This afternoon, after I did my Alhurra gig with Andre, I dropped by the McCain HQ on my way over to visit my new grandbabies, to see what was happening. There was considerable worrying going on among some of the staff honchos, what with the mess in Horry County.
Of course, at that time they didn’t know that Greenville County would go for McCain. The conventional
wisdom was expressed to my Friday by McCainiac John Courson, when I asked him what impact he thought the predicted bad weather would have on today’s results. He said, not entirely jokingly, that the best
weather for McCain would be snow in the Upstate and sunshine on the coast. (Of course, we ended up with a mess across the state.)
But the folks doing the actual work of identifying and turning out the vote for McCain kept their heads down and kept at it, as shown in my double-naught spy camera photo. These folks did the job in the end.
McCain, when he came in to speak to our editorial board in August, said that’s how George W. Bush beat him in SC in 2000. Dismissing the smear campaign, and sounding like a good-sport losing coach, he said the other team just had the better organization, and more money.
This time, McCain had that advantage. At least, he had the advantage in organization. As for money — well, Mitt Romney can tell you that’s not everything.
Back in the dark days, when I wrote about McCain going to the mattresses, this HQ was a very lonely place. Not today, and that had a lot to do with making the difference.
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McCain also came in 1st in the straw poll of Maricopa County AZ Republicans (Phoenix) .. in the category “LEAST Acceptable Candidate”.
So that’d be the same Arizona that re-elected him with a 77% vote in ’04?
Amazing night…
Yeah, man — that straw poll is SO meaningful tonight.
The haters across the political spectrum — McCain haters, Hillary haters, Bush haters, Mexican haters, what have you — need to get over it. Most Americans are sick of all that stuff. And South Carolinians said so tonight.
The Dems would only run some loser of a sacrificial lamb against him.
That made sense. Why waste the money when McCain is as much a Democrat as a Republican?
Gee, what could McCain have done to make him become so unpopular? How about stabbing his own constituents in the stomach with his Shamnesty bill?
I don’t see him winning either the nomination or the Presidency, and he won’t run for re-election in 2010. He’d lose. Against Mickey Mouse.
Unfortunately either Nappy (Gov Janet Napolitano- Dem) or Gabby Giffords (CD8 -Dem) will run. Right now, I think either would win. Just depends on who the Republicans can convince to run.
Napolitano’s smart and has the ability to deflect criticism of her decisions onto others. Giffords is “pretty” but a little smarmy. The Dems, though, have her pegged for bigger things. They will POUR money into her campaign (as they did last time and are doing again now) because they see her as a long term asset. I don’t have the impression that she does any independent thinking on her own.
The only Rep in this state who could win would be Sheriff Joe. Hated by many, loved by even more. Folks outside the state don’t understand. But they don’t live here, so why would they? He’s not interested, though. I don’t blame him.
…Want to know what’s sad? REALLY sad?
McCain wins SC while on the same day, another Border Patrol agent is killed defending our country.
Brad,
Cut the BS and name-calling – it makes you look childish, and frankly, …ignorant.
Brad … probably won’t happen now, but the McCain camp was upset enough this evening to talk about legal action, according to this from The Sun New in Myrtle Beach:
—————-
McCain camp considering legal action
The McCain camp “is still weighing our options” about asking a court to extend voting today in Horry County because of the system problems, a spokesman said.
B.J. Boling, spokesman for the McCain campaign in South Carolina, said just after 6 p.m., with less than an hour remaining for voting, there was some talk of legal action because of the fear enough voters were turned away to affect the outcome of the primary.
McCain carried Horry and Georgetown counties by wide margins in 2000 over George Bush.
– by Zane Wilson
With all due respect to the hard-working get-out-the vote volunteers, the real “folks who won it for McCain” are as follows:
(1)Fred Thompson
(2)Everyone who voted for Fred Thompson
There’s some “Straight Talk” for you.
Jeff, if the Huckster can’t pull from any other demographic other than evangelicals then he doesn’t deserve to win. I think that’s shooting pretty “straight”.
Brad … In Horry County, they’re saying now that 80-90 percent of all voting machines failed. Considering our retiree and military demographic, plus McCain’s past performance here, his total margin of victory definitely would have been higher … See:
——————
You can’t vote here
That’s the message some Horry County voters got as they were turned away at the polls, as 80 percent to 90 percent of the machines failed to function for the Republican presidential primary. Precincts that switched to paper ballots soon ran out.
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/321152.html
I was just wondering if illegal immigration was a concern of anybody from SC. If so, how did it turn out that McCain won since he co-sponsored the amnesty bill? If not, what do you think voters made their choice based on?
Hey Brad…Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement to the voters of South Carolina. Victory with McCain was well worth the wait!!!
I have seen this on other occasions and started not to respond . BUT the reason I voted for Fred was I thought and continue to think that he is the best candidate running for pres. If I had wanted to vote for Huckelberry I would have done so.
In The primary process you vote for the candidate you think is the one that most closely holds the same beliefs as you do. Then in the general election you support the candidate that represents your beliefs most closely. If it comes to pass that I have to support McCain I will do so aganist a democrat but until then I will support Fred.
To Randy and Roy,
Good points. I’m not going to argue with someone for voting his or her conscience. But I still say this:
If you voted for Fred Thompson, but you would prefer Huckabee to McCain, then I don’t believe you should complain too loudly about McCain winning.
Hey Brad,
Too bad Thompson didn’t give you the interview you wanted, of course it wouldn’t have gotten him a letters worth of good press from this paper.
Also had he listened to your incredibly superior opinon and gotten out and endorsed McShame, the Huckster would have won the whole thing. Unfortunately, McShame will never go the distance, so this State’s votes will be wasted, and the only Conservative that could have brought the Reagan Coalition together is probably out.
Good Job!!
As a registered Democrat for about 30 years, I can tell you that the Republicans are smart cookies if they nominate McCain, because he will have tens of millions of very disaffected Democrats across the spectrum– some of us liberal, many of us conservative– voting for him in November. The Democrats are so angry at Hillary Clinton right now, the way her campaign has been disenfranchising voters, using offensive tactics and smearing Edwards and Obama, that we will not vote for Hillary in November.
A McCain-led ticket in November 2008 would be basically unbeatable. He has the broadest support of any candidate I’ve seen since Ronald Reagan in 1984, without doubt.
Seems like Fred won the race for McCain at the MB debate. Fred went into attack mode for McCain that put Huck on the defensive….for about the first time in the campaign. Fred was seen as the agressor; Huckabee tried to defend his record. It was just amazing how many people was this as “presidential” and elevated Fred. So, McCain needs to credit his friend Thompson for knocking Huckabee off stride, raising questions about his record and siphoning enough votes to clear the path for him. If Huckabee is to win, he’s got to change to attack mode….unfortunately, it works.
I would like the commentators to focus one question on the money to the “populist” Dems tonight. I think people would find it eyeopening the wealth disparity of the candidates:
Hillary Clinton – $34.8-50 million
John Edwards – $55 million ($8.5 million personal home
Barack Obama – $1.3 million
McCain, Giuliani, Romney are all super-wealthy too. Huckabee doesn’t even blip on the screen. My observeration is the Country Club set helps the Country Club set and money runs with money. The populist stuff rings very hollow when you consider these folks’ lifestyle..more at:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0712/gallery.candidates.moneymag/5.html
Obama focuses on RACE!Obama Trinity United Church of Christ, an African-American mega-church unorthodox pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright describing the September 11 attacks as a “wake-up call” to America for ignoring the concerns of “people of colour”, and for claiming that Americans “believe in white supremacy and black inferiority . . . more than we believe in God”. Wright travelled to meet Muammar Gadaffi, the Libyan leader, in the 1980s with Louis Farrakhan, the black supremacist leader of the Nation of Islam, and subscribes to the “Black Values System”, which preaches self-reliance but claims “middle-classness” is ensnaring blacks. Reverend Jeremiah Wright went to Tripoli to visit Colonel Gadaffi with Farrakhan., Obama offers white voters a chance to free themselves from white guilt! ( unbelievable and he is running on uniting all people)
Brad, nothing in this world is as hard to take as as someone who thinks he’s been vindicated by the result of some poll or other. Especially if that some one has spent considerable time, talent and treasure in a Quixotic quest to convince everyone else that we ought to like John McCain as our potential next president…like you have. Firstly, John McCain hasn’t a chance, the majority vote of a minority of South Carolinians on Saturday notwithstanding. I don’t understand why he’s the darling of people like you, but I do know he’s the darling of the mainstream media because they understand full well he hasn’t a chance, and that because of this, his nomination as Republican candidate will lead inalterably to defeat in November for the conservative movement.
Secondly, McCain is simply wrong for the country. It’s unfortunate that many South Carolinians were mesmerized or fooled or whatever it was and supported him in the primary, but their support doesn’t make him the right guy for America. We simply were wrong in this state about McCain on Saturday, and he’ll never be president. Period. Dave
I don’t understand why he’s the darling of people like you, but I do know he’s the darling of the mainstream media because they understand full well he hasn’t a chance, and that because of this, his nomination as Republican candidate will lead inalterably to defeat in November for the conservative movement.
Secondly, McCain is simply wrong for the country. It’s unfortunate that many South Carolinians were mesmerized or fooled or whatever it was and supported him in the primary, but their support doesn’t make him the right guy for America. We simply were wrong in this state about McCain on Saturday, and he’ll never be president. Period. Dave
Well, there you go.
McCain simply doesn’t represent the will or feelings of typical SC conservatives.
Yet, Brad and others insist on telling us how wrong we are.
As Newt said recently, Republicans simply don’t want to think. They just want to win. So, sadly, we should all get used to the following term for at least the next 4 year:
“Madame President.”
Madame President. That has a nice ring to it. And so will the following:
Low Unemployment
Low Rate of Inflation
Low Crime Rates
Respect from around the world
Reduced threats from terrorism
Universal Health Care
Improved Life Expectancy Compared to the Rest of the World
Ah yes, “Madame President”, how sweet that sounds.
The folks who won it for McCain?
Chuck Norris for saying that McCain is too old and wouldn’t make it though the first term. Not bad for a 67 year old has been actor commenting why senior citizens shouldn’t be in politics!
I was a volunteer for Obama’s campaign until I discovered this picture and many more that he has been hiding:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2037/2211016128_4a89e423f7.jpg?v=0
Barack Obama is a Muslim! He has been lying the whole time. He lies about everything.
I am getting sick of this “Obama is a Muslim” garbage. I would almost certainly vote against him in the general election, but these rumors are really annoying.
Here’s an interviewhe gave to a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times about his religious beliefs.