Today as voters file into polling stations all across our country, we see the culmination of the convoluted presidential primary process that has captivated the chattering classes for the past several months. I’ve considered several of the GOP candidates — basically everyone except the silly
Ron Paul and the pandering Mitt Romney — and observed the Democratic race from the sidelines. And I now believe that each party’s best chance at winning the White House this November comes in the form of a bipartisan unifier.
I don’t agree with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on every issue. His votes against the Bush tax cuts were misguided and some of the legislation he has co-sponsored — the infamous McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill, for instance — does not strictly correspond to conservative principles. He has significant strengths, however, in the two places where conservatives’ highest priorities should lie: a significant foreign policy background and a consistent defense of the dignity of human life. (The economy has become a concern to many voters in recent weeks, but it is a necessarily short-term issue compared to the generations-long struggle in Iraq and the decades-long tenures of Supreme Court justices.)
McCain also has a definitive advantage: He can actually win the general election. He is viewed by most of the country as a moderate and a unifying force in Washington. This is particularly true when compared to potential opponent Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), who carries a divisive reputation into November’s battle. She is seen as the ultimate partisan and will do little to achieve the political unification for which so many voters yearn in these times of foreign and domestic trouble. McCain, on the other hand, presents a moderate voice of compromise that will mobilize independent voters.
Though some conservatives would not be pleased with McCain’s candidacy, the nation is facing some nearly retired or dead Supreme Court justices — notably, liberal jurists John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg — and the important, fragile situation in Iraq. Conservatives must support a candidate who is experienced and passionate about continued effort in the Middle East and the social importance of originalist justices on the Court.
Like many young people from all wavelengths of the political spectrum, I like Barack Obama. I like his oratory skills, his charisma, his passion and his character. I like that when obnoxious pro-life advocates shouted down his speech at a rally, he requested that they not be ejected until they calmly presented their point of view and he presented a logical response. I disagree with the vast majority of his policy proposals, so I would not vote for his ticket come November. But I respect him.
Though I would be pleased on a personal level if the principled Senator from Illinois stole the nomination from the conniving Senator from New York, it is not at all clear that this would benefit the Republican Party. Hillary Clinton and friends present a very well known quantity to the Republican political machine. Though she and Bill may not exactly play by the established rules, they call their shots from a well-established Democratic playbook against which the GOP has been running for decades. Furthermore, she is not particularly likable and is a woman. These could be problems particularly among socially traditional moderate Democratic men, who may vote for the moderate man rather than the partisan woman. I do not mean to proclaim (or condone) rampant sexism in this country, but enough of these voters may feel compelled by these factors — to which gender is an unfortunate but likely addition — to jump the Democratic ship and throw a key state like Pennsylvania to the GOP.
Conversely, Barack Obama is unique. Running against Hillary would not be dissimilar to running against any recent Democratic candidate; running against Obama would be something new. He is an attractive, eloquent, idealistic, youthful black politician who has the potential to realign political coalitions, particularly with his strengths among young people. If he can transcend racial issues in the general election, he could match and neutralize McCain’s strength as a unifier.
As the Republicans narrow their consensus around Sen. McCain, I believe that, based mostly on this last factor, the Clinton tag-team will be less difficult to defeat in the general election. No matter what, this will be a difficult year for the GOP. But John McCain will create a more compelling contrast to Hillary Clinton. Political attacks — what Clinton herself likes to call “drawing contrasts” — will be more effective against a known and widely reviled partisan than against a young, attractive newcomer. McCain’s personal strengths make him the GOP’s best chance for victory in November. Obama’s similar strengths, of course, also make him McCain’s biggest threat.
Brandon McGinley is a sophomore from Pittsburgh, Pa. He can be reached at bmcginle@princeton.edu.
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