Posted by
Amy Johnson on Friday, February 08, 2008 2:34:43 AM
Enough with the hand-wringing over the inevitability over the McCain nomination. He may not be the choice of most conservatives, but he is not as far left as Clinton and Obama. Yes, he is bad on immigration, campaign finance, etc, etc. but do we want to validate the Clintons and their supporters or have the most leftist member of the Senate in the presidency? Do we want to leave Supreme Court appointments to Democrats ( when we know what we'll get) or use our leverage to get a Roberts type appointment with McCain?
And does anyone really want another four to eight years of Clinton scandals?
Many on the right (such as Ann Coulter) are tempted to think that it would be best if a Democrat wins the election. The logic goes that the country would be so fed up with leftist policy, scandals, etc after four years, that the Democrats would lose big and Republicans could then dominate the political atmosphere for decades. Have we forgotten the lessons of the 1996 election? Despite Hillarycare, travelgate and host of other disasters, Bill Clinton went on to mount a successful campaign against a war hero Republican candidate. This was accomplished even after the country's disgust led to the 1994 backlash that resulted in the Republicans regaining control of Congress for the first time in forty years. So what now?
During his concession speech to CPAC today, Mitt Romney gave the Republicans exactly what they needed: an early opening to unite, gain momentum and define the narrative of Campaign '08. Too many Republicans are wasting time lamenting the nomination of McCain and ignoring the unique opportunity the Democrats have created with their lack of a leading candidate. With the delegate count as it is, Clinton and Obama will likely be competing until April. Both are facing a two front war: they will need to campaign fiercely and attack each other to survive while also mounting a campaign against McCain. Let's not aid the enemy.
Republicans need to swallow the rancor and unite behind McCain if they want to win the presidency. With Clinton and Obama slugging it out, Republicans are in a prime position to begin campaigning for the general election. They need to present a united front behind McCain, otherwise the media spin will stay focused on the discontent in the Republican party, Americans will sour on the party and election day will be a disaster. This is partly what happened during the primary season with the lack of a single candidate that everyone endorsed early in the process. This election is not going to be won on policy debates, it is about making people feel better about their situation and their country. If you doubt this, look to the momentum a relatively unknown Obama has gained with his positive messages about change despite the electorate's general lack of knowledge about his policy stances.
To win the election, McCain must seize this opening to unite the party early, define his narrative to the electorate and focus his campaign into an optimistic, future looking platform with the conservative values of belief in the American people and the greatness of our country before the Democrats do so. ( Curbing his temper wouldn't hurt either). As Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both knew, in 1980 and 1992 respectively, this is especially critical during elections in which polls show the electorate views the country as headed in the wrong direction. Make no mistake: The election will be won by the most optimistic leader who seeks to make Americans feel good about themselves and their country again. Help it be the Republicans.