“Ideally, a presidential candidate is supposed to embody the heart and soul of his party…” When has the ideal ever been true? You will never have a candidate who does it all, and if you think you’ve got one, you have probably been persuaded by charisma, Barack-style. Did you vote for Nixon? Ford? (even Reagan turned out squishy and secondary matters). Bush 41? Dole? Welcome to real life.
This is an entirely normal situation that some conservatives are treating as some terrible tragedy and deterioration. They say it is issues, and I believed them at first. But the discussion moves so quickly, over and over again, to how John McCain has said bad things about us and hasn’t been “loyal,” that I have to conclude that their objection is too much tribal and emotional.
I no longer believe it is principle. I believe people can find principles to hold up and hide behind, but those are not their reasons.
