No Andrea, John McCain was NEVER going to win the 2008 election

[RandySF]

MSNBC talking heads keep referring to a post-GOP convention poll that had McCain up by 4 points, but there was no way in Hell Republicans were going to win that year (short of John Edwards winning the nomination). The financial crisis didn’t determine the outcome. It only made Obama’s win bigger.

[underpants]

1. No he wasn't. The race for the Dem nomination was the race for POTUS

Obama didn't come out of nowhere but he spun heads around with his first fundraising numbers - brilliantly released on a Saturday Night and the Sunday morning shows were dumbfounded.

The GOP had almost dissolved. The 2006 elections were a wipeout.

McCain never had a chance.

[Volaris]

10. And he can thank President Cheney for that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Sarah Palin turned out to be a boat anchor as well.

[MiniMe]

3. You beat me to it

I think Palin was the anchor that dragged McCain down in that election, though I think Obama would have won in any case

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Yes, Obama probably would have won anyhow, but it might have been closer

without Palin dragging McCain down.

[MiniMe]

7. Agree

[gopiscrap]

11. McCain suspending his campaign didn't help either

[Cha]

14. And, ironically, she was suppose to boost

him with the Women Voters.

I remember being anxious when I read on DU that he had chosen a female Gov of Alaska as his running mate. Until I saw what she was like that is.

[Jim Lane]

20. My guess: A ticket of McCain/Lieberman would've won

It's just a guess, though. A national election is influenced by so many factors that no one can have much confidence in opining about a hypothetical.

I realize that this caution puts me in the minority. The internet is full of people who just KNOW that Clinton would've won in 2016 if not for the Russians, or who just KNOW that Sanders would've won if he'd been the nominee, and over on Free Republic they just KNOW that Palin heading the GOP ticket in 2012 would've ousted Obama.

In short, you can opine about a "what-if" in whatever way makes you feel good, and you run no risk that anyone can prove you wrong.

[raging moderate]

4. Barack Obama is an unusual human being.

Last edited Sun Aug 26, 2018, 06:17 PM - Edit history (1)

I first had the honor of meeting Barack and Michelle Obama and their daughters before he was elected to the US Senate, when his campaign bus accidentally stopped in front of me instead of the important people it was supposed to put him down in front of. He was both gracious and coolly alert, looking at me and then around me for the promised contact. And this was while he and Michelle were cradling their whimpering little daughters (who seemed to have just waked up). Barack and Michelle were both unfazed by any of these problems.

Barack Obama's voice is always so cool and soothing, his speech is always so clear and logical, his emotions are always so warm and sociable. When our elementary school gathered the children for his Presidential inaugural address, all the children instantly shut up as soon as he began to speak. In a Republican town.


John McCain was a man of honor and achievement. He tried to stand for truth and justice. For a Republican, he was extraordinary. But yes, this is true, he had no chance of winning against Barack Obama.

[RandySF]

6. Even Hillary or a scandal-free Edwards would have beaten NcCain or Romney.

[FakeNoose]

8. McCain had to defend Shrub's shitty record, it was a death sentence

Yes Obama was a stellar candidate and he deserved to win in any case.

But even if he hadn't been a star, there were so many things going against McCain. Terrible choice of a running mate, Republican president's horrible record, two expensive stagnating wars, economy going down the tubes.

[CentralMass]

9. And a bag of GOP ratfuckers who had swifboated him since at least the 2000 campaign.

[JHan]

12. Why does Andrea do this shit, as if she doesn't know better?

Any democratic nominee would have won that year, which isn't to take away from Obama's skills as a campaigner, but the signs were there - plus goddamn history- that a Democrat would be President.

[Raine]

13. I think he could've won in 2000 if

he had gotten the nomination instead of GW and would've certainly been a better president then GW. No way though could he have won in 2008 after picking Palin as his running mate

[RandySF]

15. Palin initially gave him a boost.

He needed the Hail Mary after Obama's convention speech and the choice of a relative unknown from Alaska followed by the GOP convention gave him a boost in the polls. It was obvious to me by 2007 that the next POTUS would be a Democrat, but the fiancial crises and Palin's implosion helped us win places we otherwise would not have.

[Cha]

16. Andrea gets so much WRONG.

[malaise]

17. Nothing that woman says

matters.. She's a name dropping, self-promoting hack.

[Vinca]

18. McCain's fate was sealed when the real Sarah Palin became apparent.

He probably wouldn't have won if he'd picked Lieberman, either, since GOP voters would have abandoned him. Some things aren't meant to be. It was Obama's time . . . and I wish we could go back to it.

[UTUSN]

19. The truth is: "CHANGE"meant "Anybody OTHER THAN Shrub or Shrub's party." We lucked out it was OBAMA.

[Awsi Dooger]

21. Only morons believe that

Bush had sustained low 30s to low 40s approval ratings from Katrina forth, so that's 3+ years of weight on the nominee.

Hillary would have been an awesome president. I'll always view 2008 as a huge missed opportunity.