In hindsight was it smart for the McCain campaign to so obviously seek a continuation of the Bush agenda?

I really don't think he had a choice about it. McCain has had presidential ambitions for the last eight years however he needed to win over the support of the GOP (remember in the early primaries Fox News pundits threw their support behind Hillary Clinton) and to do that he had to shift from his more ';Mavericky'; tendancies to the party line. That includes his 90+% support on Bush and changing his stance on issuses like offshore drilling, cutting taxes for the upper class, and torture (which he should be sympathic to given his past).





I think the downfall of the McCain campaign has been the struggle between McCain himself and the GOP. I honestly don't believe Palin was his choice but the choice given to himl. Consider


1) Rumours were he wanted to bring in someone like Romney or Lieberman and everyone was shocked by the announcment of Palin


2) He had only met her once before and barely knew anything about her.


3) the thought behind getting her was to bring the Hillary supporters to the McCain ticket and rally the base (though it has cost them independants and undecided voters).


Then there is the attacking of Obama. While Palin is going out and saying Obama ';pals around with terrorists'; McCain is telling one of his supporters ';you have nothing to fear if Obama becomes president.'; Clearly he wanted to take a much higher road than the Replubicans have and he got stuck with the tatics of the party. Ultimatly the GOP wanted to continue the Bush policy because they are stubborn in their ways and given the power struggle McCain didn't really stand much chance of running an effective campaign. McCain would be viewed much better by independants and swing voters if he wouldn't have changed his ways from the old McCain though the catch 22 is he couldn't have won the Replubican nomination that way.





The rift will probally cost him a shot at the election, unless the Replubicans steal the vote again.In hindsight was it smart for the McCain campaign to so obviously seek a continuation of the Bush agenda?
Of course not - most people are completely fed up of Bush the moron and his failed policies. Voters want change.





However, McCain would alienate many of his supporters by calling for a change of direction, so he was caught between a rock and a hard place - hence why he chose Palin as a running mate. I am guessing his thinking was that he would appear to be more moderate, whereas Palin would appeal to the religious right. I think McCain had little chance of winning from the start of the campaign, due to the historically low popularity of Bush.





However, I also think people will quickly become disillusioned with Obama when he sells out to the Democrats' big business backers and fails to stand up for ordinary people. ';Its the economy, stupid'; - ordinary Americans are going to face a deep recession. (see source)In hindsight was it smart for the McCain campaign to so obviously seek a continuation of the Bush agenda?
I don't think so. I think whether you are a Democrat or a Republican we can agree that George W. Bush did many things that really mired our economy, world reputation, and overall morale. In fact, when this election started, political analysts had one overall conclusion: if McCain even wanted a CHANCE at winning this election, he would have to show the world that he was different from George Bush. It may have been smart of him to elect a Vice Presidential candidate who appealed to extreme conservatives and women (I guess), but - as one can clearly see in this hilarious video - there probably were much better candidates.
It was not McCain's choice to run that agenda. His ';liberal'; views had upset so many in the GOP that when he decided to tilt at the Presidency he had to begin a campaign...around 2006...to ingratiate himself with the Bush camp. This was the period of his reversals on taxation, the war strategy, torture and the CIA. He made a conscious decision to vote with Bush on all issues in order to mend some of the bridges he had burned with his ';mavericky'; behavior.





He is unable to jettison that now, because part of the deal between McCain and the GOP was that he should help to salvage the Bush ';Legacy';. If he branches out on his own now, they will drop him like a hot rock. No one likes him much there anyway and they are just looking for an excuse to abandon the sinking ship!!





So in other words he CHOSE to sell out his principles; he compromised on his most basic beliefs and voted for laws and policies he had no personal commitment to...all in order to get the job.





This I think does not bode well for the way he would run the country....to suit his own agenda rather than with the good of the nation in mind!!
McCain had no choice today. In 2004 he could easily win , instead he made a deal with Bush and let him crawl to one more term. Now McCain is paying a heavy price for his own stupidity.
So, spending freeze...capitol gains cuts...no pork...naming and making famous...are Bush Policies? You are Lying.
I am Barrack Obama and I approve this message. Thank you for the far left talking points I really needed to hear that.

Ultrasonic Cleaner