The American Spectator

AmSpecBlog

Re: The Enthusiasm Gap

By Robert Stacy McCain on 6.25.08 @ 10:50AM

John McCain's problems with the conservative base are no secret, Philip. You write: "Whatever Obama's weaknesses as a candidate, the fundamentals still overwhelmingly favor him" -- yes, but Obama's weakness as a candidate is just the problem that euphoric Democrats (and discouraged Republicans) keep trying to overlook. Responding to David Weigel, I made this point:

[V]oters will not have the choice of voting for a generic Democratic president -- or against a generic Republican. In 1996, I was among those who believed that any Republican could beat Bill Clinton. Unfortunately "any Republican" wasn't on the ballot; Bob Dole was. He got 41%.

Team Obama seems to be betting that this is the year the GOP coalition will collapse completely. And they may be right. On the other hand, maybe not.

topics:
John McCain, Bill Clinton