[Lanny_MacDonald]

Originally Posted by peter12

Well, I'm certainly not going to be in for a surprise if I take your word on it.

Well, if you're thinking that McCain is the favorite at this juncture, you're in for a surprise.

Republicans turned out in droves to vote for McCain. If the main problem with McCain among Republicans is his left-leaning stance on certain issues, such as the environment, why the heck would Republicans, "even the hardcore," move to the much more left-wing Obama?

Uh no, Republican numbers are way down in the primaries. Democrats have seen massive increases, up to 400% in some states, but the Republicans are well behind the 2000 numbers, the last fully contested election. You are also aware that McCain has barely carried the popular vote in the Republican primaries? Because of the ridiculous "winner tale all" primary system the GOP uses, McCain has the nomination all but sewn up, while not having more than a simple majority of his OWN party members.

Now why would the Republicans vote for Obama rather than McCain? One word. Integrity. Obama still has his intact while McCain bent himself over to the Bush Administration over the past eight years. The whole McCain meltdown in South Carolina, and his change in political tactics over the past eight years has made him very unpopular. His stance on immigration has killed him with the hardcore Republicans. There is little trust for McCain. Now I know this because I live in John McCain's home state, and I work for the most Republican of entities outside of the RNC. When I hear people that still stand by Bush swear up and down that they will never vote for McCain, unless he is up against Hillary, its a pretty good indicator of things to come.

McCain's centre stance also helps him capture those moderates. He has a unique stance to start fighting for and winning on key Democrat issues by using a market friendly and conservative spin. That always wins with Americans.

Too bad that independents are flocking like crazy to Obama. They're donating money in record amounts. But no, they're going to vote for McCain, for reasons unkown.

Where is Obama's fresh ideas? He mirrors Clinton on every major issue except for his foreign policy, which honestly borders on sheer lunacy. Intervene in Pakistan? Okay...

Hey, you wanted fresh! And its lunacy to actually go into the country WHERE the terrorists are and do the job that Bush promised in the first place? Uh huh. Also, does Obama mirror Hilliary, or Hilliary mirror Obama, or both mirror the position of the Democratic party? As I have repeatedly pointed out, and it seems to have fallen on deaf ears, candidates don't formalize any position on anything until they get the nod from their party.

Vision and pragmatism is what America needs, not a switch over to left-wing policies. Although I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that anyway. The last thing America needs at this stage is more government.

"Left-wing" policies? Where do you get that? There is no left-wing in the United States. The fact that you don't recognize that, right off the bat, shows me your educators are failing you. The linear political spectrum is supposed to be diverse and have balance by representation at both ends. The political spectrum in America has been completely ripped to shreds by BS politics over the past 60 years. McCarthyism removed both Communism and Socialism from the left. That left the liberal perspective, that of the founding fathers, as the extreme left end of the spectrum. Meanwhile, the right just kept on sliding further and further to the right. Barry Goldwater was considered a fringe rightwing whacko in the 60's, and now HIS views are considered centerist, more identifiable with the Democrats than the Republicans, who couldn't trust him in 1964. What does that say about the shift that has taken place?

I want to know where Obama has suggested that there is going to be MORE government? You are aware that the biggest governments in American history were under the watches of Reagan and Bush? I don't know how it could be possible for Obama to create more government that Bush did. The layers and secrecy that he built in his time in office has been a joke. For a party that supposedly espouses the desire for "small government" they sure do spend an awful lot of time building new and wonderful agencies and manning them to the hilt. This is just another example of the text book saying one thing, and the reality saying the other.

What the United States needs right now is someone who is going to make government more effective. They need someone who can get the Feds and the States working in concert to do things, not at odds with each other. There's too much gridlock and that has to change. Obama is not tied to the machine which means he has a chance to think outside that box. McCain is driving the machine, which is why he can't be trusted this time around.