WP,pg1: McCain's Stand On Detainees May Pose Risk For 2008 Bid

[DeepModem Mom]

McCain's Stand On Detainees May Pose Risk For 2008 Bid
Opposition to Bush Could Alienate Republican Base
By Charles Babington and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 19, 2006; Page A01


Sen. John W. Warner, left, has joined Sen. John McCain in opposing President Bush on detainee interrogations. (By Chip Somodevilla -- Getty Images)

Sen. John McCain's bid to position himself as the natural heir to President Bush as a wartime commander in chief and to court conservative leaders in advance of his likely 2008 presidential campaign has threatened to run aground in recent days, as the two men clash over how to detain and try terrorism suspects.

For months, McCain has been wooing Bush's donors, hiring his former advisers and standing by him in the Iraq debate. But the fragile rapprochement between two men who were once bitter rivals for the presidency is facing a sharp new test over McCain's rejection of Bush's pleas to let the administration interpret the Geneva Conventions as it sees fit.

The impasse, which has preoccupied Congress this month, is likely to be settled within a few days but could remain hanging when lawmakers adjourn in a few days. Either way, it is likely to carry a long echo -- especially if the senator from Arizona forces Bush to back down.

Substantively, the legislative battle will shape what limits the administration will face on its anti-terrorism policies in the final two years of Bush's term. Politically, McCain's willingness once again to confront Bush raises questions about how he will position himself toward the Republican Party's conservative base, which he has aggressively cultivated over the past year as he pursues the presidency.

In a reprise of criticism showered on McCain during his 2000 campaign, some prominent conservatives are branding him a disloyal Republican and an unreliable conservative because of his assertiveness on the detainee issue....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091801353.html

[ShockediSay]

1. Wouldn't he be a great fusion (non-party) candidate

A dream ticket w/ him and Hilary

Guess I am dreaming ... it's too late for me to be out here

[Ignacio Upton]

2. Well for McCain, there's always Unity '08

Perhaps him and Lieberman could run on that ticket:
http://www.unity08.com/

[saigon68]

4. Snaillike JOEMENTUM could "SLIDE" over

[bklyncowgirl]

3. Prediction: McCain will not be the Republican nominee

Frankly I have a better chance than he does.

The true believers hate him. He thought he sewed up the Bushites suppor by kissing Bush's behind tbut the Chimp's going to stab him in the back and smile as he falls.