Congratulations, John McCain. You're on Meet The Press for the second time this month. Guess who has the momentum in the Republican primary race. However, this column shouldn't complain about this de facto endorsement of McCain because it stated that, in fact, he would (or should) be the nominee for he Republicans.
However, as John McCain gets closer to that nomination, his straight talk gets more and more distant, in essence his answers are much more nuanced. Sen. McCain has always been for the surge and that's pretty straight, in the beginning generals said that we need more troops going in. McCain agreed with that sparking his harsh exchanges and eventual calls for Rumsfeld's dismissal. But what's not straight is the fact that it is an escalation. Surge implies an eventual subsiding. That's not what's happening with our troops in Iraq. They are there to stay in force. And McCain was also incorrect in saying that the American people will turn their feelings around for the war (occupation) and support our presence there. Paraphrasing, he said that it's not a matter of our troops being there, but a matter of our troops dying there. It IS a matter of our troops being there. We left Saudi Arabia, why? And the Iraq tragedy is too far gone for the American people to come around and think it's a noble cause.
Lastly, he didn't really explain why he thought it was a war of necessity. He mentioned that Saddam had used weapons of mass destruction and the oil-for-food scandal in the UN, inspections breaking down, etc. Given that the inspectors at the time could not find any WMD, none of the aforementioned reasons call for a necessary preemptive invasion.
And now that he is the frontrunner, despite any polling numbers to the contrary, there is this silly question of is he conservative enough. Republicans are asking this, of course, and it's fascinating to witness the fervor for someone eating his own. Rush Limbaugh and Rick Santorum coming out strong against. Limbaugh continually so through the airwaves, deriding not only McCain, but Huckabee as well. Limbaugh's approach has always been Cheney-esque, petty, pointed, personal attacks and this is why the Republicans are floundering. As far as Rick Santorum is concerned, his M.O. was always stand in the back of the republican gang machine with the large megaphone and pile on, on when the hard mauling was done. This is why he is not still in office.
So... Is McCain conservative enough? He invokes Reagan enough. That should count. This time it was about Reagan's smart spending and tax cutting. Ugh.. Ronald spent more money on programs [read: Star Wars] that never materialized than any other president in history. And trickle down economics is just that, a trickle. No one gets excited about a trickle like they do a flood. He did flip-flop on the Bush tax cuts and his immigration policy is a bit more sensible to the reality of the situation so that could call his Republicanism into question, but lets still be real. He is the best chance for the Republicans to win the presidency.
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Today's program, ahead of the Florida primary, was coming to you from Tampa Bay so it's a little surprising that Maureen Dowd would be on the show. It's just odd that she's in Tampa at all, in an inexplicable way, it seems beneath her. However, she is a great equalizer of straight talk, especially when following an interview with a politician. Byron York, from the National Review, was downright subdued. It just looked pain for him to speak about the Republicans. Talk about a guy who is just bummed out. He's no Kate O'Bierne who will rip conservatives a new. As they say, he doesn't have that juice. And lastly, there NBC's Political Director, Chuck Todd. We like Chuck Todd and have to because he's being groomed for the MTP chair. It's a long way off but he's going to be Mr. Russert's successor. He just needs to speak more from the diaphragm - project and make sure his statements don't trail off at the end. We're just trying to be helpful. Again, this is a long way off, but that's our bet.
So with this panel, you were basically just waiting for Ms. Dowd to speak - those were the moments that counted most. She spoke frankly about Bill Clinton's conduct in South Carolina and passionately (rare but delightful to see) about Obama's message of hope. And the quote from John Kerry thrown up on the screen was spot on. Bill Clinton's conduct and words in South Carolina this past week were a blow to his standing as a former President. Former Presidents can critique or criticize the current president (the unwritten rule that this can't happen is ridiculous. Former presidents have the unique knowledge to do it!), but they shouldn't be petty and manipulative. And it is scary to think about this dynamic in the oval office. Trepidation is a understate here. Chuck Todd made a great point that after the South Carolina primary, the first Clinton you heard from was Bill, not Hillary! The word he used was 'weird,' I'm thinking 'creepy,' but it would be most accurate to say 'scary.'
Going back for a moment to Ms. Dowd's point about Obama, Mr. Russert summed it up concisely - balancing hope with defiance. Barack Obama is the embodiment of this combination. It's quite evident.
Other points of note... Giuliani's campaign... simply not a smart one. Gambling in Florida is a losing proposition, you have to play in all the states to win and he didn't do it. Plus, I think the money woes went a little deeper than it was let on. Also, people are catching up on the fuller Giuliani picture, that he is manipulative and has shades of grey that veer to much the way of black.
The race is taking shape and this column will have its recommendations for whom should be the respective parties nominees. Call them endorsements if you like, but you can only vote for one person. Since I'm only one person, I'm calling them recommendations. An official endorsement for president will come when there are only two because there can be only one.
oooo... the drama...
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