From the
AP:
Republican John McCain has maneuvered himself into a political dead end and has five weeks to find his way out.
Last Wednesday, McCain suspended his presidential campaign to insert himself into a $700 billion effort to rescue America's crumbling financial structure. In so doing, he tied himself far more tightly to the bill than did his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama.
Then, as the bailout plan appeared ready for passage Monday in the House, McCain bragged that he was an action-oriented Teddy Roosevelt Republican who did not sit on the sidelines at a moment of crisis.The implication: that he played a critical role in building bipartisan support for the unprecedented bailout.
And then what happened?
Within hours, however, the measure died in the House mainly at the hands of McCain's own Republicans.
Poor John McCain. The formerly honorable Senator from Arizona just can't catch an even break. Even from his congressional colleagues.
5 comments:
what does it say about the republican party when their "leaders" (mccain, boehner, bush) can't convince the members of their own party in the house, to vote along with them.
who's really in charge? where is their leadership?
The Republicans are caught in a vicious whirlwind. Bad leadership. Dispirited supporters. A brutal record of incompetence, failure and polarization tied around their collective neck. Discredited ideology. A coalition of groups -- social conservatives, government contractors, religious extremists, wealthy heirs, fiscal conservatives -- that have finally recognized they intensely dislike each other.
Given the political headwinds, the strategy of focusing on the presidential race (and ignoring congressional elections) seemed sensible . . . but only now are Republicans recognizing that they had adopted an all-in strategy. They not only are underdogs with a limp (Palin) in the Presidential race, but they may even see a 60-Democrat Senate if they don't catch a break or two on Election Day.
I hope the Republicans regain their footing -- which means sitting on some of their extremists -- and become contributing members of our society again soon. One-party government is never a good idea.
Except when the alternative is Sarah Palin, who can't read a newspaper because she's too busy worrying about witches . . . and thinks The Flintstones was a documentary.
I would say more that the Republicans are on a roller coaster. They got a big bump when McCain picked Palin, and from their convention. They proved that being mean to poor people and making veiled racist comments still plays fairly well in America. They were a bit ahead in the polls, baffling liberals everywhere.
But evidently voters are fickle. The Wall Street crisis (in all its incoherence), McCain's dramatic suspension and pull out from the debate, and then pulling back in, his performance in the debate and Monday’s vote on the bailout while the market tanked have all somehow made voters reverse themselves. I myself was not impressed with McCain in the debate, I thought his repeated claim that Obama was inexperienced was more than offset by Obama’s easy facility with issues. But trying to think how a person not so familiar with politics and foreign policy would think, I thought McCain had held his own. Evidently voters thought about it, listened to the slight negativity of several pundits about McCain, saw how McCain had provided insufficient leadership in Congress, and now the polls have changed.
Still, there is enough time in this Steeler’s game-like Presidential race for both sides to fumble a couple more times, and the lead to change hands again. Obama wasn’t hurt by over promising in Friday’s debate. If he stays with it, maybe gets a little more forceful, and continues to repeat what he will do and what the Republican’s haven’t done, he may be able to fend off McCain. Maybe McCain will say “Horsesh*t” a bit louder next time.
John K: Is Limbaugh right? Hussein Obama did not blame this mortage mess on Haliburton? Tell me he did not do that? What, the rest of your excuses failed to play out with the public and you had to resort to an old standby excuse. LMAO Man that is funny.
John K: LOL LOL LOL This post is really funny. You left wing kooks could not bail yourselves out of this mess on your own so Sen. Reid had to call on McCain to return to DC to help. And then you whined because not enough Democrats voted for the measure so you had to ask for Republican help. LOL LOL LOL And then some loon in here says dispirited Republican supporters. LMAO LMAO Too funny, try using this as an SNL skit. LMAO
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