In past elections, the Bush/Rove team undercut, back stabbed and push polled John McCain's campaign without mercy, limits nor reservations. Now, we are supposed to believe that they are "good friends"? Mr. McCain has attempted to become the nominee in past elections and has been viciously attacked by his own party's hard core base. The primary leading to his nomination this election cycle was no exception to that historical precedent. Right wing talk radio and pundits were seen to join Mitt Romney's campaign and Mike Huckabee's campaign in attacking the authenticity of McCain's conservative credentials, his "Republicaness" if you will. Once again, completely out of touch with the average voter and America at large (even the average Republican voter, perhaps), the far right wing of the Republican party pushed McCain and the other candidates as far to the right as possible to appeal to the base. This is fairly typical of a primary fight, one must acknowledge, and McCain, of course, managed to win the nomination despite these attacks from within.
Unless perhaps McCain's votes are primarily coming from independents, it seems this mysterious base that voted for him in their primary prefers McCain's policies and stances, which can sometimes be characterized as closer to the center than those of a Huckleberry or a Mittens, as evidenced by his wins of popular votes, delegates, and ultimately the nomination from his party. Having said that, we now see McCain dancing like a marionette to demonstrate to those other hard core Republicans that he's a "true conservative" by changing whichever policy it seems politically expeditious to at the moment. Support for the Bush tax cuts, ardent support of the "War" and staying in Iraq indefinitely, immigration, etc. The funny thing is (at least it's funny to this writer), McCain doesn't seem to be getting the bang for his buck that he presumably would expect from pandering to his base and sucking up to the lame duck President that the public dislikes very strongly (read: "hates with a great passion"). At least 70% or so of us do, anyway.
Taking all of this into consideration including all of the latest gaffes, debacles, and the pathetic image of McCain in front of a German restaurant while Obama addresses a crowd the size of an Ohio State football game in the real Germany building his international cred, one might consider that in this year of a probable landslide, true mandate victory by the Democratic Party, the Republican Party is sending forth McCain as a sacrificial lamb. If one believes that whoever the Reds put up will be ultimately humiliated by the Blues' candidate, then why wouldn't they send out a guy who they honestly seem to have large ideological differences with and frankly don't seem to like very much? McCain gets his moment in the sun and takes one for the team. This saves whichever other potential candidate they feel has a legitimate chance to win in a future contest when they won't have the severe handicap of following in the disastrous footsteps of one G W Bush.
Even if you don't exactly agree with my premise, let's try and suspend disbelief just for a moment in order to consider this question / proposal that the Republicans running that party are effectively tossing McCain under his own bus. If you can follow me there, then what is your opinion of who the potential dark horse future candidate for the Republicans might be? Who might they be protecting from the inevitable slaughter of November 2008 by using McCain as a human shield? They did not seem to adequately support Romney, Huckabee, Fred, et al. during the primary, so is there perhaps another? Or are they still looking in their local cesspools for another candidate to do their bidding on the national stage? I personally don't see them nominating a vice presidential candidate for McCain and then having McCain have some sort of "medical emergency" leaving them with the new guy, as some have suggested. I just think that would be a waste of their money and they'd blow that guy's chances in 2012 because he'd get trounced by Obama just like McCain would.
Sometimes you gotta just ride out the blowout and save your good bullpen pitchers for the next game while the long reliever takes his lumps. At least that's the way I'm seeing it as of today. Thanks for your time.
P.S. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Peace. Out.