McCain's campaign is in danger of fracturing

[FarCenter]

With Sarah Palin on one wing and Colin Powell on the other, don't be surprised if cracks appear in the GOP

Michael Crowley The Observer, Sunday August 31 2008

Before their Denver extravaganza last week, Democrats feared their nominating convention might dissolve into a gruesome riot of intramural conflict. The primary season wounds between the Clinton and Obama camps had not fully healed and some feared open fighting between the factions would overshadow Barack Obama's coronation. But after a somewhat unsure start, they averted disaster. Bill and Hillary Clinton both rallied their supporters to Obama's side with full-throated endorsements. And then came Obama's stirring acceptance speech, with which virtually no dazzled Democrats could find fault. For the Democrats, it was mission accomplished.

In truth, the talk of division was overblown. As Time magazine's Amy Sullivan recently noted, today's Democratic party is as unified as it has been in a generation. The long-running feud between the party's moderate and liberal wings is dormant, with the liberals holding sway. Consensus reigns on nearly every key policy question, from leaving Iraq to ending George W Bush's high-income tax cuts to putting brakes on unfettered free trade.

But look who's divided now: the Republicans. As John McCain heads for St Paul this weekend - with his photogenic but almost comically inexperienced running mate, Sarah Palin, in tow - it is the GOP that struggles to find real unity. John McCain now leads a party saddled with fierce internecine disputes about everything from civil liberties to budget policy to America's role in the world. While these Republicans may lack a soap opera akin to the Clinton-Obama psychodrama, their ideological stitching has come dangerously loose. It is McCain's challenge to ensure that the seams don't burst open before election day.

...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/31/barackobama.johnmccain

[RoyGBiv]

1. This is the real issue ...

This is what all the Republican attempts to highlight (read - blow out of proportion) the divide between the Obama/Clinton camps was really all about.

McCain and his handlers are trying to hide the fact that it is the Republican party that is in disarray, that it has been at least since 2006, and that it is getting worse. McCain's primary win is, in and of itself, a symptom of that. Warring factions within the Republican party handed McCain the nomination because they couldn't unify around any common ideals other than the default of more of the same.

It'd be laughable if it weren't an indicator of how low investigative journalism in this country has sunk.

[FredStembottom]

2. Excellent summation RGBiv!

I'm K&Ring for this perfect little pocket summation of the actual condition of the 2 parties. This simple truth will, of course, be all over the MSM in late November - but it's already clear right now to anyone with eyes and ears who is not invested in the last 28 years of Republican dominance.

[The River]

3. I So Want To See A Public Split

at the GOP convention.
Fundies vs Moderates vs Neocons

[kickysnana]

6. "The GOP already killed all the Moderates" me 2000

My reply in 2000 to Wellstones aide telling us that they were not going to contest the election and that they could wo9rk with "Republican Moderates".

[MadrasT]

4. Thank you for a positive report...

because my tinfoil hat is getting w-a-y too tight right now. :toast:

[LonelyLRLiberal]

5. Nice analysis - why doesn't our MSM point out this stuff? (I think I know.)

I like this prediction:

"If you find yourself hearing quite a lot about what's wrong with Obama next week, it will be because the divided Republicans of 2008 can't agree on what's right about themselves."