What to do...

Well, the election picture seems to be finally taking some shape. I realize it's a long time until November, at least in terms of politics, but I can certainly see certain themes beginning to develop as we come closer to the Democratic nomination. First of all, I definitely see evidence that the long drawn-out Dem battle has given at least John McCain a shot at the White House. Whether that translates into anything other than a total bloodbath for Republicans down the line...well, not so much it seems. Before the knock-down drag-out between The Obamessiah and Hillary!, I saw very little chance for anything but a defeat for McCain. A perceived inability to excite the base (which still looks to be accurate), and the mind-altering Infatuation With Obama virus that had reached near epidemic proportions before the cure was introduced in the form of Rev. Wright Youtube footage, led me to believe that McCain's prospects were almost non-existent. But thankfully, the world was exposed to Rev. Wright's disturbed mind, and questions about Obama's judgment, if not character, were rightly raised. Despite what many in the media would have us believe, it has damaged Obama with a very large portion of the voting population. Too bad that doesn't seem to be contributing to a rise in the GOP brand...more on that later.

The other trend I see shaping up in this election is the distance McCain seems to be putting between himself and the conservative base. It's no surprise that he's moving to the center before the general election. Any candidate on either side knows they have to win the squishy middle of the voting public - those who could care less about the details of political policy or even politics in general until 24 hours before the election. But how well will this strategy work for someone who's support from the party's base was never really solidified? McCain seems to have forgotten, or just doesn't care, that hard-core conservatives, those who got out and beat the streets for W in 2000 and 2004, are having trouble getting behind his candidacy.

And thus, I find myself in a pickle. I really have tried to get fully behind McCain as a candidate. I joined his website email list, volunteered to help out at my local campaign office, etc. But every time I think I can get on board, he does something to deflate any enthusiasm I had built up. First, the N.C. GOP debacle; now, his apparent enthusiasm for saddling our already struggling economy with the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol and cap-and-trade emissions control policy is a big turn-off. Don't get me wrong, we all know how successful Kyoto has been at actually accomplishing anything other than unnecessarily burdening economies. Take a look at the projected economic impact of policies designed to "fix" a problem that we can't even prove exists. And yet, John McCain is jumping on the Global Warming hysteria bandwagon instead of having the courage to stand up for a little common sense. I realize we Americans should be guilty about our success and clearly excessive use of natural resources, but the people in charge need to stay rooted in reality.

I just have to keep telling myself that McCain would be better than a surrendering socialist...maybe that'll get me through until November.

Cross Posted at Redstate.com