This is a huge coup by the McCain campaign. The endorsement by South Carolina’s largest and most influential conservative paper will undoubtedly be a huge boost to the Senator’s chances in the state. Given McCain’s history with SC and its importance this primary season, I will go so far to argue that this is his most significant newspaper endorsement, even more than the New Hampshire Union Leader.
FOR SOUTH CAROLINA, and to some extent for the nation, the choice among Republican candidates for president has come down to two men.
First Rudy Giuliani, then Mitt Romney looked at political realities and fled the Palmetto State, deciding their priorities lay elsewhere. Fred Thompson seems to be running in this first-in-the-South primary just to say he did. Ron Paul keeps on being Ron Paul, former nominee of the Libertarian Party.
The two remaining contenders here happen to be the two strongest candidates – Mike Huckabee and John McCain. Gov. Huckabee is an exciting newcomer who shows a wonderful ability to connect with voters’ concerns, and Republicans could do far worse than to choose him. But his utter lack of knowledge of foreign affairs is unsettling.
It’s not just about Iraq and Afghanistan. As freshly demonstrated by the incident involving U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz last week and the assassination earlier of the opposition leader in the world’s most volatile democracy (which possesses nuclear weapons, and shelters Osama bin Laden), our commander in chief will need a far broader and deeper understanding of our relationship to the world than on-the-job training can adequately provide.
Clearly, the best Republican candidate to lead our nation at this time is U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona. He has the necessary experience, not just in time served, but in the quality of understanding he exhibits across the board.
The value of his experience is multiplied by his integrity and independence. He is a slave to no ideology or faction. Not only will he work with anyone who wants to do the right thing anytime, he is usually the driving force at the head of coalitions to get the job done – from the Gang of 14 that broke Senate gridlock and paved the way for the confirmation of conservative judges to his principled leadership on campaign finance reform. He knew the political risk he took leading the quest for a comprehensive solution to illegal immigration, but he believed securing our borders was too important a priority not to try.
He is deeply respected by his colleagues in both parties, despite the fact that, as he jokes, he has never sought the “Miss Congeniality” title. No one is as likely as he to fight, expose and defeat waste, fraud or corruption.
Experience, certainly. Integrity, even more so. But John McCain’s most conspicuous virtue is courage. He is a brave and tough man who unlike some candidates has no need to bluster, but is able to speak with humility and generosity to those with whom he disagrees. A McCain presidency would do much to restore confidence in American leadership, at home and abroad.
There is of course the extraordinary physical and moral courage that he displayed as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, where he withstood nightmarish torture for years rather than let his country or his comrades down. But he also possesses the kind of political fortitude that keeps him from giving up on any worthwhile quest. He evinces a wisdom born in pain, a confidence earned in many battles. When others despair, John McCain knows he has seen worse, and keeps striding forward. …
John McCain has shown more clearly than anyone on the American political scene today that he loves his country, and would never mislead or dishonor it. He is almost unique in his determination to do what is right, whatever the cost. And he usually has a clear vision of what’s right.
So it is that we confidently and enthusiastically endorse John McCain for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I am from AR, and if any of you want to know why McCain would be a much better candidate and president that Huck, just ask.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
People never want to talk about where John McCain stands on the issues. They just talk about intangibles: He’s honorable. He has integrity. He’s respected. He’s independent.
Oh, and he supported the surge. That’s the one issue that we’re allowed to talk about regarding John McCain now.
“McCain opposed the Bush tax cuts on class warfare grounds.”
“But he supported the surge!”
“And as for his attack on the 1st Amendment?”
“Are you doubting this former POW’s loyalty to the Constitution?”
“All I’m saying is that it’s thanks to him that — ”
“How dare you question McCain’s integrity!”
January 12th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Hello, all (McCain-site publisher)-
LJ – Good news keeps pouring in… I would agree that this is a major coup. He had previously won in NH, so there was precedent for his being able to do it a second time. In contrast, he lost SC in 2000, so it helps to have as many positive factors turned in his favor as possible…
January 12th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
2 if you think McCain’s bill violated the first amendment, file a law suit. Tell that too a judge. It only costs about 150 bucks.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
To say Mitt Romney “fled” SC is a bit disingenuous, or at least an overstatement. To only consider Huck and McCain in making an endorsement at this stage in the campaign is shortsighted.
Too bad for McCain that we don’t choose our nominees based on the number of newspaper endorsements a candidate receives–he would easily win.
The longer McCain has to fight for the nomination, the lower his probability of success. Though he may be helped by the compressed schedule, I don’t think he will emerge as the nominee. If he does, despite what the current polls say, we will lose badly in November (and this will actually be a good thing for the Republican brand, but with significant costs for the country).
McCain is not POTUS material. He doesn’t have the temperment, the intellect, or the executive capacity to be effective in that role.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
4 — The judiciary long ago stopped interpreting the Constitution as it was written.
Since when have conservatives and libertarians been trusting of the judiciary!?
January 12th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
“The two remaining contenders here happen to be the two strongest candidates, Mike Huckabee and John McCain”
That does not sound like a conservative newspaper…
January 12th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Here we go again. McCain and his newspapers. I’ll never understand it. McCain has never done anything useful. He says he has foreign policy experience because he sat through 25 years worth of hearings on capitol hill. This is not a man that can be taken seriously. Plus he is dangerous. He could have a temper tantrum and start firing nuclear weapons.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
6, so you are just whining calling anything you disagree with “illegal” or “unconstitional” because you disagree with it? Why don’t you try debating the policiies instead of misrepresenting what would happen if an actual challenge was filed in an actual court case? You should leave that deceptive tactic to the ding-a-lings at Daily Kos who say everything Bush does is “illegal” or “unconstitutional” even those almost every bit of it has been upheld in the courts.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
McCain, having been in the hole while Hanoi Jane was outside helping gooks shoot at our pilots, is the last person of any party who would start a war that wasn’t in the national interest. He is a soldier committed to soldiers. Those are the ones who really hate war.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Argamenon,
“Plus he is dangerous. He could have a temper tantrum and start firing nuclear weapons.”
more realistically, he will lose his cool and look like a great fool in Lincoln-Douglass debates. A man who can’t take critisism is a bad choice for Republicans.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Lets face it, nobody really cares about illegal immigration. If they did,
Mitt would be running away with the nomination. The immigration issue is a straw man.
It has no legs to run with. How else can you explain the rise of John McCain and Tom Tancredo
never making a dent in the polls?
January 12th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Huck has the worst record of any of the R’s on immigration:
Huckabee: ‘Race-baiting ’ behind immigration bill
BY DAVID HAMMER THE ASSOCIATED PRES
This story was published Friday, January 28, 2005
Excerpts
“Gov. Mike Huckabee said Thursday that a bill to deny state government benefits and voting rights to illegal immigrants is “inflammatory… race-baiting and demagoguery.” He challenged the Christian values of its main sponsor.
“Holt often talks of his strong Christian beliefs, but Huckabee singled him out, ! saying, “I drink a different kind of Jesus juice. My faith says don’t make false accusations against somebody. In the Bible, it’s called ‘Don’t bear false witness.’”
“The governor said Holt’s plan to deny prenatal care to illegal immigrants goes against their shared anti-abortion principles — that unborn fetuses should have a citizen’s right to life.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
#12. . . I tend to agree with the idea of your post. Illegal immigration is just not as big of an issue as it should be. Neither party wants to really tackle it because illegal immigrants are too important to core constituencies (business and industry for the GOP, and unions and social welfare groups for the Dems), neither of which want to see them removed from within our borders. It also explains why Hillary’s comment to a cheering crowd in Vegas yesterday that “no woman is illegal” barely registered a blip on the news radar screen.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
14, of everything Hillary has said this entire campaign, the one that will be the most usefull in Nov. is “no woman is illegal”. It didn’t make a blip, but it will if she is the Dem nominee.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Its the media – the big political machines are getting behind the newspaper endorsement. Once again, the political machines and the media think they pick who is elected. They succeeded with Bush, and everyone else they picked in the back room, since 1960. This is when the media to me is just infuriating. They get paid off to do endorsements and the voters buy into it.
Well, not THIS VOTER!!!
GO MITT!
January 12th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
But my point is, that nobody cares about illegal immigration. I think its an issue thats in the headlines,
but its not an issue that influences how people actually vote. If so, John McCain would be dead last .
January 12th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
McCain’s record on immigration (for all its faults) is much better than Huckabees.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
#18
You may be right, but immigration is not as pressing of an issue as it should be. Otherwise Mitt would be winning the nomination.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
These are my rankings and I’m sticking to them in Colorado caucuses.
1. Mitt
2. Fred
3. McCain or Rudy (slightly better than Obama)
5. Obama
6. Clinton
7. Huckster
January 12th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I definately can see the merit in the bottom part of Nate draw.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
6, so you are just whining calling anything you disagree with “illegal†or “unconstitional†because you disagree with it?
No. I’m calling it unconstitutional because it’s unconstitutional.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
22, unfortunately for you even if you had a 3 judge panel consisting of Scalia, Thomas and Alito, you would still lose your case. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way, but it is. Don’t pretent the law is something different.
January 12th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Concerted effort by the media to get their champion elected.
Folks, he rammed through campaign finance reform which limits political free speech and gives the media more power.
This rash of media endorsements is just that. A quid pro quo scratching the back of McCain because he’s scratched their’s in more ways than one.
Sickening.
January 12th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I’m still waiting for Sheriff McCain, foot soldier of The Reagan Army, to tell us about all the wonderful conservative legislation he has brought to the Senate floor. Maybe I would trust him if he did.
January 12th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
What has become of our party when we are about to nominate a person who voted against tax cuts?
January 12th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
22, unfortunately for you even if you had a 3 judge panel consisting of Scalia, Thomas and Alito, you would still lose your case. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way, but it is. Don’t pretent the law is something different.
I don’t care. I’ve disagreed with other rulings of theirs before.
I’m pro-Constitution, not pro-conservative judiciary.
January 12th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
What integrity he has:
“And I’m proud to tell you, Chris, in 24 years as a member of Congress, I have never asked for nor received a single earmark or pork barrel project for my state and I guarantee you I’ll veto those bills. I’ll ask for the line item veto and I’ll veto them and I’ll make the authors of them famous.” – John McCain – debate comment
“I have never asked for or received a pork barrel project or earmark for my state.” – John McCain – debate comment
Rehnquist Center
Luke Air Force Base Buffer Zone
Nogales, AZ Wastewater Treatment
McCain Letter requestin the earmark/>
January 12th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
“The endorsement by South Carolina’s largest and most influential conservative paper will undoubtedly be a huge boost to the Senator’s chances in the state.”
Can’t be that conservative if it endorsed mccain. and i would hardly call it a coup given they endorsed him last time around.
this is a good reminder of hwy mccain is not a conservative.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjUzOGY0ODA1YzBmNjFhOWE5NWU0OTY5NTZiOGNhOGQ=
(this is not spin, just facts on his record)
January 12th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
more on mccain’s lie about earmarks.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/31/an_old_earmark_of_mccains_surf.html
January 12th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Lindsey,
I’ve wondered myself about the impact of immigration on this race. Mitt hit the issue hard in both Iowa and New Hampshire, without apparent effect. Of the main candidates, McCain, Huckabee, and Giuliani all have terrible records on immigration, and only Giuliani is suffering in the race, and not because of having run a sanctuary city. So, I think you’re right.
January 12th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
VERY NICE FISKING!