McCain's funk

[Democratic Hawk]

   
Does anyone else see this or is it just me?

No it isn't just you. McCain is 70 years old and looks it. Doesn't seem to have much vigor at all nowadays

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

His stance on the Iraq war is a huge strike against him.

You hope . Voters will be looking for more in presidential candidates as to whether they support the Iraq war or not. One issue of many for them to consider in 2008, albeit an immensely important one

A word of caution, which I elaborated on in another thread, an overwhelming majority of Connecticut voters opposed the Iraq war, as of November 2006, yet they still re-elected Joe Lieberman. Only those who strongly opposed it broke heavily in Lamont's favor

Democrats should do their best to tie McCain, as a Republican senator, in with aiding and abetting Bush's incompetence

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Maybe

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

His stance on the Iraq war is a huge strike against him.

You hope .

No, he knows. McCain's stance of sending more troops in to Iraq is already hurting him in the polls. It is exactly why Hillary has actually lead him in three seperate polls.

As of now , indeed

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

As of now , indeed

And what makes you think that the situation in Iraq will be any better in two years?

I don't but one's allowed to be optimistic aren't they?

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I would . I wouldn't have voted for McGovern in 1972. I'd have cast a pro-Nixon vote rather than a pro-Republican vote. Just like in 1987, my first vote wasn't so much pro-Labour, more anti-Thatcher

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

Only warmongers write off the Iraq war as "just one issue".

Well, it is, and as I've said, albeit an immensely important one. I'm just saying there are other factors, in addition to Iraq, to take into account

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

In 1966, many people thought Johnson/Humphrey would be unstoppable in '69. Look at what Vietnam ended up doing to both Johnson and Humphrey instead. Just like Vietnam did in Humphrey, Iraq will do in McCain if he wins the Republican nomination.

The Vietnam War continued through Richard Nixon's first term and we all know how it sank his re-election bid in 1972

Dave

[Democratic Hawk]

I don't but one's allowed to be optimistic aren't they?

There are other issues, of course, but Iraq is huge... and it's going to weigh down the GOP nominee.

And so it should. While, broadly, supportive of the Iraq war as I am, I'm hardly enamored with the way it has been prosecuted. And just about all the blame for that can be levelled at Rumsfeld and, ultimately, Bush. So why shouldn't that rub off on the likes of McCain? As a pro-war Republican, he's aided and abetted that incompetence to some degree or another. But will it, ultimately, matter? Perhaps McCain sees sending more troops in the short-term as a means of rectifying past strategic inadequacies

After all, in 2006, anti-Iraq war as Connecticut is, it still relected Lieberman. And using that logic, does such a strong anti-Iraq war feeling nationally necessarily bode ill for McCain? That's all I'm saying

Dave