John McCain; Republican Pundits Struggle with his Victory.

Although Republican television program personalities, newspaper columnists and talk radio show hosts still won’t give it up, there is no question that Arizona Senator John McCain will win the Republican nomination for the Presidential race.

McCain, who just six months ago was sent packing by the self-proclaimed “conservative values" media types has not only taken over the race for the Republican nomination, he has run away with it.

This doesn’t sit well at all with radio host Rush Limbaugh, Fox pundit Sean Hannity or newspaper columnist Ann Coulter just to name a few. To them John McCain is a Democrat in Republican clothing. These three, continue to lament that McCain, who they all disparaged and still do at every chance, is more Democratic than the Democratic contenders of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Well folks, get over it because McCain will be there on the ballot in November regardless of your lamentations or protestations.

It has to be asked if McCain receiving such a plurality in the primaries is really what bothers these Republican pundits or is it the fact that Republicans in America ignored their pleas to choose Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney to run the Republican Party’s bid to maintain the White House. Is in fact this grousing because although Republican America obviously listens, watches and reads these people it is also as obvious that Republican Americans don’t vote based on who some over-priced pundit tells them to vote for. I wonder if they fear their next contract negotiation might slip a little since it has been shown they don’t carry the influence their braggadocio states they do.

What is even more of a question to ask is why is Senator McCain trying to win over these people and the ultra-conservative far right when the voting numbers show he doesn’t need them anyway. Oh, sure he would want as many of the Republicans as possible to vote for him in November. But does he want those votes if it means losing the independents and moderate Democrats who have already shown they would vote for him. The fact he does appeal to many Democrats also should be factored in to his appeasement process. Right now, his views can garner some crossover votes. His movement away from his current strategy and beliefs might knock those voters back to the Democrats.

McCain’s resurgence isn’t due to some brilliant strategy on his part. To be sure, his new advisors are happy to take the credit for the senator’s turnaround but I doubt that’s the case. He has simply come along at a time where Americans are fed up with the polarization in this country that Democrats and Republicans enjoy creating. The continued war of “Us versus them" is wearing thin on Americans as they realize more every day that the “us" doesn’t include them and the “them" doesn’t appeal to their ideals either. It is this middle of the road aura that shot McCain past his adversaries in the primaries. Trying to change that niche he is in appears to be a less than intelligent move.

Personally I find many of Senator McCain’s platforms unappealing. But having someone start changing a winning strategy just to make nice with a few factions doesn’t make sense. In the meantime the pundits can continue to rip into McCain helping the Democrats win the White House and increase their numbers in Congress.

McCain has to decide. Does he want the votes of Limbaugh and Hannity and Coulter or does he want to keep the millions of votes he already has proven he can gather.

A strategy of fixing himself when he isn’t broken might be just what Clinton or Obama hope for. In a strange moment in our nation’s politics the Republican media might be helping the Democrats win an election. Who would have ever thought?