The American Spectator

Captain America| 11.1.08 @ 1:49PM

All well and good. However, Obama promised me a pony for my vote.

Ned| 11.1.08 @ 2:56PM

Uncle Barry just promised me a nice little pad in Boston. Lets see if McCain can beat that.

Bob| 11.1.08 @ 4:22PM

I find it interesting that you think McCain now looks good (which he does). If you notice, he wasn't talking about culture -- something you and the other right wing ideologues wanted him to do. He wasn't talking about pro-life either. This is what the real McCain wanted to do back in January before Steve Schmidt, Rick Davis, and the other campaign nuts took over.

Obama will win the election. But the real question is what will happen to the Republican Party. If it continues to narrow to the right wing Christian conservatives (i.e., Palin), it will die. If it branches out to the Romney's and Ridge's and Powell's, it will grow. The Republicans need to get back to basics with small government, conservative fiscal policies, and a smattering of libertarianism (i.e., individual rights). We need to take abortion off of the table and leave that up to the individuals as well. Perhaps most importantly, we need to embrace intellectualism (i.e., smart people) and stop deriding them.

Francis Beckwith| 11.1.08 @ 5:03PM

Bob: Why do you believe that being smart and being Christian are inconsistent with each other? Perhaps you should exhibit more intellectual curiosity instead of repeating the mantras and bromides of the permanently ossified change-agents of the status quo's reform wing.

Ned| 11.1.08 @ 5:08PM

Bob, I think McCain can win this election. I also think he would be dead in the water without having Sarah Palin to fire up the un-intellectuals. Something Romney, Ridge, and definitely Powell could have never accomplished.

ruth| 11.1.08 @ 5:42PM

McCain is struggling because he isn't a true conservative. It wasn't until now that people could see a stark difference between him and Obama. Who needs democrat light? But thanks, Bob, for your advice and pearls of wisdom, I'll make sure I file them in the same receptacle I throw all of my trash.

M. Tobias| 11.1.08 @ 7:18PM

Big tent Republicans always reach out to the independents, the moderates, the RINOs and the Democrats. The one group that they ignore, whenever possible, is the Conservative wing of the Party. G.H.W. Bush lost in '92 because he had abandoned most of the conservative principles he had touted in '88 and raised taxes on top of that. In '94, the Contract with America promised that Republican lawmakers would embrace conservative principles. Conservatives voted and both houses of Congress went Republican. In '96 they ran Bob Dole. A nice enough guy, but hardly a Conservative. Conservatives stayed home and Bill Clinto got another four years. In 2000, G.W. Bush ran as a conservative, though he is actually a moderate. Conservatives voted, largely against Al Gore. 2004, the same thing happened, though this time the conservatives voted against John Kerry. In 2008, the Republican Party ran John McCain, the ultimate RINO. He is almost universally despised by conservatives because he has worked to undermine literally every Conservative principle in existence. But he learned a shocking truth; Republicans can not win a national election without Conservative votes. So they drafted Sarah Palin to get the Conservatives to the polls, where they would vote against Barack Obama.

So lets encourage more Colin Powells to join. The Republican Party needs many more fair weather members, such as the scores that have suddenly jumped on the Obama bandwagon and abandoned "their" candidate. The Conservatives, with the help of some moderates and the blue collar, dirt- under-the-fingernails Democrats, will carry John McCain and Sarah Palin over the finish line, very probably to the White House. Yes, sir, what we need is a bigger tent in the Republican Party. One that covers the conservatives as well as the Colin Powells.

WendyG| 11.1.08 @ 9:17PM

Carter begat Reagan. If Obama wins we have an incentive to find another standard bearer.

What's interesting to me is that though I live in a liberal town in CA, I get nothing but high-fives for my McCain/Palin pin. Today so many people stopped me to tell me how upset they are with the press and how terrified they are of the leftwing tilt this nation will take under Obama. One man assured me Obama would be terrible for Israel. "The death of Israel" is how he put it.

But again, we have elections every four years and if Obama wins, we regroup. I just hope the new GOP shuts out Powell, Noonan, Buckley the other radical chic Republicans. They don't deserve a place at the table.

dad29| 11.1.08 @ 10:17PM

If it branches out to the Romney's and Ridge's and Powell's, it will grow

So that's why McC is losing the "moderates" in this election by a zillion points per IBD/ITPP?

ruth| 11.1.08 @ 10:44PM

That ingrate, Colin Powell, can forever kiss my a**.

Bob| 11.2.08 @ 1:00PM

OK, Let me answer your responses. First, you need a dispassionate view of the electorate in order to win. There are certainly many intelligent Christians. However, the demographics of the polling I've seen say that as a group, they devalue education, show anti-intellectual/elitist views, and value ideology over analytical logic in relation to other groups. Should there be a "moral" aspect to the Republican Party? Yes, but it should not be religious to the point of a litmus test on abortion.

What is a "true conservative"? I'm a strong fiscal conservative, believe in small federal government, but believe that political parties should stay away from religion. Does this make me a "liberal". Those of you that talk about "true conservatives" are not objective because that only exists in the eyes of the beholder.

McCain is losing the moderates, according to the polls, primarily because of the choice of Palin. If you are objective in using data, you must accept this. Aside from what most of you think, the conservatives would have always supported McCain over Obama. The reason McCain seemed to have the best chance, is that he appealed to the "big tent". When he chose Palin, he gave up that appeal. If you look at the numbers (again not being emotional), the gain that Palin received following the convention completely disappeared two weeks later.

Lastly, you ideologues should be talking about being an American first, and a Republican/conservative second. That's the way to grow the party. As an example, the Republican convention this year had the lowest number of minorities in recent history. In a few years, minorities will outnumber whites. If you shut out the Powell's, Buckley's, Ridge's and "me's" from the party, it will be numerically impossible to ever win a national election again. Think about it!

ruth| 11.2.08 @ 4:14PM

Bob, if you're so smart, how do you explain the success of Ronald Reagan? You probably think it's because he was the 'great communicator'. But you are wrong--it was his strong conservative convictions that resonated with the American people. He wasn't just another mealy-mouthed politician and we knew it.

Bob| 11.3.08 @ 7:24AM

Ruth, you are modifying history regarding Reagan. The country was in turmoil during the 70's from the economy, oil crises, and Iran hostage situation. If you study that period, you'll find that people were actually afraid of Reagan's strong conservative positions. It was his strong ability to communicate, be steady, and rarely be angry that made him achieve the win. This is the mistake that "true conservatives" make about conservatism. It's about the individual and what's needed at the time. Obama has the same general traits as Reagan, which is why he is winning even though his ideology is virtually opposite. By the way, I voted for Reagan -- and Bush. But not this time since McCain is the wrong person for this time. And Palin? Charisma without knowledge is extremely dangerous. How do you make good decisions if you don't understand the Constitution and our history?

By the way, Obama knows that the only way for Democrats to be transformational is if he has a successful presidency. For that reason, he will govern towards the center. If you take a look at his background, he is a realist and a pragmatist even though he voted liberal most of the time. This is a guy that is cool and strategic -- he will surprise you.