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As for McCain....
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01/31/07 09:51 AM ET
Senate powerhouse and prospective presidential candidate John McCain may have doomed his nominating chances before he's even announced his intentions. Impossible, you say? How can this juggernaut who is already ahead in some presidential premonition polls — even against the likes of Hillary Rodman Clinton and Obama- fad — endanger his prospects so soon?
The answer is as simple as it is complicated to define — the so- called "surge." In every corner of the voting blocs during the 2006 midterm elections, voters from strong Democrats to independents, to even moderate Republicans (McCain's power base) stated that their single largest reason for voting against Republicans and this president was the Iraq war. What followed were the two stark choices Republicans gave voters on the topic — support Republicans and our push to continue fighting a conflict that teeters on the edge of civil war, or pull out and let the terrorists win. No American liked those options, and they said as much on Nov. 7.
According to Reid and Pelosi, the voters have spoken. And now the new majority party wants a redeployment (whatever that means...) of American GIs and the nation is all too eager to oblige and give this new leadership a chance to fix the mess.
Along comes McCain, and the Straight Talk Express seems to have derailed on the Iraq message. This early in the '08 cycle, and the Arizona Republican seems to have taken his finger off the pulse of the electorate, because I haven't seen the first sign of support from the American people that a troop surge is the next and appropriate course of action.
Credit the savvy Republican for taking a stand on what he believes is the right thing to do, and he should know. His pedigree on military affairs runs deep, and the senator is respected in both camps as well as in military institutions. But if indeed a troop surge (10, 20 or even 4,000, the number doesn't matter) is the wisest course of action, I can't name one Republican or Democrat who has made a compelling case to the Washington elite, let alone Mr. and Mrs. America. No, not even Joe Lieberman has been able to convince his following that a troop surge is the answer in Iraq.
Only time will tell how the war will play out on the presidential-contender stage, but one thing's for sure — making a troop surge your No. 1 priority is not the smartest political move for a presidential bid; let's hope this time the American voter is wrong and John McCain is right.
The answer is as simple as it is complicated to define — the so- called "surge." In every corner of the voting blocs during the 2006 midterm elections, voters from strong Democrats to independents, to even moderate Republicans (McCain's power base) stated that their single largest reason for voting against Republicans and this president was the Iraq war. What followed were the two stark choices Republicans gave voters on the topic — support Republicans and our push to continue fighting a conflict that teeters on the edge of civil war, or pull out and let the terrorists win. No American liked those options, and they said as much on Nov. 7.
According to Reid and Pelosi, the voters have spoken. And now the new majority party wants a redeployment (whatever that means...) of American GIs and the nation is all too eager to oblige and give this new leadership a chance to fix the mess.
Along comes McCain, and the Straight Talk Express seems to have derailed on the Iraq message. This early in the '08 cycle, and the Arizona Republican seems to have taken his finger off the pulse of the electorate, because I haven't seen the first sign of support from the American people that a troop surge is the next and appropriate course of action.
Credit the savvy Republican for taking a stand on what he believes is the right thing to do, and he should know. His pedigree on military affairs runs deep, and the senator is respected in both camps as well as in military institutions. But if indeed a troop surge (10, 20 or even 4,000, the number doesn't matter) is the wisest course of action, I can't name one Republican or Democrat who has made a compelling case to the Washington elite, let alone Mr. and Mrs. America. No, not even Joe Lieberman has been able to convince his following that a troop surge is the answer in Iraq.
Only time will tell how the war will play out on the presidential-contender stage, but one thing's for sure — making a troop surge your No. 1 priority is not the smartest political move for a presidential bid; let's hope this time the American voter is wrong and John McCain is right.
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