McCain, Romney in dust-up over Dole

[last_texas_dem]

by Glen Johnson
Associated Press

>>>>Former Sen. Bob Dole, the failed Republican presidential candidate in 1996, became the focus Tuesday of an increasingly testy exchange between GOP presidential contenders John McCain and Mitt Romney.

The tit-for-tat began with Dole coming to the aid of McCain, a fellow war hero and former Senate colleague, in a letter to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. He has relentlessly criticized the front-running Arizona senator as insufficiently conservative.>>>>

snip

>>>>>Asked about Dole's letter on the FOX News' "FOX & Friends" Tuesday, Romney, who has tried to portray himself as a genuine conservative alternative to McCain, responded: "It's probably the last person I would have wanted write a letter for me. I think there's a lot of folks who tend to think that maybe John McCain's race is a bit like Bob Dole's race. That it's the guy who's next in line, the inevitable choice."

McCain lost no time in jumping on Romney's critique of Dole.>>>>>


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080205/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_romney


McCain: Bob Dole does not like you saying those mean things about Bob Dole, Mitt. You apologize to Bob Dole right now.


Here's hoping Romney is right, though, and a McCain run will be a re-run of Dole '96.

[Bucky]

1. Is that last quote supposed to be frm McCain or from Dole?

"Bob Dole does not like you saying those mean things about Bob Dole, Mitt. You apologize to Bob Dole right now."

The article attributes this to McCain, but that sounds exactly like something Bob Dole would say.

[last_texas_dem]

2. Nah, that part was just me being stupid

I probably should have done a better job clarifying that than I did; sorry about that!

[Anarcho-Socialist]

3. I don't think McCain has the campaign longevity that people think he does

A McCain in 2000 probably would have won the popular vote outright. These last eight years McCain has found himself to be "yesterday's man" and has a sufficient track-record of mistakes to pick apart. He's pissed off conservatives with his early icy relations with the Bush 43 Presidency (and understandably so) as well as his not engaging effectively enough with the party whip. But later he pissed off centrists and independents by attaching himself to the Iraq War sinking ship. As a fiscal conservative, he'll become unstuck against a Democratic opponent who seeks to spend money to revive the economy (with public opinion backing her/him), whilst McCain wants to shrink the budget. Healthcare is a bigger issue now than in 2004 and 2000. McCain has no health policy to meet public opinion and for that the electorate will be unforgiving.