Thanks be to God for the wisdom of the voters in N.H., South Carolina & Florida.

Nice to see that folks like Rush Limbaugh, Focus on the Family, Rick Santorum and the National Review no longer seem to have the impact they have had these last 10 years.

The party of Lincoln seems to be re-emerging - Mac is Back !

The headline should read: McClinton—I mean, McCain—pulls the wool over eyes of Florida voters.  He’s more Democrat than many Democrats, unfortunately.

#2 That may be true if one thinks of old time democrats, not the “trendier than thou”, cause-of-the-moment, professional victims that now run the democratic party.  However,there’s not much of a choice, McCain or Romney, who if nominated would force changing the republican symbol to the chameleon, as well as engaging in paper transfers on budgets in the effort to tell us how we’re getting tax breaks while robbing us blind with all sorts of hidden costs.

Unfortunately, Will, you are probably right.  This election is, to borrow someone else’s term, monochrome.  There is not much difference between the most ‘conservative’ candidate and the most ‘liberal’ on either side.

#1: Bob, you have stated my sentiments exactly. The quest for ideological purity leaves both parties in the hands of the extremists and single issue voters. Conservative talk radio has gone from analysis to screed in last decade.

Although my first choice is Gov. Romney (over pro-life and marriage issues) I can’t get as angry at McCain over other issues that so seem to excite “radio” Republicans such as tax and immigration issues. So, unlike a number of hard-core conservatives, I find McCain a good second choice.
    One point though: I am convinced much of the anti-Romney feeling is anti-Mormon bigotry. According to a very in-depth probing poll of voters, it seems that those who are against Romney on the issue that he is given the most grief on (his so-called flip-flopping) when the bottom line is reached-anti-Mormon invective oozes out to the pollster.  I do not find this surprising, for R. Reagan was a more liberal governor (like Romney) than he became as a national candidate. And Reagan’s “conversion”-especially on abortion- was welcomed with open arms. But Romney, stuck here in Ma. liberal la-la land, was a more conservative governor than any Dem would be, gets attacked for moving more openly conservative on the national scene. And now McCain has flip-flopped to be for a fence along our border and is apparently now for Bush tax-cuts. Flip-flop anyone??? But Romney gets the flip-flop attacks all across the media and from anti-Mormon Republicans.

Flip flopping is normal for any politician.  I don’t know why it matters. 

but I wonder why nobody is saying “I’m a Bush Republican.”

John,
Probably for the same reason no one says that they are a “Carter Democrat” or a “(Bill) Clinton Democrat”

#6—I suspect that you are correct—that much of the anti Romney sentiment is rooted in his Mormonism.  IMHO, that’s the least of my problems with him!  While you are correct that Romney was probably more conservative than a democratic governor for MA,it’s also true he wasn’t much of a governor.  The tax cut shell game ( lowering tax rates and raising al other fees), furthering the mess of education in the Commonwealth, his ignoring the “Big Dig” debacle far outweigh any flip-flopping.  But even if we take his current stands as his true heart of hearts:  will a man who did not bring all that much new business and industry to the Commonwealth despite his constant economic jaunts here and there really turn a stalled/declingin US ecomony around?  Will a man who could not even crack the Massachusetts State Legislature’s various special interest groups really clean up Washington D.C.?  And will a man who, as the chief executive of Massachusetts,did not even criticize Bechtel-Parsons and those who designed and built the Big Dig much less take them on, really be strong against North Korea and Iran?  Records and actions speak louder than words and bopth Romney and McCain look worse and worse when they play the “who’s the most conservative”.

Will B. As a retired history-government teacher I wish more voters were better educated on the workings of government. There is a big difference between taxes and fees. A fee is supposed to be based on the cost to the government of a service provided by the government that voters (through their elected representatives) have decided the service’s user should bear the cost—NOT the taxpayers at large. But here in semi-socialist Ma. all sorts of government services which were supposed to be funded by fees levied on the service’s users were NOT being so funded—the taxpayers at large were getting stuck for a huge tab. So this whole issue is a fraud based on the fact McCain seems to know how ignorant the voters are as he uses this bogus issue.
    As for trying to bring change to this corrupt state—forget it. Romney tried during his first few years in office, but when the Dems control everything and the few Repubs in office grovel before the mighty Globe-Times statewide media control here—there wasn’t much he could do.