It’s McCain vs. Romney
I think that, if the latest polls are correct, the race for the Republican nomination has now truly become a two-men race (very important: The trend is in Romney’s advantage, he’s surging, McCain going down / staying stable). Republicans have to choose between either Romney or McCain. The one is more moderate and older, but very strong on foreign policy credentials, the other is more conservative and younger, and very strong on economy credentials.
All in all, I really think that the GOP can’t go wrong with either candidate. Both are good men, and both are good politicians. I favor Romney because I think that he has more energy and because I think that the economy will be a major issue in the coming four years. McCain has acknowledge that he knows squat about the economy, and I consider that to be a real, a very real, problem.
What’s fascinating to see, though, is that McCain and the other Republican candidates truly seem to dislike Romney. Read this article to get an idea about it. Then think about the arguments:
1. He’s dishonest in his ads: not true. He’s emphasizing the wrong, from a conservative perspective, decision his opponents made, but that’s not dishonest. It’s up to them to emphasize the right decision, it’s up to Romney to emphasize where they went ‘wrong.’
2. He’s all too willing to pander: that goes for all of them. They’re all panders, and yes, that includes McCain, albeit on other issues.
3. He has too much money / he doesn’t have to beg, like they do, for $. This is the only argument that has some merit to it, and I think that this is truly the problem. Romney has it all: he has been successful all his life, he’s good looking, he’s rich, he has a beautiful wife, he has five very health sons, he was born in an upper class Republican family.
Jealousy. I think that’s what’s truly driving the hatred.
What’s fascinating to see is that Romney continues to call his rivals “friends” and that even anti-Romney journalists acknowledge that he probably means it. He’s a good natured fellow, who doesn’t wish ill on anyone. My guess is that this is infuriating his rivals even more (“at least hate us back man!”).
It seems to me that McCain, especially, would be wise to break with his hatred. If he wins the nomination he should seriously consider picking Romney as his running mate. Why? Because Romney is what he’s not: well funded, young, an expert on economic matters. McCain / Romney would be a very difficult ticket to beat. McCain / Huckabee less so.
And it beats the heck out of McCain / Thompson:
And if Romney wins, he should – in turn – consider asking McCain (or Thompson). That would be an incredibly strong ticket as well.
And would Romney accept such an offer? My guess is yes. If he becomes the VP he can run again for president when McCain has either served eight years or has died (which I consider to be a very real option in eight years time).
Republicans should seriously consider burying the hatchet. It’s now time to look beyond the nomination. Yes, Romney and McCain can both win, but they’ve also got to look forward. Stop hating, start thinking.
The type of pandering and on what issues matters to me though. What I see is that McCain is campaigning on a national platform and being what I consider a ‘true conservative’ on issues relating to size of government, federalism, and spending. He’s not offering each state what its more liberal voters want to hear; not saying that he’ll fix things for the Detroit autoworkers (offering that the federal govt ought to be the solution to problems of regional industries and ameliorate the bad decisions made by corporations that used to employ a lot of people there.) He’s not telling FL that he’s going to advocate for a national subsidy for hurricane insurance for the citizens of FL (Giuliani has done so- Romney hasn’t committed to it yet but he’s not come out against it either.)
The WSJ has an OpEd which describes these things perfectly. Unfortunately it’s probably also why Romney may win- pandering to the states. But then I’d like to hear why people consider him to be a ‘truer conservative’.
Romney is by far the worst of the Republican candidates. He’s George Bush II. Once you get past the primary season, and into the general election…Romney’s strengths now: pandering to fears about immigration and ‘liberals’…isn’t going to fly, expect Clinton to win against Romney.
I know, Republican primary voters have different concerns from the general public, and its why they have nominated candidates that cannot win, many times over the years.
I hope we can escape that this year…but I do agree with you on one thing…his money allows him to pick up wins wherever the other guys have to focus on certain races. Nevada win, was because 25% of the caucus go’ers are Mormon (Nevada is near-by to Utah)….outside of Utah and Nevada, that isn’t going to be a strength for Romney, but the fact is, he picks up the odd-ball win here and there, and combine that with his money, and his pandering appeal to the worst in Republican politics, and he has a good shot of surging into the win, in a tightly contested race like this one… I say he has a great chance.
I, of course, cannot stand the man…when an American man marries a Mexican woman, lets say, in 1960….and now that woman, spent a lifetime as a housewife, well into her 70’s…widowed….finds out her husband never sponsored her properly for citizenship…Romney would send her to Mexico to die…under current rules she has to leave the country for 10 years, and then, after 10 years have past, she can wait in line, and hope for a place to return.
Romney’s only response to sending Grandma to mexico, while her grandson fights in Iraq, is ‘thats an emotional argument’.
It’s just one example upon 100,000’s of how ‘illegals’ are really people who are out of status, and never knowingly broke the law, like my own brother, who was born in Korea, and was brought to the United States as an infant, by his adoptive parents, who neglected to get his immigration paperwork in order. He found out as an adult…speaking only english, already married…that immigration wanted him to leave the country for 10 years…go to Korea and starve, and watch his family go into poverty….because he was an ‘illegal’…. anyway, yes, find out who did what we ‘really’ think of as illegal…but sure as heck give a path to legal citizenship to those who deserve it, but through no fault of their own, are having issues with the current ‘blind and stupid’ immigration system.
McCain says…think. Romney says, just toss them out.
As far as Romney surging, the graphic on trends at Pollster shows McCains growth in recent polls having a larger/sharper slope. Remember what individual polls tell you – squat.
Romney’s the only true Washington outsider. McCain been in there too long. We need fresh ideas in gov’t. Romney has history of being successful with anything he tries. I lived in MA when he was governor there and despite having to work with liberal legislatures in MA, he helped turn the state economy around. also improved the Big Dig situation started by corrupted liberal officials. he comes across to me as genuine and someone who loves his country and wants to make sure that it has the strongest economy, military, education, and health care system for years to come. That’s why I will vote for him.
McCain probably won’t win the general election. Romney is younger, has more energy, more fresh ideas. He has shown that he can bring dems and conservatives to work toward a common goal. He’s articulate. He actually reminds me of Reagan who happens to be one of Romney’s heroes other than his father George. I’m worried about our country’s economy. Romney is tough on crime. He will bring strong traditional family american values back that were lost because of 8 years of Bill Clinton. He will help us take back our communities from freaks, rapists, murderers, lobbyists, porn, corrupted gov’t officials. I’m a registered Independent. after some research, I’ve decided to give Mitt Romney my vote. I want to invite others to do the same. please do your research. you will see that he’s really the best man for the job.
I live in two different metropolitan areas and I am unable to think of any communities that have been taken over by "freaks, rapists,…[and] porn".
But maybe I’m just missing the epidemic. As everyone around here knows, I don’t read the news much nor do I have much capability to analyze politics or current events.
You’re obviously out of touch, Jason-get with the program. The only real question though is whether or not the takeover of our communities is due to the 8 years of Bill Clinton depravity or if it’s because we’re spending so much on military bases in Okinawa as we continue trying to control the world. Of course you can continue to keep your head in the sand while the rest of us try to sort this out.
Well, Christine, I am a little fuzzy right now, as I am about to get on a plane to San Diego and escape this below-zero level of Dante’s nightmare.
Then again, there has not been a good solid subzero freeze in San Diego for many decades now. I guess that means we have no need for the sun anymore and it can be safely extinguished.
Which reminds me- air traffic controllers. What’s up with that? When’s the last time there was a crash there in San Diego, for example? What the heck do we need those guys in the tower for, if there’re no crashes?
The New Orleans reference reminds me of another one. Much of the Netherlands has not been drowned by 20 feet of ocean water in over a hundred years. So that means that they can get rid of those horribly expensive dikes. If they did that, they would have enough money to buy off those annoying radicals that keep threatening them.
Quite right, Jason- but really the arrogant way they attempt to control the sea like that is likely the reason that they’re being threatened. So it’s even simpler; remove the dikes, the terrorists are happy, no more threats.
As you know, I don’t support Romney. While a good man, the public, rightfully, instead sees McCain as the tops of any candidate on the leadeship test:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/103936/Public-Prefers-Tested-Leader-Inspiring-One.aspx