has a chance to be president?

[SmootSmack]

Clever sig. I would think he's got a shot because he has appeal to both sides. On the other hand, the hardcore right-wing Republicans seem likely to abstain from voting (or so they are allegedly threatening) if he's the nominee

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Clever sig. I would think he's got a shot because he has appeal to both sides. On the other hand, the hardcore right-wing Republicans seem likely to abstain from voting (or so they are allegedly threatening) if he's the nominee

I know they've threatened to do so, but do you think they will if Hillary secures the Democratic nomination? I think they'll probably vote in droves.

[MTK]

God I really hope not.

[RobH4413]

He absolutely does. He wins the moderate/independent vote...

Especially if Hilary gets elected.

He's been my favorite candidate for about 3 years now... so I'm kind of excited about all of this.

[70Chip]

If Hillary is the Democratic nominee, she will 1)motivate conservatives to vote and 2)get much less of a boost from the media. Obama 1) engenders much less animus from the right and 2) is viewed by the press as the second coming of JFK. So, he can beat Hillary. Obama is a much tougher task.

But to answer the question, yes he does. If any Republican has a chance in this very difficult year for Republicans, it would be him.

[RobH4413]

As far as against Obama... I'm not totally sure about that one...

One of Obama's big issues is on lobbyist reform, and things of that nature. McCain pretty much owns that issue...but I'm not sure people even look at the issues anymore. So many opinions are based on rhetoric... and Obama certainly is a better speaker.


McCain Calls to Reform Pork Barrel Politics - washingtonpost.com

[saden1]

He absolutely has a shot if he is running against Hillary. I believe if she is the democratic nominee she will turn off a lot of folks and energize the republican base not necessarily to vote for McCain but to vote against her.

[70Chip]

Originally Posted by RobH4413

As far as against Obama... I'm not totally sure about that one...

One of Obama's big issues is on lobbyist reform, and things of that nature. McCain pretty much owns that issue...but I'm not sure people even look at the issues anymore. So many opinions are based on rhetoric... and Obama certainly is a better speaker.


McCainÂ*Calls to Reform Pork Barrel Politics - washingtonpost.com

Obama's campaign is not about issues at all. If people focused on his voting record in The Senate, for instance, they would see that he is the most Liberal member of that body -even more Liberal than Bernie Sanders who describes himself as a socialist. He doesn't want people to focus on that, which is why he always talks about "moving beyond politics". Unfortunately, when the dust clears, politics is what politicians do. Anyone who buys into Obama based on his appealing personality and expects things to be in any way different, is setting themself up to be disappointed. In fact, I think anyone who looks to politics for some sense of "meaning", is begging to be lied to.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

Obama's campaign is not about issues at all. If people focused on his voting record in The Senate, for instance, they would see that he is the most Liberal member of that body -even more Liberal than Bernie Sanders who describes himself as a socialist. He doesn't want people to focus on that, which is why he always talks about "moving beyond politics". Unfortunately, when the dust clears, politics is what politicians do. Anyone who buys into Obama based on his appealing personality and expects things to be in any way different, is setting themself up to be disappointed. In fact, I think anyone who looks to politics for some sense of "meaning", is begging to be lied to.

He won't get through a general election campaign without this being hammered. Whether it will matter is the question. Don't worry though, people won't be able to ignore it.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

Obama's campaign is not about issues at all. If people focused on his voting record in The Senate, for instance, they would see that he is the most Liberal member of that body -even more Liberal than Bernie Sanders who describes himself as a socialist. He doesn't want people to focus on that, which is why he always talks about "moving beyond politics". Unfortunately, when the dust clears, politics is what politicians do. Anyone who buys into Obama based on his appealing personality and expects things to be in any way different, is setting themself up to be disappointed. In fact, I think anyone who looks to politics for some sense of "meaning", is begging to be lied to.

What issues do you feel he hasn't addressed or talked about? You can't make a blanket statement like that and if you are back it up or include all the other candidates cause they fair no better.

I do agree that he talks pretty which is why he is getting a lot of support but I don't think that's all there is to him.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

If Hillary is the Democratic nominee, she will 1)motivate conservatives to vote and 2)get much less of a boost from the media. Obama 1) engenders much less animus from the right and 2) is viewed by the press as the second coming of JFK. So, he can beat Hillary. Obama is a much tougher task.

But to answer the question, yes he does. If any Republican has a chance in this very difficult year for Republicans, it would be him.

I guess you beat me to it.

[Schneed10]

I think McCain would be heavily favored to beat Hillary, and slightly favored to beat Obama. He'll have a good chance at winning key battleground states like Pennsylvania and Florida that tend to be more moderate. Recent successes in Iraq bode well for his hawkish stance on that war, and he's the least likely to consider raising taxes.

Even though Huckabee won a lot of the evangelical states, McCain often was RIGHT there behind him on Super Tuesday. It's not like he was totally shut out in those states, I mean Romney is way more of a bible thumper than McCain, and he still ended up 3rd in most of those states. So I expect McCain to keep those red/evangelical states whether he's facing Hillary or not.

I think chances are pretty decent that he's the next president. I wouldn't have it any other way, I love the guy.

[BigRed]

I, too, am a big McCain supporter. Was the first time around when Bush beat him, too. I do think he has a good chance, as long as it's against Hillary. Obama is also attractive to a lot of indepenedents and I don't think it's quite clear which way those independents would vote.

BTW, here's an excellent article on why Conservatives dislike McCain, and why it's imperative that they back him up.

[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by BigRed

I, too, am a big McCain supporter. Was the first time around when Bush beat him, too. I do think he has a good chance, as long as it's against Hillary. Obama is also attractive to a lot of indepenedents and I don't think it's quite clear which way those independents would vote.

BTW, here's an excellent article on why Conservatives dislike McCain, and why it's imperative that they back him up.

McCain has HUGE independent support, which is precisely why he's running away with the nomination. Many of the early states have allowed independents to vote and a few have had open primaries and he's even gotten votes from Democrats. Whether it is because they support him or if they're just trying to eliminate a Conservative choice...who knows, but McCain is more popular with independents than with his own party base.