The case for McCain

Debra Saunders:

Wednesday's CNN-YouTube debate began with a ditty by Chris Nandor of Snohomish, Wash., on the eight GOP hopefuls. Sen. John McCain, Nandor sang, "is loved by many, but hated by the rest."

Why do so many Republicans loathe John McCain?

No Republican candidate has been better in pushing to make sure that the sacrifices made by U.S. troops in Iraq are not made in vain -- and there is no issue more important than this war. McCain spent Thanksgiving visiting the front, and he carried back the message he heard from those serving: "Let us win."

McCain has spared no one -- including President Bush and his administration -- in his righteous desire to do right by the troops. "I am the only one on this stage," McCain noted, "that said the Rumsfeld strategy was failing and was doomed to failure. I'm the only one on this stage that said we've got to have a new strategy, and that's the strategy we're employing now."

Maybe that's part of the problem. When I asked Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and former adviser to ex-Gov. Pete Wilson, why so many Republicans hate McCain, Whalen saw two main reasons:
Much of McCain's reputation "has come at George Bush's expense," and, "He's too beloved by the media."

Too bad the media are a fickle crew, who this go-round are smitten with the cuddly conservative, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

It's more than a bit bizarre. When McCain called the Rev. Jerry Falwell an agent of "intolerance" in 2000, the media loved him. When McCain appeared next to Falwell at Liberty University last year, pundits labeled the event -- a savvy political move to reach out to Falwell's values voters -- a sellout to the religious right. So who's their new crush? An ordained Southern Baptist minister. Go figure.

GOP voters resented profligate spending under the now-dethroned Republican leadership in Congress. They should love McCain, who crusaded against earmarks and pork-barrel spending when it didn't win him many friends in power circles.

Perhaps the problem is that McCain is not just talk. When Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist asked the candidates if they would sign the group's pledge not to raise taxes, McCain said no: "My pledge and my record is up to the American people, not up to any organization."

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There is more and McCain has certainly got the war right. The reason he is not doing better is the things he has been spectacularly wrong about. You can start with campaign finance and stop with immigration enforcement. In between you can point out his opposition to tax cuts. All three of those are core issues with Republicans where McCain was on the side of the Democrats and there is no reason for voters to ignore that part of the package.

McCain also got the endorsement of the Manchester Union Leader today for the upcoming New Hampshire primary. Since he is not very good at collecting campaign donations he is fortunate that he can still collect endorsements from the media. David Broder makes the case for a McCain Huckabee ticket. I thinks he likes the squishiness on immigration which he describes as simple humanity. Got that. Those who think the rule of law enhances humanity don't meet the Broder test.