Friday, May 11, 2007

McCain masters half of the story

To John McCain, President Bush's low approval numbers are the big thing hurting Republicans.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday he believes President Bush's low approval ratings are hurting the GOP yet won't affect the party's 2008 nominee.

"I don't think there's any doubt that when the president's polling numbers are low that it harms the Republican Party in general, but I think that when it comes election time that the overwhelming majority of Americans will choose their candidate on the basis of that individual candidate's qualifications, vision and record," McCain said in an interview with The Associated Press.

I'm not going to be as hard on McCain as I could be because the AP only gives that partial quote. I would, however, just like to remind the Senator that congress's numbers have typically been even lower, even when his party controlled both houses. And the 2006 losses for Republicans, while aided by the President's unpopularity, were driven in large part by voters' disgust with what McCain and his party accomplished and failed to accomplish during their majority. The Senator is just as much a part of the problem as the President. If he doesn't get that yet, then I seriously question whether he can woo the American people in November of 2008.

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