McCain Wins In Florida

CNN has official called John McCain the winner in the Florida primary, beating out Mitt Romney and giving himself a clear shot at the nomination. At this point, I think McCain will be the Republican nominee.

This marks the likely end of the Giuliani campaign, and already there are rumors that Giuliani will drop out and endorse McCain. That seems likely. Giuliani’s whole strategy was to wait out the early contests and pick up all his momentum in Florida. It was a risky strategy, and it appears to have backfired against him. Giuliani is a great leader, and I don’t think this is the end of his political career, but he didn’t show the kind of oratorical brilliance that I’ve seen from him on several occasions.

Mitt Romney’s strong executive experience doesn’t seem to have helped him in Florida. Romney has been a stalwart conservative in this race, but ultimately I don’t think he has enough momentum out of Super Tuesday to make it all the way. He’s certainly not out of the race, but he has a great deal of ground to gain in very little time.

Sen. John McCain is an American hero, a man of great personal integrity and someone who has always stood strongly on the side of his country. He often rubs conservatives the wrong way, and his “maverick” image causes much consternation—however, when it comes right down to it a man who agrees with us 80% of the time is better than a woman who represents the worst of American politics and a man whose great rhetoric is but a cover for a fundamental lack of real-world experience. We may have our issues with John McCain, but when it comes down to the basic principles of the party: fiscal conservatism, a strong national defense and strengthening the family, McCain has his heart in the right place.

Conservatives should make their voices heard, and they should continue to push Sen. McCain towards the mainstream of the party as they have on issues like immigration. However, if McCain gets the nomination—and it seems altogether likely that he will—conservatives cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. John McCain will cut wasteful spending in Washington, defend our troops in Iraq and our war against radical Islamist terrorism and will continue to be a strong voice for respecting human life, born and unborn. He may not be perfect, but he can lead, and we need true leadership in Washington more than anything else.

7 thoughts on “McCain Wins In Florida

  1. “At this point, I think McCain will be the Republican nominee.”

    It’s all but a coronation at this point.

    “Giuliani is a great leader, and I don’t think this is the end of his political career, but he didn’t show the kind of oratorical brilliance that I’ve seen from him on several occasions.”

    I tried to tell you this guy was gonna flop. Chalk one more successful political prediction up on my board.

    “Mitt Romney’s strong executive experience doesn’t seem to have helped him in Florida. Romney has been a stalwart conservative in this race, but ultimately I don’t think he has enough momentum out of Super Tuesday to make it all the way. He’s certainly not out of the race, but he has a great deal of ground to gain in very little time.”

    This was Willard’s chance….and it still didn’t happen for him. With a weak frontrunner despised in many circles, a crowded field of bankrupted campaigns unable to match Willard’s campaign warchest, and a Republican-only primary in a state chock full of retired bigshots who moved there to avoid paying their taxes, there was no reason why Willard couldn’t prevail. It speaks volumes about his surprisingly weak candidacy…and reinforces my point from last week that he has nowhere else to go after Florida.

    “Sen. John McCain is an American hero, a man of great personal integrity”

    He’s unquestionably an American hero….and up until four days ago, unquestionably a man of integrity as well. I even maintained a nominal respect for the guy when he was snuggling up to the “agents of intolerance” for political expediency last year. But we finally saw the sleazy side of McCain this past weekend when he intentionally distorted Willard’s position on withdrawal from Iraq. This was reminiscent of the very kind of dirty politics he rightfully decried about being waged against him in South Carolina. Anyone who has to sink to that level of demagoguery to win a primary with 36% of the vote is alot less worthy of “integrity” accolades than he was a week ago.

    “however, when it comes right down to it a man who agrees with us 80% of the time is better than a woman who represents the worst of American politics and a man whose great rhetoric is but a cover for a fundamental lack of real-world experience”

    That’s why the Tom DeLays and talk radio crybabies are ultimately bluffing. Whether McCain’s challenger is Hitlery Rotten or Obama, the hard-right will vigorously defend and campaign for him in the summer and fall.

    “and they should continue to push Sen. McCain towards the mainstream of the party as they have on issues like immigration.”

    Rest assured that he’ll undergo a Dole-esque conversion by the time he addresses the Republican National Convention.

    “John McCain will cut wasteful spending in Washington, defend our troops in Iraq and our war against radical Islamist terrorism”

    A more perfect example of a contradiction in terms I cannot recall.

  2. I was a McCain support in 2000…although he is not the ideal candidate, he is going to get my support for President if he is the candidate. It will still be interesting as Huckabee has a chance to win a number of southern states on Super Tuesday. If he and McCain are the big winners, and Romney falls out…..it will be interesting to see what happens. Personally I like Huckabee…and if he does win a number of states on Super Tuesday what will that mean.

  3. If McCain does win the nomination, any thoughts on VP candidates? I think its gotta be a much younger, conservative candidate

    I have some ideas, and somehow I think that’s going to be the subject of a full post in the near future…

  4. McCain’s top three choices would probably be, in this order….

    1) Joe Lieberman
    2) Mike Huckabee
    3) Charlie Crist
    4) Tim Pawlenty

    And although he’s probably not on the short list, J.C. Watts would be a very buzzworthy choice.

  5. Lieberman doesn’t want the position, and he’s been pretty adamant about that—and he’d likely be a drag on McCain rather than a help.

    The other three are all possibilities, though. The rumor is that Crist’s endorsement came at the cost of him taking the VP slot. However, I don’t know whether that rumor is reliable or not.

  6. Pawlenty insisted he doesn’t want the VP slot either, but he’d take it in a heartbeat as would Lieberman. Very rarely does a veepstakes candidate NOT say they don’t want the position before the selection. It’s just the way the game is played.

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