The Fall of John McCain, Republican Presidential Candidate

Frankly, I didn’t even see it coming. I figured that the once-frontrunner would still maintain the funds to continue his campaign, along with respectable poll numbers. But at this point, John McCain has reached the beginning of the end of his campaign. His falling fundraising totals and decrease in poll numbers seem to prove one thing: John McCain is becoming irrelevant.

Now there are things I like about McCain. He’s a Republican. He’s generally conservative on most of the issues. His service in Vietnam is extremely admirable. His stories as a POW are heart-wrenching. So he has those things going for him.

But let’s not forget that he lost to Bush in 2000, going against the establishment grain. Now he wants that establishment vote and he just won’t get it. He has reached across the aisle far too much in his career as a Senator. By the way, let’s face it: McCain-Feingold was terrible campaign finance legislation. And now that he has co-sponsored this recent failed immigration bill, he may have dug his own political grave.

Plus, it scares me to death that John Kerry actually asked McCain to be his running mate in 2004. That’s a terrifying thought to say the least. We’re talking about John Kerry, one of the most liberal members of the senate asking a “moderate Republican” to join him against Bush. That kind of thing makes me question McCain’s Republican credentials.

So what did him in? Was it the all-too-frequent sparring with Mitt Romney? The inevitable entrance of Fred Thompson into the race? Was it the immigration bill that he co-sponsored with Ted Kennedy? His age? His “bipartisanship?” Who knows? 

I’m just glad it’s happening. As McCain descends into irrelevance, the real contenders like Giuliani, Romney, and Fred Thompson will be left to duke it out for the nomination.

The bottom line is: John McCain has failed to connect with the conservative base and the American people. He has alienated the people whose support he needs the most. He has come down on the wrong side of key issues. And he will not win the nomination.