The Big Reason McCain Will Lose in 2008

It is almost June and Democrats are still bickering over who should win the Democratic Presidential nomination. This seems to doom the success of the Democrats in November as McCain is able to focus on the general elections and campaign in swing states – wrong. Regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination, which is looking like Obama, the Democratic candidate should be able to have a clear and easy path to the White House. Despite what some people have been saying, the reason for Democratic success has nothing to do with Iraq. Sure, the majority of Americans believe Bush failed in Iraq mostly by going in there in the first place. The problem is that we are there now and the question is not who could better wish away the fact that we sent troops in Iraq but rather who has the better plan on Iraq now that we are already there. Hillary Clinton can bash the Iraq War all she wants, but did she not originally support the Iraqi invasion? Did she not say that Iraq was a threat in 2003? Others look to Obama and point to the fact that he opposed the war from the start, but at this point, who honestly cares about what he would have done…we want to know what he will do now. I am not so naïve to believe that Al Qaeda was in Iraq when we entered the country, but one thing we can be sure of is that they are there now. Thus, it seems clear that the United States must have at least a minimal military role in Iraq simply to quell the threats coming from Al Qaeda. In fact, Obama and Clinton do not seem to be opposed to having military bases in Iraq. Both Clinton and Obama have recently been silent in Iraq and while they may plan to bring all of the troops home as soon as possible, who is to say that this will happen on day one. There is a reason for the Democrats’ silence on Iraq. The troop surge has reduced violence in Iraq as casualties are going down. In the end, it is not Iraq, but rather the economy that will doom McCain’s chance of winning the general election of November 2008.

The economy has been very poor in the past few months as the US dollar is getting weaker and weaker. While in actuality the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy may be partially responsible for a dim economy the public is going to primarily look to one person…the President. With the poor economy, George W. Bush is not only tarnishing his own image before he leaves office, but the whole image of the Republican economy. Come November, many people will see John McCain as a fiscal conservative not much different from Bush who has let the economy get to where it is. When your Party’s President is in office you will have to pay the price of his unpopularity. While McCain is seen as a maverick in the eyes of many he is still a Republican who has been endorsed by Bush. Many likely voters have been hit in some way shape or form by the poor economy and their attitudes will be reflected in the polling booths in November. McCain better keep his fingers crossed that the economy has a massive turnaround if he wants to take the White House.