Comments on: McCain By Default?

By: Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Sabato on the Dems

Decision ‘08 » Blog Archive » Sabato on the Dems — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 18:51:47 +0000

[...] Larry Sabato, who, as you may recall, is of the opinion that John McCain will probably be the Republican nominee by default, now turns his eye on the Democrats: The most compelling element of the 2008 contest for the Democrats, in the Crystal Ball’s view, will be their burning desire to end GOP control of the White House. George W. Bush’s reign will have extended over eight years, but to Democrats, who deeply despise this President, it has already seemed like an eternity. Hatred of a President among party activists can produce wise or unwise outcomes. Democratic true believers may incorrectly think that their fellow citizens fully share their opinion of Bush and will inevitably elect the person they choose as their nominee in order to punish the Republicans for Bush’s multitudinous sins. Or Democrats may allow reason to triumph over emotion by picking a nominee who does not fulfill all their liberal fantasies but has a good chance of winning. [...]

By: Hokie Explorer

Hokie Explorer — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 05:05:59 +0000

Rice is so ugly.

By: Ryan Bonneville

Ryan Bonneville — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 04:10:51 +0000

I don’t know. I’m starting to get the feeling that Bush is grooming Condi to be his successor. I can’t see any way that he would leave the White House without naming an heir, and it sure won’t be Cheney. I predicted in 2004 that we would see Cheney out and Rice in by the time Bush leaves office. I see no reason to take that prediction back and I think it’s at least fairly likely that Rice will be the establishment candidate and McCain the reform candidate in 2008.

By: dmac

dmac — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 19:39:02 +0000

Rudy can’t fail, oh, no….

By: Hokie Explorer

Hokie Explorer — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 18:04:01 +0000

Even I like McCain. He is so much more moderate and reasonable than a lot of the newer Republicans who have popped up. I also love the fact that he has considerable military service and was a POW.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 17:22:59 +0000

Maybe he decided to leave Giuliani out because it messed up his McCain thesis?

I read occasional whispers on the Internet saying that Rudy won’t run, either because he’s making too good a living with his consulting practice or because he’s afraid his messy personal life will come back to haunt him. I suppose both things are possible, but we shouldn’t forget one very important thing. To look around a nation of nearly 300 million people and decide you’re the best candidate to lead them all, you need a heaping pile of chutzpah, and Giuliani’s got that in spades. His ambition and ego have their good and bad points, but they combine to make a guy who I don’t picture slinking off into history as a well-paid public speaker. How does the guy who never shied from a fight before suddenly just give up without a pop because some pundits say he can’t turn his good poll numbers into victory?

That said, if Giuliani doesn’t run, McCain sure looks inevitable, but it was just two years ago we were all accepting the inevitability of the Howard Dean nomination.

I’d be nervous that something like a Allen candidacy would repeat all the inherent mistakes of the Kerry campaign; he’d be a compromise candidate that nobody would hate but nobody would run through walls for either.