McCain's troubles last Summer were a news story that was impossible to ignore. In terms of endorsements, McCain was endorsed by more newspapers than all other hopefuls combined. How much more sympathetic could any news medium be?

http://www.johnmccain.com/supporters/newspapers.h...

Thank you Persephone. This article proves my case. The author set out to find McCain's core beliefs only to find he didn't have any. As far as policy goes: "It is no exaggeration to say that, during this crucial period [2001-2003], McCain was the most effective advocate of the Democratic agenda in Washington."

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=4a65fb2...

Thank you Persephnoe. This article proves my case. The author set out to find McCain's core beliefs only to find he didn't have any. As far as policy goes: "It is no exaggeration to say that, during this crucial period [2001-2003], McCain was the most effective advocate of the Democratic agenda in Washington."

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=4a65fb2...

Simmons,

I had to pause for a moment this morning to check whether you wrote this or I did.

I don't believe for a moment that John McCain has changed his position on immigration at all. McCain is in a mode where he'll say anything to get the nomination, deliberately appealing to independents. A man doesn't spend two years working for amnesty and suddenly reverse course. McCain has agreed to build a fence but that's all. McCain would push amnesty just was hard as GWB, all the while insisting it isn't really 'amnesty' because he would make illegal aliens pay a small fine and say 'I'm sorry'. (He also says they have to learn English, which is hilarious. Will there be a test? Will they get deported if they don't pass? Why doesn't anyone challenge McCain on this stuff?). McCain has also recently joined Al Gore's fight against global warming. I doubt that McCain knows CO2 from H2O, but he doesn't care. He'll say anything to get the young and the naive to turn out for him.

Although I haven't seen any polling data, I have long maintaiined that McCain has the highest negatives within his own party of any hopeful, followed closely by Huckabee. The next two weeks will determine who will be the conservative alternative, Romney or Thompson. Romney will get his chance in Michigan, Thompson in SC. If they both stumble, the best we could hope for is a brokered convention where nobody wins on the first ballot. Then conservatives would then have a chance to settle on a compromise, probably Thompson.

I will never vote for McCain. I would honestly rather see a Democrat win than McCain. A Democrat would lead in the opposite direction on issues I care about, but McCain wouldn't be much of an improvement. At least with the Democrat, the GOP could unite in opposition and McCain would never be president. The GOP could then start over and rebuild. Four years with McCain as party leader and POTUS would turn the GOP into a authoritarian/ globalist party, even more than they are now, leaving conservatives nowhere to go.

I hope you are right and McCain will never win.