In a sign that conservatives aren’t going quietly into a John McCain nomination, radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday that McCain’s rise was only made possible by a “fractured†party base.
“He is not the choice of conservatives, as opposed to the choice of the Republican establishment — and that distinction is key,†Limbaugh said. “The Republican establishment, which has long sought to rid the party of conservative influence since Reagan, is feeling a victory today as well as our friends in the media. But both are just far-fetched and wrong.â€
Hmmm. Isn’t Mitt Romney the choice of the GOP establishment?
Meanwhile, conservative rumbler Michelle Malkin says she wouldn’t vote for McCain even over Hillary Clinton. Whew.
You wonder if Limbaugh and Malkin speak for conservative voters, many of whom have been willing to vote for McCain in his primary wins. But clearly, McCain still has big challenges ahead in uniting the party before November.
It’s good to see the Kansas attorney general’s office in new and seemingly capable hands today. Former Douglas County District Judge Stephen Six was sworn in this morning, raising hopes that the office finally can have some relief from the unbecoming behavior and anti-abortion activism of the past two attorneys general. “As attorney general, I promise to serve with integrity and independence as I face the challenges ahead,†Six said. Kansans are counting on it.
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman argues that supporters of Barack Obama’s call to rise above partisanship should learn from the lessons of Bill Clinton, who made similar appeals when he first ran for president but then was savaged from day one by partisan Republicans.
“Those who don’t want to nominate Hillary Clinton because they don’t want to return to the nastiness of the 1990s — a sizable group, at least in the punditocracy — are deluding themselves,†Krugman wrote. “Any Democrat who makes it to the White House can expect the same treatment: an unending procession of wild charges and fake scandals.
“The point is that while there are valid reasons one might support Obama over Clinton, the desire to avoid unpleasantness isn’t one of them.â€
Granted, Attorney General Michael Mukasey has a tricky job, in that he must not only account for his actions in what remains of the Bush administration but also for those of two previous attorneys general. But it’s tragic that Mukasey remains unwilling to define and denounce waterboarding as torture. He ducked senators’ questions Wednesday: “Given that waterboarding is not part of the current program, and may never be added to the program, I do not think it would be appropriate for me to pass definitive judgment on the technique’s legality.â€
To his credit, GOP front-runner John McCain has no doubts about waterboarding: “It is torture,†he said during a fall debate. Why must the attorney general act as if it might not be?
Political commentators seem unsure about whether John Edwards’ departure benefits Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama more.
Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report argues that it could go either way: “While one can plausibly argue that Edwards’ withdrawal may unite the anti-Clinton vote, one can also argue that Edwards’ overwhelmingly white bloc of supporters . . . might behave much as other white Democrats have done in the contests after Iowa, not vote for Obama. I don’t know which of those arguments will prevail.â€
In a sign that conservatives aren’t going quietly into a John McCain nomination, radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday that McCain’s rise was only made possible by a “fractured†party base.
