Thursday, April 12, 2007

McCain Is Fading Fast In Race For Prez




You might as well wave goodbye to John McCain, because he's fading fast in the 2008 presidential race. But do it quick because he may not survive much longer as a viable candidate.

After the 2004 election, most people had McCain pegged as the favorite for the Republican nomination. But evidently that wasn't good enough for McCain. Since then he's made some really bone-headed decisions, and thrown most of that support away.

I guess he believed the idiots at Fox who said he must appeal to the far-right of the Republican party if he wanted to win. So several months ago he began to move to the right and pander to the nut-wing of the party. But the ultra-right just doesn't like McCain - they didn't like him when he opposed them, and they don't like him now that he's kissing their butts.

Instead of gaining votes by pandering to the right, he has just lost the votes of many moderates. In an effort to regain his lost momentum, McCain then makes an even worse decision. He decided to pin his hopes on rabid support for the war in Iraq. I can't believe that someone in his campaign didn't point out to him that 70% of the American people now oppose the war.

I'm glad he's fading fast, because I'd hate to have a president that makes such poor decisions. It would be like replacing Bush with his own clone!

The Los Angeles Times tells us that in a new LA Times/Bloomberg poll conducted recently, McCain finished third behind Giuliani and Fred Thompson (who is not even in the race). Romney finished a poor fourth. Here are the numbers:

Giuliani.............29%
Thompson.........15%
McCain..............12%
Romney.............08%

While McCain is dropping like a rock, Romney is not doing very well either. He may be a whiz at raising money, but it's not being translated into real popular support. And frankly, Giuliani's 29% is not all that impressive either. I'm starting to think that Republicans are not too happy with any of the three (and I don't blame them).

I think any of the major Democratic candidates (Clinton - Obama - Edwards - Richardson) could beat any of the three major Republican candidates. But there is one Republican that comes out of this looking good - Fred Thompson. He got 15% and he hasn't even said he wants to run.

Thompson is the only one of the Republicans that kind of scares me as a Democratic supporter. He has a lot of built-in name recognition after being both an actor and a senator. He also has a kind of homey grandfatherly image that makes you want to trust him. He is liked by those on the right and could easily be accepted by moderates. Personally, I hope he stays out of the race.


In other news, Bill Richardson continues to impress with his diplomatic abilities. He has just returned from North Korea, where he helped in the return of the remains of six American soldiers who had died in the Korean War. While he was there, he had high-level talks with the North Koreans, and now it looks like they will be shutting down their nuclear program.

In a letter to his supporters, Bill Richardson had this to say:

"The bottom line is that diplomacy works - there is no other lesson to draw from this monumental breakthrough. And we desperately need someone in the White House who understands this and can restore American international leadership.

In today's world, we have to be willing to engage our adversaries in tough and direct talks that lead to resolution, not more confrontation and isolation. I don't have to tell you that there are trouble spots all over the world that could use some of this tough and smart American diplomacy.

I'm running for President, in part, to keep our country safe and secure. I'm proud that yesterday in North Korea I was able to make a contribution to real progress toward that goal."

We need more of Bill Richardson's miracle-working diplomacy. Wouldn't it be nice to have a truly competent president?

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