Why are so many republicans writting off McCain?

I am a democrat, I will vote for John McCain on this coming election. I will work for him any day. He is the most decent and qualified person for the job.

I'll do it because a large portion of the population is afraid a democrat would damage the country with the "wrong values." I'll do it because I can't stand the thought of another idiot in the White House. I will start a democrats for Jonh McCain. No more fools in government please!!

We should all be lucky enough to have a man of John McCain's courage, candidness, and vision as a candidate for President from either party. Once you get past his name, there are pretty slim pickings.

I liked McCain the 1st time. I recently read his book. John is a straight shooter probably why Bush people have problems with him. Why are the Bush's 1 & 2 so cozy with Bill & Hill? Seems odd same soft money politicoes.......... Why is it that Republicans have controlled the Presidency & Congress & yet abortion is still legal and the size of govt HAS increased as well as the national debt?????????????

I'm not sure how good Mr. McCain would be for the country, but for the political cartoonists, his jowls would be the best thing since Nixon's nose!

I am a democrat and, should McCain be nominated in 2008, I would seriously consider voting for him. In my mind, McCain is one of the few politicians with the political acumen, moral decency and common sense to bridge both the partisan gap and, on an even greater scale, the growing gap between urbanites and country-dwellers. My only concern about McCain would be his health, and since I haven't heard anything more about that recently, it is a secondary issue. Unless the democrats can pull themselves together and find a centrist candidate with appeal in the south and midwest, McCain is on a fast-track to a viable candidacy.

I am a Republican and would vote for John McCain. Because even more so than Bush, I think he is short changed by most of the elite but not by most of us common folk.

I used to think McCain was the best in both parties, and that I would vote Republican for the first time in my life however, his loyalty to Bush and his pro-Iraq stance are disturbing. Hillary vs. McCain, well, MacCain starts to look pretty good again. I just hope the Greens can find the right person to head up their party. Perhaps Gore may go Green and run against Hillary too - now that would make for an interesting election.

McCain presents himself as true to the party but not a slave to the party. He will stand against it if he doesn't agree and seems to be able to do that with out alienating himself. This makes him very appealing to many voters looking for a straight-talking, straight-shooting, stand-up guy.

Rob - this is an angle I hadn't seen before. If your old friends on the right manage to derail McCain again, you might have to consider becoming a permanent Democrat!

I don't think Republicans know what to make of McCain, and when you factor in his age, he's a non-starter if even one semi-appealing younger guy (and it will be a guy, not a woman, for the Repubs) surfaces before 2008.

Not happy with the president you have? Really?

The irony is the group with which McCain has the most difficulty is the Christian right. However, McCain is the one who has forgiven them for their insults and innuendo concerning himself and his family. What does the Christian right have to complain about - that he had the termerity to call Pat Robertson an extremist? This just makes McCain seem prophetic considering how Robertson has flapped his gums lately. Seems to me that the Christian right is more interested in political power than exercising that which makes them Christians.

No Way!! It will not happen!! McCain has alienated himself from the conservative right hoping to position himself to take a larger chunk of the middle ground Republicans and Democrats in a general election. Problem is... he can't get past the primaries without the right. McCain will make a showing but wont be able to make the trip.

Why do the media insist on selecting the candidates that will run for president in 2008 before the people can have a chance to elevate whom they would like in the White House? It is one of the reasons why this country is flailing -- Did we really have any choice besides Bush and Kerry in 04? As I'm sure you know, the economist called the race the incompetent verses the incoherent. But the American media was pushing Kerry from the beginning. Hillary? Oh, God, please no! Why must the media insist that horrible, horrible woman run? Shes nothing but a socialist -- the opposite of what this country needs. And McCain, he's just another Big Brother statist that we have to remove from our politics. He has done great harm to the First Amendment with Campaign Finance Reform. We need a good Libertarian to shake things up and bring this country back to its roots. I'd like to see Newt Gingrich face Russ Feingold in 2008. Now that would give the people something to choose from.