Most the states McCain has been winning are states that go Democratic in the general election. So, McCain is actually even weaker than his anemic numbers show. Couple that with Huckabee’s unexpected strength and the Republican race seems to be still in flux.
Could someone explain why the hard right and libertarians loathe McCain? I genuinely don’t understand this.
He led the Gang of Fourteen, and is by definition moderate. He also doesn’t oppose abortion, offending the evangelicals. And he favors campaign reform, which rich conservatives view as an infringement on their right to free expression. So yeah, the Right (of all stripes) hates him.
In the NH primary, the independent vote split between McCain and Obama– with the majority going to McCain. McCain might not fare well against Obama in the national election, but against Clinton he’ll likely pick up both independents and a good portion of anti-Hillary Dems– and I expect much of the Right will vote for him just to keep Hillary out.
For myself, in a McCain/Obama race, I’d probably vote Obama. In a McCain/Clinton race, no question: McCain gets my vote.