We don’t elect a future president’s Vice-President pick, we elect the beliefs and strategies of the Commander-in-Chief on the top of the ticket. This is what’s missing here, the emotional tie to the base. John McCain has 3 weeks to bolster that chink in his armor… He better hurry. – DanM

A lot of “centrist” Republicans misunderstand conservatives as badly as the political left. For example, many took Limbaugh’s negative observations about McCain stated in the primaries, as proof-positive that the GOP “big tent” was dead due to conservative litmus tests. In fact, Limbaugh’s major objection was this (to paraphrase): McCain can’t win. Given a choice between a Pubbie centrist and a liberal Democrat, folks included towards leftist values (e.g. economic, social, whatever) will pick the real liberal every time. Being a “Maverick”, screwing your own party, defeating the conservative legislative agenda is one thing. Getting the “independents” or “conservative Democrats” to pull the lever for a Republican requires a lot more than what McCain has to offer.

Second, McCain’s effort to “divorce” himself from Bush, and from every GOP policy for the last 8 years has played right into the Democrats hands. To be honest, I turned off both the McCain and Palin debates early, after I heard diatribe after diatribe, and lie after lie about Bush and the last 8 years and the worst economy in 10,000 years and .. and all other BS, and McCain and Palin let the charges stand. Getting elected President is relatively meaningless without an associated policy mandate. Other than war policy, what would McCain stand for that the Democrats would not also claim for their own. Damn little.

I’m voting for McCain not because of Palin, though she’s a welcome addition to the ticket, and certainly not because of McCain. I just hate liars. “Honor”, “Patriotism”, “Honesty”, “truthfulness”, have always meant something to me. BHO is an enigma wrapped in lies. BHO, 60 Democrat Senators, and a Democrat majority in the House, will redefine every historical concept of what it once meant to be a “free American”.

I’ll go one step further. If the GOP loses so badly, I don’t see the GOP returning to a position of influence or power in my lifetime. The GOP RINO’s and fatcat’s, along with a one-dimensional-patrician GOP President, have squandered credibility. It’ll be time for an entirely new party, how, when, or what, I am not certain.