Robe wrote: > > I'm not looking at exit polls myself,
Looks good for a McCain/Huckster ticket. > I think the actual election > results are showing a change in the wind. I'm normally an optimist, but the deck is stacked against progressives. We all know about Rove and the Swiftboaters. They are masterful at exploiting fear and doubt. Corporate America is overwhelmingly Republican and that their pocket's are deep. And the press is not only not liberal, they're mostly either conservative or willfully ignorant. McCain showed a bit of his future strategy recently; he stressed the idea that if we leave Iraq we would be losers. He'll repeatedly use the words loose and losers when referring to the withdrawal plans of his opponent. Along with the reported success of the surge and under reporting on the part of the press, the war won't be the issue it should be. The economy might be an issue, but here McCain will emphasize his status as an outsider and will escape most of the blame. Hell he'll even be able to tell us that Anne Coulter and Rush Limbaugh hate him. He'll suck in the lions share of independent voters. There are lots of other factors; older people vote in larger numbers and are not only more conservative they're more susceptible to the Bradly effect. Although Obama would mobilize younger voters like never before, they still won't vote in the numbers necessary to make a difference. If he's the nominee then we have the Bradly effect, and if he isn't we'll have Hillary's huge negatives to deal with. And remember, the war is > still an issue and that is enough that it can sink McCain if he > doesn't change his attitude. Even conservatives are tired of this > crap. I don't think so. I think conservatives still want to win the war and see the surge as a huge success. They will play on our dislike for losing and our fear of terrorism. They think we need a strong military presence in the Middle East, and they think that the strength of our country is due mostly to the strength of our military and that losing in Iraq would undermine our strength and our reputation. Do you remember about this time four years ago when JDG expressed his excitement at the inevitable nomination of Kerry? He know that the Dems had picked a candidate that could be beaten. Well, I'm guessing that while he isn't crazy about McCain, he's ecstatic about the possible opposition. I may be wrong. I hope with all my heart that I'm wrong. But I'm disparately worried that I'm not. If you think we've got this one sewn up, you better think again. Doug _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l