John McCain: The Democrats’ and Mainstream Media’s Favorite Republican
This election cycle has humbled a great many political commentators/pundits. Most had enshrined Obama as the next president-elect based on the very thin reed of his single Iowa victory. Many analysts had predicted the end of the Clinton Dynasty. Chris Matthew's had Hillary in the political graveyard and was swooning over the prospects of a rhetorically grandiloquent Obama presidency.
We all know how wrong these folks were. Reports of the Clintons’ demise were premature. Yet the analytical flaws of many of these same “experts” were on full display when they postulated that Mitt Romney was “finished” if he didn’t win in Michigan.
What Rubbish!!
Although he won handily in his home state, in what sense would Romney’s candidacy have been over if he had lost? McCain started being touted as the presumptive Republican front-runner after his victory in New Hampshire. Some pundits belief in this non-sequitur only became enhanced after he won in South Carolina. How some commentators could argue plausibly that McCain was the Republican favorite after winning New Hampshire and South Carolina due solely to Democrat voters is anybody’s guess. McCain is favorite of Democrats and in cross-over states like New Hampshire and South Carolina, it should come as no surprise that he would do well in those primaries.
The real test for McCain will be in Florida, where no cross-over voting is permitted. Republicans alone will decide between the candidates. If McCain trounces Romney the media will be justified in proclaiming him a potential front-runner. There was no basis, however, for asserting that McCain was leading the pack based solely on the results of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Beacon Street Journal
Thursday, January 24, 2008
By Johnny K
