At 11:11 PM 8/31/2004 -0400 Bryon Daly wrote: >On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 20:44:26 -0400, JDG <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> At 12:33 PM 8/31/2004 -0400 Bryon Daly wrote: >> >I don't think so either. I think despite McCain's loyalty to the >> >party in campaigning for and endorsing Bush (and rejecting the Kerry >> >VP offer), he will be remembered by the Republicans far more for his >> >few small "disloyalties" like his assorted criticisms of Bush over the >> >years, his weak Bush endorsement, and words of praise for Kerry. >> >Given the close race, I think that these small things will be given >> >exagerated weight, and he will be a major scapegoat if Bush loses. >> >> You missed the biggest one... you have to be pro-life to win the Republican >> primaries, and McCain has gained a reputation as being insufficiently >> pro-life. > >Really? I had thought one of the serious sticking points that kept him from >taking the Kerry VP spot was his pro-life position.
True also. McCain has managed to strike a middle-of-the-road position on abortion that ends up pleasing noone. At the core of it is that while McCain has generally cast mostly pro-life votes, he has never appeared to speak from the heart about the pro-life issue, and most critically of all, has said that he would consider appointing justices who actually believe that Roe vs. Wade was a decent piece of jurisprudence. >If not the pres nomination itself, do you think McCain has a chance to get a >Republican VP offer? First, I think that McCain's age is such that he probably would not accept the VP slot. The VP slot is generally seen these days as primarily a ticket to the nomination in 8 years. McCain isn't sure he wants to run for President in 2008, let alone in 2016. Secondly, McCain was widely mooted as a potential VP candidate in 2000, and the pro-life faction of the Republican Party made it abundantly clear that they would be very displeased to have someone whom they viewed as insufficiently pro-life only a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and the heir apparent for 2008. Moreover, Bush himself did not exactly have strong pro-life bona fides in 2000, and thus needed to shore up support from the pro-life faction of the Republican base with a pro-life running mate. The nominee in 2008 could easily be in a similar predicament. JDG _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
