John McCain in 2000 and Wesley Clark in 2004

[Eric J in MN]

What does George W. Bush beating John McCain, who is a war veteran with a lot of accomplishments, in the 2000 Republican primary say about a George W. Bush and Wesley Clark matchup in a general election in 2004?

[Dookus]

1. Probably not much....

McCain and Bush were fighting it out in a primary, not a general election. McCain has always irked a large number of Republicans due to his stands on issues like Campaign Finance Reform.

Also, remember in 2000, George W. Bush was "the anointed one" very early in the contest. McCain ran as an outsider. Rank and file Republicans supported the party's nominee.

[JI7]

5. yes, mccain ran as the non right winger

remember when he called falwell and robertson extremists and how they need to condemn their type of talk ? that does not work in a republican primary. and mccain also didn't expect and therefore not ready to respond to the personal attacks such as him having mental problems. they also attacked him for having a daughter who he had adopted because she was some other race.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Hopefully that the Dems can find a way to fight the Rove Lie Machine

I'm really hoping Clark is on the ticket with Dean. They are the strongest candidates, imho. I think it is vital, therefore, that Clark and all Dems need to keep a wary eye on Rove and the spins and lies he manufactures. If he starts sayiing things against Clark's record, it will be vital to set the record straight immediately and forecefully. Might even be a good idea if we hear ANY Dem lied about by Rove, etc, that we email/phone the media whores reporting it and deluge them with the facts. Then they'll know they can't evade the truth.

[Eric J in MN]

10. media distortions about Howard Dean already show little we can do

Howard Dean said reasonably regarding Usama bin Laden that it's inappropriate for someone in executive power to say what punishment a suspect should get before trial.

This was distorted into:
Howard Dean thinks bin Laden is innocent

and

Howard Dean is against the death penalty for bin Laden

and

Howard Dean doesn't judge bin Laden

---------
If the media is going to lie in plain sight and we can do nothing about it, then what can we do about bogus "push-poll" telephone calls to voters which lie about the Democratic nominee?

[BOSSHOG]

3. Myopic Conservatives susceptible to right wing propoganda

will be diluted in the General(s) Election. Bush was facing a Senator in 2000. If Clark gets the nomination, bush will be faced with debating four stars which are more attractive in the south than someone the rove machine spun the truth about in 2000. I can't imagine Clark backing down from a personal attack from the lizard in the white house.

[brainshrub]

4. OMG good point.

I hadn't thought of that!

As much as I hate Republicans, John McCain was a man of honor, integrity and infinitely more qualified to be president over W. I was surprised when he didn't win the nomination, and amazed that there wasn't a backlash against Bush for his dirty tricks in SC.

I think the comparison between McCain and Clark is a good one.

[Dookus]

7. I don't...

about the ONLY thing Clark and McCain have in common is that they both wore a uniform at some point. Beyond that, I really don't see a strong comparison.

We could reframe the question this way:

In the 2000 Republican Primaries, George Bush readily defeated a man perceived to be hot-headed. A man who ran as an outsider. A man who's strong opinions and loose lips caused him a lot of media attention for his "gaffes". What does this say about a possible Bush/Dean matchup in the GE?

This is as much of a stretch as the original post.

[Rowdyboy]

9. LMAO

No comment necessary on my part!

[Renew Deal]

8. It's not a good one at all.

McCain was polling way ahead of Gore. Bush was even or barely leading. McCain ran into the Rove machine. Election fraud in SC, lying, cheating. The usual.

[Renew Deal]

6. Nothing unless Clark has a black baby and a crackhead wife.

Which the pukes might say. McCain was poilling way ahead of Gore. He probably would have beaten Gore easily. But the pukes needed to put up the son of God. They smeared him with having an illegitimate black child (not true, adopted Bangladeshi child), and having a druggie wife (not true, she had a perscription addiction she kicked).

[JI7]

11. sadly

most republican primary voters are those who see having an adopted child who happens to be dark skinned as a negative. these people are part of the republican base which no democrats would win in the general election though. so i agree, the comparison in the gop primary to a general election does not work well.

[lcordero]

12. McCain tried to swear off soft money during the primaries

along with Bill Bradley(Democratic Primaries) and Russ Feingold(Senate). The only one that succeeded was Feingold.

McCain swore off soft money because of his role in the Keating Five I think. I'm surprised that the Keating Five didn't put an end to his political career. I'm even more surprised that nobody has tried to exploit it.

[SheilaT]

13. This has as much validity

as the Dean = McGovern thing.

They are all different men, this is four years later, everything is different.

They stand or fall on their own merits, not on how much like someone else they are.