McCain's Presentation to CNP Conservatives a Hard Sell

As you might have heard, John McCain spoke to some of the leading conservatives of the country in New Orleans today. His campaign was hopeful he could convince the Council for National Policy that the eight or nine years he's spent trashing conservatives are over.

How did he do?

The Washington Times reports he drew applause when he admitted Republicans lost control of Congress in 2006 because of the out-of-control spending, and pledged to use the power of the presidency to curb that spending.

But when the day was done, not all was sweetness and light:

Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America said she asked him about the nearly 40 percent of women in America who bear children out of wedlock and how he would address that problem.

"His response was to say his pro-life record [in Congress] answered that," Mrs. Crouse said. "Well, I'm proud of his pro-life record, but this is not a pro-life issue but of promoting marriage and the idea that children belong within marriage, so I was not happy with his response."

Crouse said something I've been saying about McCain and other liberal Republican candidates: he'll get most of the conservative vote over Clinton or Obama, but don't expect the kind of enthusiasm and energy that guarantees winning campaigns.

The Times-Picayune had this to add:

But McCain did not back off his avowed determination to explore alternative energy sources, partly as a response to global warming - the very existence of which he acknowledged was a "controversial" position with his audience.

"Suppose I'm wrong and climate change (is) not taking place," he said. "All we've done and given our kids is a greener world."

No, all we've done is waste tremendous amounts of money, cripple our businesses in a highly competitive market, and lower our standard of living...all in pursuit of stopping something that's obviously not caused by human activity in the first place. McCain has obviously been spending too much time with his buddies in the "mainstream" media.

But I suppose if you're a conservative, you can either hold your nose and vote for him, or just give the White House to Clinton or Obama outright. Right now there doesn't look like any other choice.