Reply #70: Well, I was in a minority here at DU... [View All]

[Tom Rinaldo]

who could have conceived of a Kerry - McCain ticket, under certain dire circumstances. In other words, I could have imagined supporting a government of National Unity ticket if I had been convinced Kerry/McCain would win, and Kerry/Anyone Else would lose. The part that troubled me most about that nightmare scenario, other than the obvious part of "not being able to win it on our own", was that McCain is "pro-life". Still, I have respect for McCain. He has an honest maverick streak, and I believe he is a good man. None of that is as important as the fact that a wide swath of Americans greatly respect McCain also, which is why a National Unity ticket concept was theoretically viable. And I would have gambled on Kerry not getting offed vs. the countervailing certainty of George W. staying in office for another 4 years.

However I don't believe that Kerry needed McCain to win this year against Bush, and therefor I did not support the idea of that ticket, though I would have done it had Kerry forced me to. Still, I could see how Kerry was scoring some political points through his association with McCain and the implication that Kerry is not a bitterly partisan ideologue, in contrast to a certain other candidate for President. I think the story got out of Kerry's control in a negative way, and his campaign has to take some responsibility for that having happened. Not publicly of course, no upside there. This is a one step forward, two steps backward kind of thing. It will mostly blow over, and I don't intend to pour fuel onto this fire.