How McCain "could" have landslided this election

[Infohawk]

Originally posted by: brencat
McCain was never the ideal choice for true conservatives. We never forget. I will never forgive him for his open borders vote back in 2007 -- still stew when I think about that and that's just one of many such "centrist" positions he's taken that's pissed off the base.

But he could have controlled the damage with Ridge or Romney. I suppose Ridge was the best but Romney would have been useful in the current economic crisis. But we would have heard all the whiners complain about the Mormon religion, etc, etc.

Oh well. There's always Congress to take back in 2010 if the libs screw it up (and they will...one party rule always does).

Why didn't Palin apease you true fundy extremists?

 

[deftron]

The Republican base is not going to desert McCain based on his pick, even if it was Lieberman.


Half of the Democrat base said they would NOT vote for Obama after Hillary's loss.. now look at him ..

Regardless, the Centrist people in America decide elections, not the far right or left.
Centrists and Independents would have thought a Lieberman pick was a display of McCain standing up.




McCain picking Palin is like Obama picking Cynthia McKinney to be his running mate.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: deftron
The Republican base is not going to desert McCain based on his pick, even if it was Lieberman.

yes, it would have.

the GOP is in control of social conservatives -- nominating any pro-choice VP would have led to a floor fight at the convention and likely would have led to a large chunk of the base, who were leery of McCain and burned out on Bush to begin with, to just stay home.

 

[fskimospy]

While I think most people at this point think that Palin was a catastrophic mistake, Lieberman wouldn't have been any better. You honestly think that Republicans would have been ok with the pro-abortion, gun controlling, super socially liberal Lieberman just because he wants to keep blowing up Iraq? Never.

Adding a VP like that wouldn't make McCain any more exciting to middle of the road voters who wouldn't believe McCain would tack left because of him anyways, but it would do a hell of a lot to alienate the hard right. McCain's campaign saved him from his own stupidity on that one.

 

[ranmaniac]

McCain is the new Bob Dole, basically a walking corpse. I think Romney is thankful he wasn't selected as VP, and has a chance to run for President in 2012.

Romney/Jindal 2012 perhaps?

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

Absolutely not. The Republican base has never quite cared for McCain, a pro-choice DINO like Lieberman would not have helped things at all. McCain may have won over more Independents this way, but he would have lost his base.

Palin did one thing McCain couldn't do, she frenetically energized the Republican base and to that he is indebted to her. Unfortunately for him she also turned off the Independents and moderates that McCain needs to win this election.

Quite simply McCain was put in a no-win situation.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: ranmaniac
McCain is the new Bob Dole, basically a walking corpse. I think Romney is thankful he wasn't selected as VP, and has a chance to run for President in 2012.

Romney/Jindal 2012 perhaps?

I'd vote for Jindal. There's a radio station in New Orleans that was recently populated with transplants from across the country. They frantically called for Jindal to decline the VP slot if it were offered to him, since he was "their" governor.

He's done a good job in a horrible state. He'd get my vote.

 

[techs]

How McCain "could" have landslided this election
one word


Diebold

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
One of a series of poor judgment calls by McCain. Why do people want this guy in the White House again? He can't even run an effective campaign.

Did you vote for Gore and Kerry? Almost every losing candidate over the past 40 years has run an ineffective campaign.

The Presidency has tended to switch between parties every 8 years, with the exception of Carter's idiocy and Reagan's greatness.

reagans greatness lulz

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: miketheidiot

Originally posted by: winnar111

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
One of a series of poor judgment calls by McCain. Why do people want this guy in the White House again? He can't even run an effective campaign.

Did you vote for Gore and Kerry? Almost every losing candidate over the past 40 years has run an ineffective campaign.

The Presidency has tended to switch between parties every 8 years, with the exception of Carter's idiocy and Reagan's greatness.

reagans greatness lulz

hehe. How many people know Reagan killed Iceland?

 

[Vic]

I don't think Lieberman could have helped McCain. Romney or Ridge could have though, by possibly handing over necessary battleground states like MI or PA. McCain never had a chance at a landslide, but the election could have been much closer.
Overall, McCain has simply run a terrible campaign. Possibly the worst I've ever seen. I'm sure many would like to pin the blame entirely on him for that, but IMO his campaign is more representative of the current chaotic state of the GOP.

 

[Lemon law]

Don't blame democrats for McCain getting the Republican nomination, the rational part of the GOP electorate liked McCain, while the far right McCain alternatives were too numerous, and hence the extreme right wing GOP vote was divided too many ways. Which meant the McCain alternatives cannibalized each other into nothings.

The GOP time for wounda coulda shoulda ended after McCain wrapped up the GOP nomination. As for you GOP sour grapes, united you might stand, but divided you will certainly fail.

 

[PingSpike]

Lieberman sucks, he was the reason I voted for Bush in 2000. In retrospect, that wasn't a good decision....not that my vote mattered. But he still sucks.

 

[Jhhnn]

It's not because McCain ran a poor campaign, at all, but because repubs in general have nothing to run on... at least nothing that'll sell in the wake of their incompetence and greed in the wake of a Bush presidency and Repub congress.

They and their ideology have failed miserably. The travelling medicine show of charlatans and snakeoil salesmen is being run out of town. the only reason they got as far as they did was the biggest political windfall since pearl harbor- 9/11.

Beginning now, the various factions are trying to claim what's left of the base, playing the "I'm stupider than you are" game to get the support of the stupidest of the True Believers...

Goodbye and Good riddance. Come back when you have something to sell that wasn't formulated by paid shills of rightwing thinktanks financed by the uber-wealthy.

 

[microbial]

Very easy for McCain to enjoy a landslide win on Nov 4.

At the end of the day when all the counts are in; switch names with the column next to Obama.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: conehead433
I don't think so.

I don't think so either, I don't know of any Democrats that like him.

I don't understnad how Connecticut keeps electing the idiot.

 

[Thump553]

Dave: Lieberman actually wasn't too bad until 2000 or so. He has only been reelected once since then, with full tacit support and funds from the GOP and Bloomberg.

In retrospect, either Romney or Lieberman would have been a far better choice for McCain. With either one this would be a close race now. Odds are McCain still would have still done his very unpresidential wigout at the start of the financial crisis (economy fundamentally sound, cancel campaign to run to Washington, do nothing there but a photo op, on again, off again debate, new bizarre economic proposal every other day, etc.)

Romney would have dragged in the fundamentalist wing of the GOP by the time of the election and given McCain lots of credibility on the economy. Lieberman would have made the race exciting and could have been extremely attractive to independents-would have given real credibility to McCain's claim to be a maverick.

As it was, McCain's choice of Palin appeared to all but GOP fundamentalists as an implusive snap decision-hardly something to start off a presidential campaign on.

Fortunately McCain has made his blunders before acheiving the Presidency, unlike GWB. We can be grateful for that.

 

[SP33Demon]

No. Ridge.

 

[Mani]

McCain's problem is that the right wing "base" is so far out of the mainstream that he had to choose whether to placate them or appeal to independents. Picking Palin did that, but it also unified the democratic party and turned off independents. His campaign and the RNC also have absolutely no idea how to handle a female presidential candidate on top of everything else.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: retrospooty

Originally posted by: deftron
Joe




Joe Lieberman, not Joe the Plumber.
If John would have picked who he initially wanted as his running mate, this election would have been his. All of his reaching across the isle claims would have been validated. Dems from the Gore election might have turned for them. His experience claims would have worked. He would not have had the embarrasments he has had. McCain, the maverick, should have known not to bow down to party pressure to pick someone to "excite the base", and gone with his gut... his whole campaign seemed to be downhill from the moment he made "his pick".

Except the "base" of the republican part would not be happy and would not come out to vote... McCain was stuck between a rock and a hard place. There isnt anything he could have done to energise both the middle, and the right. It was either or.

A very rare post where I agree with a liberal commenting on GOP matters. :beer:

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: SP33Demon
No. Ridge.

ridge might have brought in some moderates, but the base would have dropped out and stayed home in droves if McCain nominated someone who was pro-choice.

 

[Lemon law]

If McCain were a fisherman, reeling in a Lieberman would be the generic equivalent of reeling in a carp. Carp can get really big, but when is the last time you saw a self respecting fisherman mount a stuffed carp on the their wall?