As I’ve repeatedly stated, issues matter not a whit in Presidential elections, particularly those close enough to attract the politically disconnected to the polls who are very unlikely to deny McCain their vote based on his support of “campaign finance reform”. The winner of the next Presidential election is likely to be determined the same way the last two were….by a few hundred thousand voters in a couple “battleground states” who base their vote on which candidate will be the least annoying to listen to on TV for the next four years or which candidate’s wife would make the most charming First Lady. On the superficial front, McCain’s only rising liability is his age, but he still doesn’t have that Bob Dole-esque curmudgeon factor and manages to seem positively zippy every time he’s lucky enough to share a stage with Fred Thompson, so I don’t think age would deter would-be “swing voters” in the face of Hillary Clinton opposition.

Seven years ago, McCain would have mopped the floor up with Al Gore or any other Democrat. In 2007, he’s lost some of his luster with independents, but would get it back in an instant in a national campaign against Hillary. If the Dems choose not to commit electoral suicide and nominate Obama or Edwards, then it would be a heckuva national election contest, but if Hillary’s coronation continues undeterred, McCain would win by more than 75 electoral votes and sweep every noncoastal state except Illinois.

As for Pat Robertson endorsing a cross-dresser, it rings kind of hollow coming from a guy who welcomes devastating hurricanes as retribution for support of gay rights’ measures. Robertson’s calculation could backfire come the general election if Rudy makes it that far. Will the Pennsylvania and Connecticut moderates embrace Rudy as he’s counting on when they see campaign ads with him standing hand-in-hand with a guy who cheered on the collapse of the World Trade Center as God’s punishment for gays, lesbians, and the ACLU?