So much has been said about some of talk radio's nationally syndicated heaviest hitters and their rejection of John McCain.
Supposedly, McCain's Super Tuesday success was talk radio's defeat.
Is this feud a clash of egos or a battle among principled individuals?
McCain tunes out Limbaugh
While the presumptive GOP nominee knows he needs to reconcile with conservatives, he has no illusions when it comes to the radio host.
nomination almost within reach. He knows the need to reconcile with those conservatives who have so long sought to deny him the party's prize. But even such an obviously sensible strategy has its limits.
Chatting with reporters as his campaign plane flew from St. Louis to Chicago, McCain was asked about radio host Rush Limbaugh's frequent jabs at him. The Times' Maeve Reston was among those listening, and she reports that McCain suffers no illusions on this front.
"We'd like to have everybody on board," he replied. "We'd like to have a totally united party, but I also realize there are some people that just may not be able to support me at the end of the day."
He then acknowledged, with a typical one-liner, that he is not part of Limbaugh's audience: "There's a certain trace of masochism in my family, but not that deep."
McCain is joking around, but I think he's really ticked off about the drubbing he's been taking on much of talk radio.
McCain is in an uncomfortable position.
He has to know how important it is to unify the party for him to have any chance of winning.
But McCain is stubborn. Rather than reaching out to conservatives with misgivings about him, he's basically saying he has no interest in them. (I think the hot-tempered McCain could convey his message to Limbaugh and his other critics with two choice words.)
He probably assumes that he can afford to ignore the talk radio demographic because he has that one golden thing going for him -- McCain isn't Hillary.
That strategy is somewhat dangerous.
The results of yesterday's primaries and caucuses should serve to warn McCain that his opponent might be Obama.
In a race against Obama, and without the anti-Hillary vote to assist him, McCain will have a much harder time.
McCain doesn't want to admit it, but he needs talk radio on his side to succeed in November.
8 comments:
I guess what digs at me in all this is the sense of being amidst zealotry. While I have long been a fan of many in conservative talk radio the fact is that McCain can show a reasoned argument for many of his votes. While imperfect they don't seem to me to justify the irrational venom that they have engendered.
Mary, Here you argue that conservative talk radio does not have a large effect on the election, but in this post you say McCain needs talk radio to win.
Which one is it?
R&P,
I think there's going to be a lot of backpedaling going on. It will be easy enough. Limbaugh and the others can save face by getting on the "anybody but Hillary or Obama" bandwagon.
I believe their anti-McCainism is policy-related and sincerely rooted in conservative principles, but it's undeniable that some of their attacks on him have been delivered in a manner that seemed based in purely personal dislike.
That sort of venom muddies the debate. To say the least, it was regrettable.
Capper, you missed my point in that post completely.
I was arguing that what radio talkers are saying has nothing to do with my opinion of McCain.
Since McCain can't count on independents to vote for him in November, he absolutely has to secure the Republican base. He can't afford to alienate conservatives.
I believe he needs the currently disgruntled radio talkers to support him in the effort to get out the conservative vote.
It's not always an "either - or" matter. There's more to it than "Which one is it?"
McCain is joking around, but I think he's really ticked off about the drubbing he's been taking on much of talk radio.
I really don't blame him. I think conservative talk radio became highly emotionally irrational.
Both parties need to reconcile with each other. Not just McCain reaching out to angry conservatives.
Hi
Thanks for leaving a comment in my post Label list: What it is and how to make use of it. I have responded to your comment (twice).
Peter Blog*Star
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WS,
You're right.
Some of the attacks on McCain were over the top, personal slams, unrelated to policy differences.
Debating policy and discussing McCain's record should have been done in a civil manner. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It got really ugly. On a personal level, I think an apology to McCain would be the right thing to do.
The thing about reaching out is McCain needs votes. Talk radio hosts aren't running for office.
That's why I think McCain would be wise to make a move in terms of calling a truce. It would definitely be a plus for him to take on the role of uniter.
If the talk radio guys rejected him after attempts to reconcile, that would make them appear awfully small.
Thank you, Peter.
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