Why McCain? Can anyone explain his immense popularity?

[KillCapitalism]

I really haven't been keeping up with the other side, but McCain seems to be more popular than even Reagan was. Is it because he wants more war? I really think it should be Rudy who is getting the GOP nomination. Not that I want to see Rudy as Pres., but he would be better than McCain by leaps and bounds.

[salin]

1. What immense popularity?

He pulls ahead, Romney and Gulliani leave the race - and Huckabee suddenly wins several races? Or is it when Obama gets more of the independent vote in Virginia than does McCain (that is, folks who could vote in either primary but choose to vote dem, and vote for Obama). Or is it the popularity of McCain with the large conservo-talkingheadclass that claims that he has betrayed the Reagan legacy (though that he does still win primaries suggests the waning influence of the conservo-talkingheadclass).

McCain is not terribly popular. If you live in or near a media market with a conservative talk-radio station - tune in if there is a local call-in show. I do that in Indianapolis some mornings - one of the hosts (the main one) is fine with McCain - but the call ins mostly hate him. Several have even said that they would vote for Obama over McCain, because while they didn't agree with Obama on many things, that they believed that he was "a good man" and offered hope.

All that said, I certainly don't get any signs that McCain is popular. Let alone very popular. Let alone "more popular than even Reagan was."

[Mezzo]

2. He appears to be a maverick, when in truth...

he is the exact opposite of most Americans. Most peeps don't like paying high taxes, and don't really care about abortion until you push them on it (That is a whole other debate for another thread I am sure but I digress) Most people are fiscally conservative, and socially liberal. John McCain is the EXACT OPPOSITE of that. He is a fiscal liberal (read deficit) and social conservative (read barefoot, pregnant women in kitchen).

I honestly think either of our two could tear him a new one in the general.

[zbdent]

19. I remember his maverick war cry ...

"Yessir, Mr. President Bush, whatever you ask for, I'll vote for it!"

[izzie]

3. Been years since I read his book but if I recall he has always

been or felt he was special and has been treated that way his whole life. Some people are just like that. I would think it would be like Bush going to Yale and all that type stuff. Heck even in the small town I grew up in you had those types.

[fasttense]

4. First off they have lost a lot of voters who self identify as repukes.

This started a while ago when the bushes popularity poll numbers stated sinking below 40 percent. Repukes in droves changed their affiliations to independent or Democratic. So when you say popular among repukes you mean a very small group of die hards. They are about half the size of people who self identify as Democratic.

Next, if you look at the idiots running for the repuke ticket, McCain is the least offensive. At least he openly admitted he was against torture. Think of that as a platform issue. If you elect me, America will continue to break the Geneva Convention and we will make huge strides in the torture of innocent people.

Of all the repukes, McCain is the most liberal. And the remaining tatters of the repuke party know that change is needed so the closest they get is McCain. But to say he is popular and more so than Reagan, is really not the truth.

I know people who will vote repuke to the bitter end and they don't love McCain like Obama people love him or how Hillary people support her. They kind of shrug their shoulders and say well McCain is the best of the worst. They are not real enthusiastic about McCain but they have to throw something out there.

[polpilot]

15. Agree. Squirrel Frying Huckabee is the best this group has. A P.O.W.

seems good to this pack.

[w13rd0]

5. The GOP and Dem primaries are very different...

...in the GOP primaries, it's been "winner-takes-all", and all that has required is a plurality of the vote. McCain has secured the nomination by getting, in every state, a plurality, not a majority. If you actually stack up those who voted FOR McCain, and those that voted AGAINST (for someone else) him in the GOP selections so far, AGAINST is winning by fairly substantial margins. We can only hope that such a sentiment continues right up to November.

[babylonsister]

6. He's the best of a very bad lot? nt

[harun]

7. McCain is not popular. Conservatives who aren't batsh*t crazy tend

to like him more than the batsh*t crazy Republicans. That's about all he has got.

[onenote]

8. "I really haven't been keeping up with the other side" No kidding.

McCain is not "immensely popular." In fact he is loathed by a large number of people on the right and the left.

That doesn't mean he won't be a formidable foe in the GE. The right will hold their noses and vote for him and he has always appealed to independents because of his occasional breaks from total right wing orthodoxy (on things like torture, immigration, etc.).

His biggest problems, I believe, will be holding the middle while keeping enough of his base. He faces a considerable obstacle in terms of fundraising if his base doesn't find a reason to view him with some more enthusiasm (they'll hold their noses and vote, but they won't open their pocketbooks). This is particularly the case because a lot of non-incumbent repubs will be running for open seats in the House and Senate and will be making fund raising appeals. If they are "more conservative" than McCain, they're going to get the $$ from the base first.

[KillCapitalism]

9. Why did Rudy fall apart?

He appeared to be dominating the polls last fall. Do you know?

[onenote]

10. He ran a very poor campaign strategically

He let the momentum be grabbed by others. He also was hurt by reports about using government money to travel with his then mistress. His appeal was always overestimated in my view --- as the public's attention shifted from the war to the economy, he lost his grip on the hawks in the RW and he had no message on the economy for the more independent minded repub voters.

At least that's my take on it.

[salin]

14. he is the one candidate who was also tanked by a news story

the whole "shag fund" story (his use of city money to escourt his mistriss around, pay for her getaways, etc.) was a turning point for his momentum. I think that many of the religious right who were ready to hold their nose for him (ala - well he doesn't "still" stand for those liberal policies, and he was great on 911) couldn't keep doing so after that story; meanwhile fiscal conservatives were also turned off per his awful judgement (esp in how he tried to fawn it off as their had been threats against Nathan - til it came out that she got police protection before 911 and before folks knew about the affair so there was no national security type threat against her). I think he lost momentum at that point.

And I think that while it was said in jest at a dem debate - Biden's line per Guilliani's message caught on - and suddenly when folks heard him speak at debates he really did come off as a one-trick pony.

[Burma Jones]

11. He's the only guy they got that has a shot at winning

[melody]

12. the cheese stands alone

Everybody else has been GOP of the week and gone down in flames -- they've just cycled through
everyone again.

[boricua79]

13. he's not popular even among Republicans

It's just that the Republican choices were so horrible (mormon liars...crazy theocrats...destroy the department of education Ron Paul), that the only KINDA sane Republican left was McCain.

The Republicans are screwed come the GE, and they know it.

[Vinca]

16. About half the Republicans really despise McCain.

They'll either stay home or vote Democratic, guaranteed. I swear I think Huckabee is continuing to run just in case his "miracle" comes through and Grandpa McCain drops dead on the campaign trail. What else could the "miracle" Huckabee blabs about possibly be? LOL.

[Doctor_J]

17. Are you one of those sock puppets that Rove pays to sow the seeds

of idiocy in DU? McCain's only popular among people who would vote for Satan him/herself if (s)he had an R after his/her name.

Edit: He's also popular among paid GOP operatives like the Fox News/hate radio crowd.

[zbdent]

18. Because they can use him to attack any criticisms with "He's a Viet Vet,

and he was a POW, and if you disagree with him, you're anti-American!"

[cloudythescribbler]

20. McCain IS popular w/ many -- the media pound home that ONLY RWers can be worthy, so disaffected ...

in looking for leadership to extricate our society from its current crises will look ONLY for some variant of conservatism. Liberal has been made into a term of stigma for the vast majority, while of course "progressives" such as myself, who are to the Left of liberalism, are simply beyond the pale.

Obama is one of those politicians (Clinton another, for all the things I can't stand about him and the DLC) who at least realize that about the US public. As they say, you can't "dissolve" the public and select a new one , so the successful leader has to work with what is.