McCain Playing It Right

Since this blog started in early 2007, readers have pummeled me every time I have written about John McCain. Yesterday a poster called Gary even accused me of supporting McCain and working to help Hillary Clinton defeat Barack Obama because “the old man has no chance against Obama.” I enjoy the conversation and invite each and every comment, yet a thorough search would show I have complimented the strengths of every candidate and pointed out all of their blunders, with great frequency.

Today I write to compliment the McCain campaign again, for what I see as a shrewd strategy that not only consolidates his party’s base but dares to target the other party’s base as well. Fellow blogger David Keene wrote today that McCain’s speech on his judicial philosophy may not answer every concern on the right, but that it provided assurance on this issue, which is of paramount importance to conservatives.

“In this speech, McCain suggests not only that he sees Roberts and Alito as the ‘models’ for his nominees, but that he will look for men and women who both share his view of the role of the judiciary and have a clear record. As a conservative, I applaud this stance, as all too often those who lack a ‘paper trail’ are, well, mediocre ciphers who shouldn’t even be considered for such appointments. A potential president’s view of the role of the judiciary and the ways in which he or she might go about selecting judges and, indeed, Supreme Court justices is especially important to conservatives. This speech, while it won’t ‘seal the deal’ with conservatives as far as enthusiastic support for McCain is concerned, should go a long way toward removing questions about what he will do from the table and strengthening his argument for support from conservatives who may disagree with him on other issues,” wrote Keene.

McCain also chose yesterday, on the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo, to launch a Spanish/English website about his candidacy where he talks about his enforcement-first-then-legalization approach to reform and states once again that immigrants are “God’s children.” McCain plan to address this year’s National Council of La Raza convention in San Diego to campaign for Hispanic voters.

Immigration is off the table for Democrats looking for votes, because immigrants are not mad at McCain. Judges is the issue which will rally nearly every Republican to the polls, if McCain continues to play it right. As Democrats continue a protracted nomination fight, arguing about math, McCain is getting quite a handle on his math, too.

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ASK AB returns Thursday. May 8! After Indiana and North Carolina please send questions and comments to askab@digital-staging.thehill.com to join my weekly Q & A video.