I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't terribly interested in exactly how the Democrats decided that John F-ing Kerry was their "man" in 2004. But I did get the distinct impression that Democrats as a whole were not terribly excited about the man. If John McCain is selected as the Republican candidate for 2008, it would be by the same questionable mechanism. From what I've been reading about McCain, it sounds like pitifully few people actually like the man, but a whole lot of people think that "everybody else" likes him and that he's "electable." I won't pretend to understand what goes on inside the minds (or vacuums) of Democrats, but it sure seemed like a lot of Democrats (but not a majority) liked Dean, and a lot (but, again, not a majority) liked Lieberman. But both the Deans and the Liebermans seemed to believe that the "others" liked Kerry and that he would appeal to moderates. So Democrats held their noses and voted for the wanna-be gigolo with the canoe-shaped head. It was with some nose-holding, admittedly, that I voted for Bush, but I am absolutely confident that I made the best selection given the choices available. Anything bad that can be said about Bush can also be said about Kerry, and Kerry also had a few terrible ideas of his own that make him far less suited for leading a country.
Since I don't think that presidential candidates should be selected on the basis of "maybe other people actually do like that fool", I sincerely hope that McCain isn't the Republican candidate in 2008. For one thing, he's not very Republican. Because of this, he's actually worse for Republicans than Kerry was for Democrats, since Kerry was at least in the right party. McCain could become a Democrat just by saying "hey, everybody! I'm a Democrat!" Since McCain is a donkey in elephant's clothing, he would be in a position to harm the Republican party. He would enact stupid liberal idiocy, but it would be blamed on Republicans because he insists upon calling himself one, for reasons still unclear.
What the RNC should do in 2008 is nominate a Reagan. Someone who favors expansion of the Bush tax cuts and contraction of the Bush spending. Someone who recognizes the futility of wasting money and effort trying to please liberals who will never be pleased no matter what. Someone that will call bullshitters on their bullshit without hesitation. Someone that people actually like, but worry that others won't like. It's entirely possible that "others" might even like such a candidate. But even if they don't, it's been so long since either party has nominated someone they could wholeheartedly get behind that it's worth taking a long-overdue chance.
9:57 AM
