They Can Still Overcome a 6-Point Gap

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 4, 2008 6:00 PM CDT
They Can Still Overcome a 6-Point Gap
John McCain and Sarah Palin greet the crowds at the Anoka County Airport in Blaine, Minn., Friday, Sept. 19., 2008.   (AP Photo/Janet Hostetter)

John McCain and Sarah Palin are up against a 6-point political headwind these days, but that's no reason for them to give up, writes William Kristol in the Weekly Standard. Past tickets have overcome late deficits—Ford-Dole made up 20 points in 1976, though in a losing bid—and McCain's poll numbers against Barack Obama have bounced around by the month. To sway them again, Kristol writes, the McCain camp must attack Obama's character and his brand of "get-along liberalism."

"Obama hasn't shown much in the way of leadership or political courage, and he's consorted with dubious figures," writes Kristol. It's also fair for McCain to ask whether Obama is "personally trustworthy enough" to be president. As for the ideological attack, that's a no-brainer: Most Americans aren't big on high taxes, federally funded abortions, and lost wars. We "haven't suddenly become liberals," Kristol writes. (More John McCain stories.)

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