DCRepublican.com

CNN.com is reporting that John McCain is expected to meet on Wednesday with Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal, in what many believe could be one of the final vetting events before McCain finalizes his choice for running mate.

While I think that Bobby Jindal is a great American, with a great story, I truly believe that if John McCain picked him to be his running mate, Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States.

Unlike my posts about why Mitt Romney should be selected as McCain’s running mate, my reasons for coming to this conclusion are much simpler, experience.

The reality is that Bobby Jindal has very little experience in governing. One of the biggest arguments that people have used against Barack Obama is that he doesn’t have the experience needed to be President; however, Barack Obama has much more political experience than Bobby Jindal. Let’s remember, Bobby Jindal has only been Governor of Louisiana for seven months, and when he was in Congress, it was only for one term.

In a campaign where age is going to be an issue, the last thing John McCain needs is people second guessing his pick, simply because they are young and lack experience.

As I’ve said earlier, Mitt Romney (or someone of similar caliber) is exactly what John McCain needs to remain viable in this election.

There has been a lot of speculation lately about who John McCain should, or is going to pick to run alongside him in his battle for the White House. CNN’s Political Ticker has also been reporting that it appears that McCain might be heading in the direction of Mitt Romney.

It’s no secret to anyone who has read this blog that long before I was a McCain supporter, my top choice, by far, was Mitt Romney. Naturally, there is some bias with me when it comes to this, however to help paint a better picture, here are 5 reasons that I think would give John McCain incentive to selecting Mitt Romney as his running mate.

1. Mitt Romney brings a strong understanding of economics and economic policy to the table. This isn’t something that was picked up in a committee hearing, instead something learned by operating, managing, and consulting some of American’s top companies.
2. Mitt Romney will bring some much needed youth to the campaign. Yes, Mitt Romney isn’t the first guy you think of when it comes to being youthful, but at least he has an understanding of technology and new media.
3. Mitt Romney understands the importance of having a strong relationship with foreign countries, but beyond that also understands the value in having strong business relationships. Mitt Romney has dealt with foreign economies before and he will have no problem transitioning those skills and observations on a larger level.
4. Mitt Romney is an articulate speaker, who can quickly make key points without having to rely on note cards and overused talking points. It’s one of my biggest pet-peeves with McCain, is that most of his speeches seem overly rehearsed, or reliant on note cards and talking points. I know that’s how politics is, but some just pull it off better than others.
5. Mitt Romney will be able to bring in a considerable amount of money into the campaign. Even without his personal wealth, Mitt Romney is an extremely well connected guy, both in business and religious circles. These two areas are obviously areas that McCain could be stronger in when it comes to fundraising.

I’m sure others might have their own reasons, or even opposition to this. Regardless of your point of view, I welcome and urge all comments!

There is no doubt that we are embarking on what could be one of the most contentious elections that most people living today have ever seen.

Already, attack ads are flying from both sides, and from campaigns to 527 organizations, each entity has started going after the various flaws and slip-ups of their opponents.

Today, CNN is reporting that the Republican National Committee is fighting to have ads released by the Democratic National Convention pulled off of the air, because they are ‘misleading.’

I’m sure next week the DNC will have a slew of ads that they want taken off of the air, and this is just going to be an ongoing cycle of bickering from both of the national organizations.

While I believe that the RNC is right for going after these ads that are in fact misleading, there have been some bigger problems that I’ve been noticing that I think need to be addressed before the RNC and the McCain campaign spend their resources on these inevitable things.

Once Mitt Romney suspended his campaign, I immediately contacted the McCain Headquarters to sign up to volunteer, since the campaign office is located in Arlington, VA, only a few miles from my home.

It would seem safe to assume that the national headquarters for the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States would be a place that is booming with activity, opening their doors early and closing late, making sure they make contact with all time-zones, and after that get the necessary campaign collateral put together.

Having worked on a variety of House, Senate and local campaigns, the campaign headquarters is usually the one spot where you could assume that they always needed help from volunteers. It’s usually a common mantra amongst campaign managers to tell their volunteers that if they find themselves with some free time, to come by the campaign office.

Even if there isn’t work planned, they’ll find something for them to do.

These are things that I thought were universal in the campaign world; however I’ve noticed that when it comes to trying to build a strong volunteer base at the national headquarters, the McCain campaign is doing it all wrong.

I truly believe that if they don’t fix their current program and launch a more flexible volunteer program ASAP, they simply won’t have the manpower they need to run a national campaign come November.

Currently, this is how the McCain volunteer outreach seems to work: when they need you, they’ll send you an email. However, instead of creating a variety of flexible opportunities, this is what McCain campaign sends potential volunteers when asking for help:

“If this is the first time you are getting this, and you are able to come in and help, please RSVP to do so – PLEASE DO NOT JUST SHOW UP.”

To anyone who has been to the McCain office will know that this place is massive, so its not as if they are worries about losing space. But, for some reason they don’t seem to want to open their doors on a full time basis.

While that bothers me, I guess I can understand why they would want people to RSVP first. But what is even more troubling is this:

“Volunteers are welcome between 10 and 7 during the week days and 12 and 4 on Saturday.”

Honestly, what person who works in DC is even home by 7pm? There is no reason why they shouldn’t have their offices open later, especially if they are just looking for help on simple things, like putting signs together, doing mailings, packets, etc.

Washington, DC, without a doubt is home to some of the best campaigners and college campuses in the country, and even though most of these people are employed outside of politics, they are still die-hards who are willing to help if given the opportunity.

Just out of curiosity, I called the Hillary Clinton headquarters which is also located in Arlington, seeing how they operated their volunteer program in their national office. When I called, I was asked what times I was available, what I was interested in doing and where I lived.

Very quickly was I provided with a variety of opportunities to help the campaign, and yes, their hours went beyond 7pm.

Now, I have absolutely no intention of volunteering at the Hillary Clinton HQ, but their willingness to accommodate to volunteers should be noted.

The DNC is doing a great job getting people mobilized. I’ve seen them on the streets of DC and Arlington, and I’ve also seen the same for the Clinton and Obama campaigns. Sadly, I’ve seen nothing from the RNC and/or McCain camp.

If the RNC and McCain campaign doesn’t start rolling out their mobilization efforts soon, I’m afraid that many volunteers are going to be turned off from helping, simply because they see the massive army that the left has amassed.

Recruiting volunteers is probably the easiest part of a campaign, however, if you don’t engage them immediately, the odds of them helping out when you really need them are quite slim.

In terms of children of Presidential hopefuls, I’m quite confident that no child has played as significant of a role in their fathers campaign for the White House than Meghan McCain.

I’ve been to her blog McCainBlogette.com, a few times now and I think the way she’s been able to show a different, more youthful side to her father and his campaign has been nothing short of impressive. What’s even more impressive about Meghan McCain, more so than her blog, is the fact that it doesn’t seem like she is going to pretend to be someone she isn’t just because her father is running for President.

Working on a variety of campaigns and more recently living and working in DC, one thing I’ve come to realize is that authenticity isn’t an expectation inside the Beltway or in politics, in fact I don’t even think it’s an assumption anymore. I think politics has become more of a “who knows who,” “who knows what,” and “who knows how” type of world. However, I will argue that knowing “who’s doing who” has seemed to carry some people I know quite far in this city.

Being someone who likes to see people for who they really are, it’s refreshing to see people, especially those tied to front-runners maintaining their authenticity. I guess in the world of politics, being authentic can very well be considered a maverick lifestyle.

With that being said, I was quite pleased to see that Meghan McCain agreed to do an interview with one of my favorite magazines, GQ (yes, I’m sure you’re surprised it isn’t the National Review or something). In this months GQ, which is also their Annual Love, Sex & Madness Issue (just an FYI), Meghan gives a more unfiltered view of who she is.

While I’m not going to go into the whole article, there are just a few interesting things I thought I’d pull from it.

In discussing her cultural tastes:

Meghan’s cultural tastes are pretty straight down the middle for a recent college grad. She went crazy for Superbad, Knocked Up, and The Big Lebowski (“I fucking love that movie”). On TV she’s currently riveted by MTV’s A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. “It’s a bisexual-dating show!” she cries. “It’s hilarious!”

When she ticks off a list of celebrities she’s into, she offers a surprising pick: the burlesque stripper Dita Von Teese. “I know she’s not someone you would expect the daughter of a Republican candidate to like, but I love her,” she says. “I love the way she dresses. If I could look like that all day, I would…in her day clothes, I mean.

“And, yes, I know she’s a fetish star, but”—she lowers her head for this—“I think that’s rock ’n’ roll.”

One thing that I’ve noticed from working on campaigns is that when it comes to talking about what television shows the politicians like, for Republicans it seems that the answer has always been something safe like 24, Prison Break, etc. Of the campaigns that I’ve worked on where the children spoke at events, or were ever interviewed, I can guarantee that something like A Shot of Love would never have come up. However, it’s pretty safe to assume that they all watch similar shows.

I think this is just one of the ways that Meghan McCain is able to show that she doesn’t care what people think about her and I think that is something that she got from her dad. In looking at the polls, I think it’s that attitude (vs. “politics as usual”) that will show him as a strong leader and lead to him getting elected.

As for Dita Von Teese, I don’t think that there is any straight guy reading this article who doesn’t think she is one of the best natural beauties around, who like the McCain’s, doesn’t care what people think about her (Dita’a past marriage to Marilyn Manson confirms that).

On Mitt Romney:

By the time we arrive at Garduño’s, the discussion has moved on to the Romney brothers’ dad, Mitt. It’s two days after he suspended his run, and we’re trying to puzzle out why voters never really got around to liking the guy.

“Mitt didn’t keep it real,” Meghan says, munching on a nacho chip.

My quick two cents on Garduño’s: Please note there are much better places in Scottsdale than Garduño’s Margarita Factory. Don’t assume that just because Meghan McCain goes there that the food is spectacular, it really isn’t. Though, the drinks are cheap.

As for her thoughts on Mitt Romney, I would have to agree with her. Mitt Romney is/was a great candidate for President, however if I were his consultant advising him for his next run in a few years, the biggest piece of advice that I could give him is “keep it real.” I think Mitt did a great job of this in the beginning, however it seems that he got caught up in trying to always give the best, most diplomatic answer, he made himself look like a political hack, even though that really wasn’t who he was, or how he saw his candidacy. Politics as usual isn’t going to work in this election.

On dating:

“You want to hear a hilarious story?” she asks. “I guess you can print this if you want, but it’s not my finest moment. Once, this guy at Columbia was talking to his friends. He was like, ‘Meghan McCain this’ and ‘Meghan McCain that,’ going on, saying that he’d slept with me and that it was great. I just happened to be walking by at the time. I was like, ‘Hi, I’m Meghan McCain. I didn’t realize that we’d met.’ He turned ghost white, so I showed him my ID, and I was like, ‘I’m glad you were sharing our passionate love story.’ ”

Meghan confesses that her real love life hasn’t been especially active lately. She’s gone on only one official date since her dad’s campaign began, but she bowed out early with a “headache.” Then there was also the rumor that she’d been seen with—horrors—a Ron Paul supporter.

“That has been blown out of proportion in every way!” she exclaims. “What happened is that I dropped my coffee and he helped me with it and was like, ‘Do you want to go to Baja Fresh?’… Not that I would be against dating a Ron Paul supporter, but he turned out to be very strange. He collected Barbie dolls. I called my girlfriends after and was like, ‘That’s weird, right?’ ”

I’m not sure thats weird when discussing Ron Paul supporters. I think that there are many who would agree that he definitely has a unique group of backing him. The Barbie collection doesn’t surprise me at all. In fact, I’d imagine that for some of those guys, between flooding message boards and impromptu rallies, Barbie dolls are probably the closest thing to a girlfriend that many of them have (ok, I’m only half serious on that one).

As for the guy at Columbia, all I can say is that its probably just going to get worse. In fact, there are two bloggers in particular that I know who are convinced that their blogging activities are going to score them a date with Meghan. I didn’t think that they were serious at first, but eventually I was convinced that they truly think that their basement blogging is going to win her heart. Some guys might use words to win a girl over, some might try jewelery and I guess in todays tech world, others will try to win them over with Digg’s and Technorati rankings… I know some women say size matters, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t referring to the size of ones blogroll…

Guys, take note:

“I like bad boys for the most part,” Meghan adds. “In the past, I have liked tattooed guys who wear Converse. But I’d be open to anyone as long as you have a sense of humor. I have also dated totally normal guys who look like you, I guess—D.C.-looking guys.”

D.C.-looking guys?

“Journalist, yuppie, metrosexual guys. How’s that? You’re metro.”

“I’m an acquired taste,” Meghan says matter-of-factly. “I’m a daughter of a Republican senator. I started dating this guy, and he wouldn’t date me anymore because he found out who my dad was. He says, ‘I don’t agree with his politics.’ Isn’t that terrible? That’s why you’re dumping me? We only went on two dates, but still. Not everybody wants to go out with somebody so high-profile. If they do, they’re investment bankers. Seriously. Ugh! If you’re an investment banker, don’t hit on me. You can quote me. I’m not interested.”

I have a feeling that might have ruined the next few months for a couple of people that I know. Sorry guys.

On Politics:

Besides, it’s not like Meghan has ever toed the Republican Party line. It’s well- known that four years ago, when her father decided it’d be in his best interest to back George W. Bush’s reelection, she voted for John Kerry. “My dad actually outed me,” she says.

“I’m an Independent. Socially liberal, economically conservative. I believe in a lot of Republican ideals, with the war being the number one thing I completely agree with my dad on.”

I’d argue that a good portion of Republicans in this age group (18-30) can see things through the same political point of view as Meghan McCain. Many will probably challenge me on this, but I think that amongst young Republicans, in terms of social issues (especially homosexuality), that they are more moderate than some of the “old guard” would like. But its one of those things that Party is going to have to work with, otherwise some of these young people will leave the party all together and become independents. Some could, and have argued that this phenomenon could very well lead to a surge in the growth of the Libertarian Party.

It’s one of many great political/social dilemmas the GOP is going to have to face in the coming years, which is why focusing on the economy above all else has to be the top priority for boosting support of the party’s candidates. I cant even think of the last time that I heard any of the three remaining candidates discuss social issues, it seems that they are only sticking to the economy and Iraq, aka, “playing it safe.”

There is a lot more to the interview and I urge everyone to read it here.

Looks like Monday is going to be without a doubt, an interesting day in the global markets, due to an extremely troubling course of events on Sunday that will trip up investor confidence.

The first of this chain of events happened on Sunday evening when the Federal Reserve decided to cut its lending rate by .25% (from 3.50 to 3.25%) to once again help ease the “credit crunch.” This happening only a few days after the Fed already took similar action to address the same problem.

While many people think that cutting these rates is good for the economy, the reality is that these cuts make certain items more expensive for consumers. Gasoline prices for example, will rise on this news, because when these rates are cut, investment leaves the United States to go to countries where they have a higher interest rate and a stronger currency. When countries pull out, the dollar becomes weaker and gas prices need to adjust to accommodate to the change in real value of the US Dollar.

The second factor playing in on this the late evening acquisition of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase & Company on Sunday evening.

For those who have been following this story, it’s not surprising that this sale was made. However, what was surprising was the fact that the final valuation from JPMorgan Chase & Co. put Bear Stearns at a measly $2 per share. It’s important to note that on Friday the stock was in the $30 range, and earlier in the week was in the $60 range.

So what does this mean for the US and Global Markets?

Well, if you’re a Gold investor, you can sit back and relax because you’ll continue making a lot of money.

However, if you have money spread out across the US markets and globally, depending on the diversification of your portfolio, you’re probably going to see things lower on Monday.

But, the reason for this post isn’t to necessarily highlight concerns for investors on Monday morning, they’ll see these without my insight. Instead, the reason I comment on this is because this is going to be a major issue in the 2008 Presidential Campaigns in the next few days.

With Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton still fighting it out, they have a unique opportunity now to go after the Republicans and blame them for the condition of the economy, the oncoming recession, the loss of jobs, etc, etc.

Furthermore, while all this was happening, John McCain was in Iraq, boosting the morale of the troops, and getting updates on the latest progress (It’s good to see one Senator still doing his day job). While I would hope that the Democrats have more class than this, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the two Dems, or someone on their behalf made a statement suggesting that instead of focusing on what is happening at home (i.e. the economy), McCain is focusing on staying longer in Iraq.

However, this could also create a good opportunity for John McCain to show off some of the minds that he would bring into the White House if he were elected, particularly Phil Gramm, and have him discuss some of his thoughts on what needs to be done with the economy and tie those suggestions into McCain’s overall stump speech.

The Democrats have and will continue to use the economy as an attack mechanism as the election draws near, which is why I am hopeful that John McCain will select a strong running mate, someone like Mitt Romney to handle these questions and answer them using real world scenarios and applications instead theories that sound good to voters, despite their lack of practicality.

I think I better go fill my tank tonight… $3.50 p/gallon… ughhh…

It’s a sad day for the conservative movement, one of the great ones has passed.

From the New York Times:

William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn.

Mr Buckley, 82, suffered from diabetes and emphysema, his son Christopher said, although the exact cause of death was not immediately known. He was found at his desk in the study of his home, his son said. “He might have been working on a column,” Mr. Buckley said.

Mr. Buckley’s winningly capricious personality, replete with ten-dollar words and a darting tongue writers loved to compare with an anteater’s, hosted one of television’s longest-running programs, “Firing Line,” and founded and shepherded the influential conservative magazine, “National Review.”

He also found time to write 45 books, ranging from sailing odysseys to spy novels to celebrations of his own dashing daily life, and edit five more. Two more books, one a political novel, and the other a history of the magazine called “Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription” are scheduled to be published in 2007.

The more than 4.5 million words of his 5,600 biweekly newspaper columns, “On the Right,” would fill 45 more medium-sized books.

Mr. Buckley’s greatest achievement was making conservatism — not just electoral Republicanism, but conservatism as a system of ideas — respectable in liberal post-World War II America. He mobilized the young enthusiasts who helped nominate Barry Goldwater in 1964, and saw his dreams fulfilled when Reagan and the Bushes captured the Oval Office.

I know I’ve tagged this with a lot of categories, but its almost impossible to limit someone so dynamic to just one tag. I hope to post more on this later.

In the meantime, here are a few respected blogs that are covering this:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2008/02/27/william-f-buckley-jr-passes-away

http://hoosieraccess.com/blog/2008/02/27/bulletin-columnist-william-f-buckley-jr-has-died/

http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/02/william_f_buckley_jr.html

http://authentic-connecticut-republican.blogspot.com/2008/02/william-f-buckley-1925-2008.html

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8720.html

http://www.observer.com/2008/william-f-buckley-jr-dead-82

http://www.poliblogger.com/?p=13321

http://www.primezero.com/blog/2008/02/27/william-f-buckley-dies-at-82-a-critical-thinker-from-a-more-civilized-age/

http://wigdersonlibrarypub.blogspot.com/2008/02/rip-william-f-buckley-jr.html

Update: It looks like the left waited no time to lash out on WFB

Check out this email from Howard Dean, trying to raise a little bit of money from the Democrats. They’re actually trying to use the baseless New York Times story to attack his ethics and credibility. While I know that this issue brought in a lot of money for the McCain camp, I just don’t see a tactic like this from the DNC compelling, even with the most liberal Democrats.

But, as I have said, the mudslinging has just begun and will only get worse.

The Email:

DC Republican –

It’s like 1989 all over again — John McCain has been caught in yet another ethics scandal.

If you had a TV on yesterday, you saw who jumped to his defense — the team of lobbyists who work for him, led by campaign manager and lobbyist Rick Davis, and the well-oiled right-wing noise machine, led by Rush Limbaugh. In an ironic message to McCain supporters yesterday, lobbyist Davis wrote…

[John McCain] has led the charge to limit the money and influence of the special interests in politics and stomp out corruption.

They spent the day breathlessly assailing the New York Times as “liberal,” ignoring the ethics lapses the team of reporters had uncovered. The fact is, John McCain is facing legitimate questions about lobbyists, favors, and campaign contributions, just as he did during the Keating Five scandal that nearly derailed his political career twenty years ago.

Seeing more dollar signs, the McCain campaign and the RNC decided to jump at the chance to take advantage of the distraction they had created to raise money. They had spent the day firing their supporters up, trying desperately to change the subject, and then they literally cashed in on it. It was textbook sleaze.

So, let’s hit back.

Don’t let John McCain’s team of lobbyists, Rush Limbaugh and the right-wing noise machine, the RNC and their special-interest backers take advantage of John McCain’s most recent ethics scandal — it’s disgusting, and we can’t let them get ahead like this. They’re screaming as loud as they can, and you can send a message right back:

http://www.democrats.org/McCainEthics

You and I know the truth. We know that John McCain is no maverick; he’s no reformer. He promises the same ethics that have defined Washington and the Republican Party for far too long.

Just read what the Washington Post had to say today about John McCain’s campaign operatives…

For years, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has railed against lobbyists and the influence of “special interests” in Washington, touting on his campaign Web site his fight against “the ‘revolving door’ by which lawmakers and other influential officials leave their posts and become lobbyists for the special interests they have aided.”

But when McCain huddled with his closest advisers at his rustic Arizona cabin last weekend to map out his presidential campaign, virtually every one was part of the Washington lobbying culture he has long decried.

The facts are clear: from Keating Five to today, throughout his 25 years in Washington John McCain has consistently taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from his special interest friends, flown on their corporate jets, and then turned around and tried to do favors for them. And he’s surrounded himself with just the type of people he claims to fight against — including Rick Davis, Charlie Black, and senior advisers Steve Schmidt and Mark McKinnon.

McCain and the right-wing noise machine will do anything and say anything to win. Turning an ethics scandal into a fundraising opportunity is just the start, and exactly what you’d expect a team full of lobbyists to come up with.

Now we have to make sure that every voter in America knows it. We need your help to make sure we can take them on — we can’t afford four more years of lobbyists, corporate interests, and George Bush’s Washington.

Send a message about how Washington should work. Match the McCain campaign and the RNC right now:

http://www.democrats.org/McCainEthics

Thanks for hitting back,

Howard Dean

P.S. — John McCain may try to claim that the past careers of his advisers are irrelevant, but look at this passage from today’s Washington Post article about Charlie Black, McCain adviser and chairman of lobbying firm BKSH and Associates…

But even as Black provide a private voice and a public face for McCain, he also leads his lobbying firm, which offers corporate interests and foreign governments the promise of access to the most powerful lawmakers. Some of those companies have interests before the Senate and, in particular, McCain’s Commerce Committee.

Black said he does a lot of his work by telephone from McCain’s Straight Talk Express bus.

John McCain literally has a lobbyist for “corporate interests and foreign governments” working from the “Straight Talk Express.”

Where will they work from if he wins the White House?

Make a contribution right now to stop this kind of politics:

http://www.democrats.org/McCainEthics

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

This morning the New York Times released what could be an extremely significant blow to the McCain campaign, regarding a relationship with a lobbyist and some potential ethical questions raised by these accusations.

The report goes into great detail regarding McCain’s relationship with Vicki Iseman, the 40 year old lobbyist in question.

The article states:

A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.

While this seems like a smoking gun, and there are a lot more details mentioned in the article, the one thing that the New York Times fails to mentions is who their unnamed sources are.

The one thing that I’ve learned living in Washington is that there are a lot of people, who once they leave a certain organization hate their former employer and sometimes will go to extreme lengths to “get back” at whoever has wronged them. Ask anyone who has worked on the Hill, sometimes these things can get extremely ugly.

What’s even more questionable about this article is the timing. This isn’t a story that they just came up with, this is something that they have been sitting on for some time now. So why release the story now? Why wait until he has pretty much locked up the nomination?

More importantly, another question that needs to be asked is why the New York Times went ahead and endorsed McCain, who didn’t have a significant lead at the time, but still seemed to have knowledge of this story? Is this another New York Times left-wing favor?

The reality is that if the American people read this story before McCain responds to it (9am press conference is scheduled), this could have an effect amongst those who are already critical of him, especially amongst many evangelicals.

Obviously, this isn’t going to propel Huckabee as the nominee, so yes, he will still be a non-factor in all of this.

However, the timing, logic and underlying motivation of the New York Times really needs to be called into question as to why they chose the course of action they did for delivering this article.

Senator McCain’s campaign obviously is far from over, but I think this article goes to show just how dirty this race is going to become.

If the New York Times held onto this story until now, for whatever the reason may be, just imagine what dirt the DNC or the Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama campaign is holding onto regarding Senator McCain’s ethics in the Senate. Lets not forget, this is a race amongst Senators, so they all have access to each others “inner circles.”

I know that there are articles regarding this matter in the Washington Post, and a few other newspapers as well, all scooping the New York Times. These all need to be examined carefully and the gaps created MUST be filled before any confidence can be given to these articles.

All I can say is that this isn’t surprising, and I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg for the dirt that is going to come out on Senator McCain.

However, keep in mind that the happenings of the Senate can be extremely ugly. I don’t know of any members of Congress who are 100% clean, so that means that for every piece of dirt that they have on McCain, there is probably something on the Democrats. The problem for McCain, however, is that Clinton and Obama are fresh to the Senate, whereas McCain has a long record with many enemies.

Don’t be surprised if you see accusations arise from things that happened 10 years or more ago.

Again, its going to get ugly.

Update to “What Could Lead to Interesting Results in Wisconsin”

Update: It appears that this is a topic that has really sparked the attention of the Journal Sentinel, which means that this is probably something that is widespread in the state.

But, its interesting to note the different rationales and strategies.

Take Audrey Murray, a 74-year-old registered Republican. She said she voted for Barack Obama at Glenwood Elementary School in Greenfield - but not because she likes him.

“I don’t want to see Barack Obama get elected president,” said Murray, a retired banker. “I don’t want to see Hillary Clinton anywhere near the election.”

Murray said she believes a lot of Republicans are voting in the Democratic primary in order to weaken the challenge to McCain.

To any Wisconsin Republicans reading this who still haven’t voted yet: voting for Barack Obama is probably not the best move. Hillary Clinton is the candidate that the GOP wants to take on and is the candidate that the party has been preparing for since there was talk of her announcing.

Obama brings a dynamic to the election that the RNC and the McCain campaign is going to have a tough time attacking, aside from the fact that he is relatively young and doesn’t have all that much experience. Unfortunately, Barack Obama can usually convince voters to look beyond his shortcomings with his well crafted, sometimes borrowed speeches.

Hillary Clinton on the other hand, has a suitcase full of dirt that people don’t even know about yet. I have no doubt that the RNC has a treasure chest of dirt on Hillary Clinton that she’ll have a hard time backing up.

Furthermore, John McCain would annihilate Hillary Clinton in the debates, because luckily, she doesn’t have the charisma that Barack Obama has to reassure her supporters when she falls.

So, my suggestion to Wisconsin Republicans who want to increase the odds of a Republican winning in November, vote for Hillary. Its tough, but I truly believe that when it comes to match ups, she’s the best fit to ensure a McCain victory.

On townhall.com today was a great article by Michael Reagan discussing why his father, former President and conservative icon, Ronald Reagan would have backed Senator John McCain in his pursuit of the Presidency if McCain had beaten him during a primary.

This is an extremely important article for those who are still on the fence about whether or not they want to jump on the McCain team after investing so much time, energy and money into a candidate that was thought to go all the way. Particularly, without being explicit, this article targets Romney supporters.

Putting this in a historical context, M. Reagan spoke of the 1976 race between Ford and his father, where many thought Reagan was the best candidate for the job, but in the end it was Ford who prevailed and got the nomination.

M. Regan writes:

In 1976 the Ford vs. Reagan campaign for the Republican presidential nomination got so heated it looked as if my father and Jerry Ford would never again talk to one another.

Sound familiar? This has been something that has been going around the blogosphere since the summer; the obvious tension and dislike for each other that was sensed between McCain and Romney.

When it was over and Ford had won, what did Ronald Reagan do? He simply went all-out to help Ford win his re-election, as did I and as did my sister Maureen. My dad simply followed his rule of backing the Republican candidate no matter who he was.

This is almost exactly what Mitt Romney alluded to in his speech at CPAC and this is something that I wish so many Romney supporters would realize. Remember, while you don’t have your candidate to fight for, you still have the party he represented and everything great that the party represents.

Assuming that John McCain will be the Republican nominee, you can bet my father would be itching to get out on the campaign trail working to elect him even if he disagreed with him on a number of issues.

Do any Romney supporters doubt Romney’s pledge that he would help McCain do whatever it takes to defeat the Democrats? He is a smart man, who knows what is at stake and I’m certain that after a few days of much needed rest and reenergizing he’ll be doing whatever he can to help McCain raise money, build coalitions and win this race.

Even so, I’ve seen many Mitt Romney supporters call it quits on the ground, on their blogs, in their fundraising, acting as if this race is over, somehow forgetting what it was that Mitt Romney was trying to pursue.

I’ve even heard people (usually on the ultra-right) say that they are going to sit this one out, simply because they can’t fathom the idea of voting for John McCain, who supported McCain-Feingold (which increased the amount of money that goes into conservative nonprofits significantly), was a part of the Gang of 14 (which led to the nomination of Sam Alito) and opposed the Bush Tax Cuts (favoring an even more hard hitting tax plan). Wow, he’s a real monster.

I think Michael Reagan really does a great job of summing up what could happen if history repeats itself and people stay home and not support the eventual nominee, John McCain:

Unlike my father, a lot of conservatives stayed home in 1976, and we got four years of Jimmy Carter, whose main legacy was to drive the Shah of Iran from power and create the Islamic Republic of Iran with a bunch of wild-eyed mullahs running the show. He also gave us 20 percent inflation and long, long lines at the gas pumps. And don’t forget 440 days of Americans held hostage by the mullahs.

By staying home those conservatives made possible the future election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

We are still suffering from the legacy of James Earl Carter, thanks to the conservatives who refused to follow Ronald Reagan’s example and instead sulked at home while the nation was being handed over to the worst president in American history.

We were still in the middle of the Cold War in those days, and by staying home conservatives risked losing that war by allowing an incompetent leader to become commander in chief.

Four years later Ronald Reagan took over, the hostages were immediately released, and he went on to win the Cold War. Now we have another world-wide war going on with a hidden enemy sworn to kill us all, and the policy of the Democrats running for the presidency is to throw up their hands and withdraw from the battlefield, leaving it to the enemy — and our fate in the hands of Osama bin Laden.

Is that what the let’s-stay-home-on-election-day conservatives want? Do they want the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama, as their president? Do they want the pseudo-Marist Barack Obama — who reportedly has a photo of the murderous Castroite thug Che Guevara hanging in his Houston, Texas campaign headquarters — hanging that photo in the Oval Office?

Do they want Hillary Clinton, the duplicitous former first lady, back in the White House enjoying all those furnishings she and her husband tried to swipe from the mansion?

Do they want a Democrat spending even more money that the government doesn’t have on scores of programs right out of Karl Marx’s playbook?

That’s exactly what they’ll get if they sit out the election and stay home on Election Day. That’s called biting off your nose to spite your face. Or even more to the point, political suicide.

Let me say this. There has been plenty of battling in the primaries, and I’ve been in the middle of the battle, but until now haven’t committed myself to any candidate, waiting until we had a nominee.

That’s over.

If John McCain is the nominee of the party, this Reagan will happily campaign with him. The alternative is unthinkable to anyone who loves this nation.

There is a lot at stake here. People need to decide now if they are in our out, but really consider the consequences of sitting out. Even on the blogosphere, if former Romney supporters could post just one thing about the McCain campaign, even if its holding him to the fire, the GOP will have one more ally in defeating the quickly growing, heavily funded online armies of the Left.

Looking at what is at stake, I think its a relatively small price to pay.