McCain's Leadership Strength is Questioned, Future is Unclear

Primary season is slowly but surely starting to wrap up. While things are still up in the air for the Democrats, McCain is spending his time bolstering support within the Republican party. Issues with recent rumors have diminished and McCain has done a relatively good job of restoring the GOP's faith in himself. He has removed himself from the public eye, allowing the country to wait with bated breath to see who the Democratic candidate will be. Because he's a shoo-in, McCain is using this time to recover while also reminding Republican voters why he needs their support come November.

Some Republicans have started voting for Clinton. This isn't because they've had a change of heart; rather, it's an effort to prevent Obama from earning the Democratic nomination. Many Republicans think that Obama is a stronger candidate than Clinton and they would rather see McCain square off against the weaker opposition. Because some Republicans don't think McCain can defeat Obama, voters are strategically voting in support of Clinton to knock him off the ballot.

If that was the plan for the Pennsylvania election last night (April 22), then it worked. Clinton won decisively over Obama and it's possible that her victory was in part thanks to Republican voters conspiring against the Democratic party. Political analysts say that though Clinton won, many of her supporters doubt her ability to surpass Obama in the long run, which is bad news for the GOP. On the Democratic side, then, the battle continues.

The common conception is that the Democratic battle will help McCain's campaign. However, that may not necessarily be true. Though the Democrats are engaged in a tiresome battle, the nation's attention is focused on them and not McCain. Come November, voters may know more about the Democratic candidate simply because he or she spent more time duking it out in the primaries. Conversely, McCain has had the chance to catch his breath and re-strategize, but that might not be the most efficient use of his time.

Gallup's tracking polls indicate the same sentiment: McCain's reputation is not being bolstered because of the Democrats' battle. The polls show that in a vote between the undecided Democratic candidate and McCain, only 45 percent of constituents would cast their ballot for the Republican candidate. CBS.com writer Kevin Drum calls McCain's situation the "McCain Bubble," writing that "his media image is a bubble, sustained by a sort of childlike faith, and I suspect that once that faith starts to wobble--something that may have already started--the bubble is likely to pop."

There is still hope for McCain, of course. Most of the negative press about McCain or doubts about his leadership abilities are countered with positive feedback. Even Obama acknowledged that McCain would have done a better job in the White House during the past eight years than President Bush has done. Granted, Obama proceeded to say that either Democratic candidate is better presidential candidate than McCain but a quip like that was to be expected. The fact that Obama acknowledged McCain's leadership potential is important in it of itself.

McCain delivered a speech on April 11 regarding Iraq that was well-received. He effectively skirted around the issue of the alleged affair. He locked in the Republican nomination. He is preparing for a huge campaign to earn him a place in the White House in November. For now, things are proceeding along pretty smoothly for McCain. But is he strong enough to accomplish his goals? Or, because of the American public's frustration with the GOP for the past eight years, will the Democrats take over our nation's capital? Though the primary season is coming to an end, much is left to be determined.

Seeing that this is my last post on this blog, I'd like to give one last shout-out to the man who started it all: Mitt Romney. I still think it's too bad that he didn't last longer in the primary season but I respect his willingness to admit defeat. He was a strong leader and a good candidate but he didn't have enough support to edge out McCain. I enjoyed writing about him while he was still in the race and it was a pleasure to move on to cover McCain after Romney dropped out. I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Over and out.

McCain's Victories Outshine Rumors

One good way for McCain to get over the humiliation of being in accused of having an affair would be to launch a massive public relations campaign to dispel the thought that he may be incapable of leading the country. Of course, that was taken care of within minutes of the rumor's release. Another way to distract the public from the unfortunate rumor? Win every primary election that was held after the rumor hit headlines.

That's exactly what McCain has done since his downfall resulting from the rumor declaring that he had had an affair with female lobbyist Vicki Iseman. The media seems to be distracted from McCain's personal life and turned their attention to the heated race between Obama and Clinton. Obama will be unable to win the Democratic election without the support of the superdelegates and Clinton will be unable to secure the nomination by winning additional primaries. The Democratic candidates are engaged in a stalemate and the nation is watching.

This means that, for now, eyes are off of McCain and his rumored affair. On March 4, Texas, Rhode Island, Ohio and Vermont held their primary elections and McCain won all four of them. He has now surpassed the total number of delegates needed to win (he has 1,325 and the winner only needs 1,191) and has been declared the Republican Party's presumptive nominee. Huckabee is finally out of the race, bless his heart. That man sure can put up a fight, even if it was a weak one. Huckabee only won 267 votes during his primary run, and many people still wonder why he put in the effort at all. Ron Paul hilariously claims that he is still in the race but he has only been awarded 21 measly delegates.

Some people think Huckabee held out in hopes of running on McCain's ticket as the Vice President. This is a possibility, especially since the 71-year-old Arizona senator needs someone considerably younger who must be ready to work in case something should happen to McCain.

McCain has also switched gears to focus on combating the Democratic candidates. His whole campaign will have to change; instead of highlighting differences between himself and other Republican nominees, he'll have to stand out noticeably and appeal to Republicans and Democrats alike. In national polls, McCain is losing to both Obama and Clinton. McCain has the support of some crucial states, namely conservative states like Florida and Pennsylvania. His reputation as a middle-ground Republican candidate may help him in the general election but the nation's negative opinion of the current GOP administration surely doesn't help him any.

While trying to appeal to both parties, McCain will also have to remain loyal to the GOP. Many conservative Republicans insist that he must change his views on social issues. Conservative columnist Rick Santorum of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote today (March 13) that McCain won't have support from strict conservatives unless he "demonstrates that his vaunted pragmatism and open-mindedness will lead him to different positions on some issues."

There's a lot of work to be done now that McCain is the presumptive winner and representative of the Republican Party. Is he up to the challenge? Stay tuned.