Reply #17: No question that McClintock's a harder sell than Schwarzenegger...

[ReadTomPaine]

But he still could have won with conservative establishment support, and the GOP would have gotten something for their money. McClintock’s early campaign traction was much stronger than expected and that was with a hostile national and state party. The Davis/ Bustamonte campaign communication problems and a few other issues have resulted in a less than effective showing for Democrats, though I found Bustamonte’s debate performances were all quite strong. While I agree with a Davis/Bustamonte outcome as the likely result of that matchup, I also feel that was going to be case whether Arnold was in the race or not. My point is that from the GOP perspective, they shouldn’t have bothered with Arnold, win or lose his campaign has been a disaster and likely marks just the beginning of their woes if he actually pulls off a win.