McCainocrats

I watched a certain Republican strategist and UI Lecture series hecklee on C-Span’s Road to the White House this weekend. I’m reluctant to be specific here because I know that his name alone is enough to send some readers into a blind rage. Should I call him Rarl Kove? Does that make anyone angry? How about Snarl Stove? Gargamel? Maybe I’ll stick with his given name.

So, Turdblossom gave a lecture at George Washington University on Friday about the 2008 election. For the most part, he talked about Barack Obama and responded to several things that Obama has said in his speeches. Readers may be familiar with Obama’s repeated mentions of “Obamicans” – Republicans who approach him and whisper their support for his presidency. ‘He-who-shall-not-be-mentioned’ responded with, “What about the McCainocrats?”

Indeed, what about the McCainocrats? Certainly McCain has more support from Democrats than most Republicans, but he hasn’t given them a catchy name like Obama has for his Republican supporters. My sense is that we’ll see McCainocrats begin to surface in large numbers once the Democratic nominee is determined. I know many people who have declared their support for McCain if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, and I’m sure the same goes for many of her supporters if Obama secures the nomination.

McCain is in an interesting position right now. The media has practically ignored him, but that’s not a bad place to be while Obama and Hillary tear one another apart. He secured the Republican nomination early and hasn’t needed to lower himself to attacking his opponents. But not only has he not been on the attack, he’s gone out of his way to condemn recent attacks on Obama by Steve King and Bill Cunningham. He insists on having a civil campaign.

We shall see how that civil campaign strategy works out once he has a solid opponent, but McCain has nowhere to go but up. Conventional wisdom would suggest McCain needs to get back into the spotlight to gain support; campaigns rely on repetition and name recognition. The Democrats are getting the majority of the news coverage, and they may only hurt themselves if the smear campaigns continue. It’s still very early in the campaign, and I think McCain may have the right idea for now – Staying in the background, being a nice guy, and waiting for the McCainocrats to surface.

I also recommend Obama supporters watch the video of the Snarl Stove lecture. I realize how difficult that will be for you, but the majority of his talk is about Obama. It's a good indication of what's yet to come if Obama secures the nomination. Video can be viewed at C-Span's Road to the White House site.