All McCain's men

They say the first step to solving any problem is admitting you have a problem in the first place. And I just want to say “congratulations” to the Republican voters in Florida and South Carolina, for maybe, just maybe, taking the first step on the long road to recovery. \nIf Sen. John McCain is selected as the Republican presidential nominee this year, it will show that the party seems to be learning from its long list of mistakes. After seven years of the worst kind of leadership – the kind that rewards rigid ideology, unchecked cronyism and incompetence – the message of change seems to be getting louder and clearer. This message would be music to the ears of many independents as well, who have not heard such melodies from the party of Lincoln in quite some time. \nHowever, McCain has a long way to go if he wants to win independents over the eventual Democratic nominee. About two-thirds of independents in Iowa said they would probably vote Democrat in 2008. And that’s in Iowa, a relatively conservative state! Imagine what independents are feeling in more Democratic states. Other national polls show that the general public trusts the Democratic party more than the Republicans on almost every issue. So what can McCain do to appeal to these important independents? \nFirst, McCain has to change his view on abortion. His stance has been consistently for overturning Roe v. Wade. The majority of Americans support Roe v. Wade by an almost two-to-one margin. Politically, it would be unwise for any candidate to attempt to repeal a court decision that is supported by such a majority of the population.\nIf abortion were made illegal, it would be considered a great victory for the far right. I suspect, however, the jubilation would be short lived, much like for the other great victories of the cultural conservatives: prohibition and the discussion of creationism along with evolution in science classes. This is to say, the decision would quickly be changed because of its ill-thought-out implementation and its abhorrent results. If McCain wants to support this, he should go ahead, but don’t expect independents to come running.\nMcCain has to clear up some other things before independents and conservative Democrats will cast their votes for him. Will he be able to sever the cultural conservative influence in the White House? Perhaps the question is better posed: Will electing John McCain be electing George Bush lite, or the maverick the media loves to paint him as?\nIf Republicans and McCain want to win the White House, they will have to give up on the part of the electorate that got Bush elected: the cultural “warriors” of the far right wing. They already don’t like him, so I can’t imagine he could win a significant portion of their vote. In fact, he might make up for those votes with centrist independents, excited about a Republican whose main platform doesn’t involve stopping gay marriage or deporting millions of people. This would be risky, but it’s the first step to recovery, and boy do the Republicans need it.