Sen. John McCain's campaign is keeping a watchful eye on the Republican Party platform process, but sources inside the party say that he is not attempting to exercise control over the direction the document will take. McCain famously is at odds with conservatives, who make up the bulk of Republican Party activists, over such issues as global warming, campaign finance, and immigration reform. But the campaign says it is content to allow party stalwarts to draft the platform, which is the statement of principles that Republicans will seek to advance for the next four years. "The delegates are going through the process and we are going to let them work their will on the platform," campaign spokesperson Jill Hazelbaker said.

The Platform Committee will work on the final draft of the document next week, in advance of the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis. Delegates will get their first chance to view and vote on the draft when they begin to arrive for the convention, which begins on Sept. 1st.

Party platforms are not what they used to be, but they still represent the core beliefs of the party and as such are very important to activists. Conservatives, who have been lukewarm to McCain until recently, have been concerned that his campaign might try to insert language more reflective of McCain's moderate positions. But the Republican National Committee, perhaps sensing the anxiety over a McCain platform, began soliciting suggestions from rank and file Republicans months ago. The McCain campaign, too, may have realized that when it comes to the platform, discretion is the better part of valor.

The McCain campaign's trial balloon from earlier this week has been completely deflated judging from Sen. McCain's performance at last night's Civil Forum on the Presidency, hosted by Pastor Rick Warren. In answer to a question about abortion and abortion policy, McCain closed the door on the possibility of selecting a pro-abortion rights running mate. Earlier, McCain had floated the name of former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as a potential vice-presidential candidate, saying that the campaign did not believe that Ridge's pro-choice views should "rule him out" of consideration for the number two slot.

Last night, however, McCain told Warren that he believed that a human being was deserving of protection, "from the moment of conception," and he went on to leave no doubt on where a McCain Administration would stand on the question of abortion in America.

"I will be a pro-life president and my administration will have pro-life policies."

That comment seems to now rule out Ridge and another oft mentioned possible running mate for McCain, Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman (I).

McCain's choice of running mate will be closely watched by conservatives for signs that McCain is reaching out to them. His campaign has made strides in bringing suspicious conservatives on board, and McCain now garners a higher percentage of Republicans who say they will vote for him that Sen. Barack Obama gets of Democrats. But the suggestion that McCain could potentially select a pro-choice running mate brought out all of the old fears among pro-life Republicans critical to McCain's chances in November. Based on last night's answer on abortion policy, the McCain campaign has received the message on abortion from the base loud and clear.

Yes, there is a little bit of a thaw, as this article at the Politico points out:

"Conservatives have been comfortable with assurances that I've given them and Sen. Brownback has given them," said Olson.
A factor that weighs heavily in McCain's favor is his Senate record. Judicial issues haven't been his trademark, but he has consistently supported conservative Supreme Court nominees. In 1987 he spoke on behalf of embattled Reagan Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, saying he supported him "without any hesitation." In recent years McCain has voted for every one of Bush's judicial nominees.
"He voted for Alito and Roberts despite the fact that he had to know they would vote to strike down McCain-Feingold," said Levey. "That addresses the concern that he might not appoint strict constructionist judges who are more likely to oppose McCain-Feingold."

While it's helpful to point that out, it doesn't do that much for me. The fact is, that supporting the president's appointments to the Supreme Court is the very least that should be expected from a Republican senator, it would be unthinkable if he didn't. Roberts was confirmed by 78 senators out of a 100 and all Republicans. Alito drew one Republican defection, Lincoln Chaffee, who later on became officially the Democrat he already was.

So yeah, no points from me for McCain's stock vote on the Supreme Court. Far more important was his service as part of the gang of 14 to derail many of the Bush appointees in trade for Democrats willingness to appoint a few. And it's exactly that crossing the aisle trademark that has conservatives edgy. Oh they'll come around, but warm is a relative term.

Sen. John McCain, struggling to connect with conservative evangelical voters, paid a visit on two of the most influential and respected religious leaders in the Christian community today. He met with Rev. Billy Graham and the heir to his evangelical association, Rev. Franklin Graham, at the Grahams' family compound in North Carolina today. McCain needs to hold on to evangelicals, traditionally Republican voters, to win the White House. But he has not been fully embraced by them, and has even seen some resistance to his campaign from powerful Christian conservatives like Dr. James Dobson, the head of the evangelical group Focus on the Family.

The meeting did not produce an endorsement for McCain, but it is unclear whether the Arizona Senator was seeking one. Franklin Graham issued a statement praising McCain and saying that he was, "impressed by [McCain's] personal faith and his moral clarity on important social issues facing America today." Billy Graham publicly thanked McCain for his, "long and brave service" to the country. McCain had words of adulation for the Grahams as well, calling Billy Graham, "a man whose family is respected, incredibly respected," and noting that the Graham family, "transcends politics in America. McCain sought to downplay the possibility of an endorsement before meeting the Grahams, saying, "there certainly is no political aspect to the meeting that I will have."

Evangelical Christians have been a staple of Republican electoral victories since at least 1980, when President Ronald Reagan won his first of two terms. With Governor Mike Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, running in the Republican primary, evangelicals have not really had a chance to connect with McCain or his campaign. Many also remember the speech McCain gave at the end of his failed bid for the Republican nomination in 2000. In that speech, McCain called out conservative Christian leaders like the late Rev. Jerry Falwell and Rev. Pat Robertson and accused them of undermining his campaign. McCain has since moved to patch up those old wounds, meeting with Falwell before his death and speaking at his Liberty University. The meeting with the Grahams is certainly designed to place McCain in the company of well-respected religious leaders in the hopes of putting any remaining animosity between the candidate and a potentially decisive block of voters to rest.

Barack Obama has been overtly religious during the primary season, speaking openly of his Christian faith and the strong influence which it exerts over his actions. In small part, such professions were coerced via persistent e-mail traffic contending that Obama was a Muslim pen-pal of Bin-Ladin. Yet the unforced tenor and persistent legacy of Obama's religious statements defy a mere reactionary explanation, seeming rather to reflect a sincere conviction. It is this sincerity of belief which caused Obama such vulnerability in the Rev. Wright scandal. If Obama struck the public as disinterested in religious affairs, his happenstance attendance in a rather politically-incorrect black church might have been generally overlooked. It is exactly his admission to being influenced by religious doctrines which roused suspicion and offense.

Keeping the religious fires burning, James Dobson of Focus on the Family has launched a timely attack on Obama's theological musings. As mentioned previously on this site, Dobson rails against Obama's scriptural interpretations as conveniently-compatible with his liberal political agenda (as well as Obama's corollary, if not contrary, assertion that authoritative interpretations are impossible), and takes exception with Obama's call for religious voters to couch their arguments in "universal" language. While Dobson has been criticized by both academicians and ministers, he also speaks for a sizable evangelical block. Dobson believes either that Obama's reconciliation of liberalism and Christianity is insincere and politically motivated or that Obama's theological meanderings have simply strayed well beyond the permissible path.

Dobson is likely attempting to balance the scales following his recent disavowal of McCain. Lest any believe that distance from McCain indicated proximity to Obama, Dobson has now firmly pronounced the anathema of Obama. Dobson is a man without a country in the present election - and he'd rather fast than settle for second best. Yet, of course, political calculations aside, Dobson's remarks merit contemplation. Obama's religious judgment has already been called into question by his association with Rev. Wright. Might his partisan interpretation of religion for political support not also warrant inspection? If religious dimensions inspire and influence the presidential candidate, why should public expressions of religion be first translated into a universal tongue? Why is secularism the universal default to which all must conform?

While church doctrine might be a matter best left well outside the political arena, the effect of theological conclusions upon the political process are fair game - particularly when such sentiments are put forward by a candidate as crucial factors in his life and judgment. Recent sweeps of America imply that we are a tolerant and somewhat non-dogmatic people. However, if Obama hopes to bridge the gap between liberal Democrats and religious voters (as seems to be his aim), he must be prepared to deflect the theological backlash he will provoke with his sermon at the podium.

Another Republican has been ousted from Capitol Hill - although it doesn't appear this one got spanked for the same (anti-Bush, anti-Iraq war) reasons other GOP lawmakers around the country have this year. He's the third House incumbent to lose a primary this year.

U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon, a conservative lawmaker from Utah, lost his bid for a seventh term yesterday in primary because, essentially, he doesn't appear to be conservative enough for the state's 3rd District. He was beaten by newbie politico Jason Chaffetz, a former Brigham Young University football player who served as chief of staff for popular Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman. Cannon received 40% of the vote, while his opponent won 60%.

"We rocked the vote here in Utah and we rocked the Republican Party," Chaffetz told about 175 supporters gathered to celebrate the victory, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. "I think we've been given a mandate to return the Republican Party to its core conservative principles."

Even though Cannon is considered a strong conservative, Chaffetz blasted him on spending, energy, and immigration, in particular. AP notes that in 2003, Cannon sponsored a bill that would have allowed states to charge in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants, and that instead of favoring tossing all illegal workers out of the country, he supported a guest-worker program.

James Dobson delivers a rant about Barack Obama's version of Christianity.

Evangelical christianity (the religious right, if you will) has no central leadership, but James Dobson is probably the most respected person among those with influence among that group. His purpose here is to point out that, while Obama is nominally a Christian, he is not any kind of Christian that evangelicals are used to voting for. Votes on abortion, gay rights and Obama's position (consistent with liberal Christianity) that the Jesus is only one path among many to get to heaven are highlighted. This of course is diametrically opposed to mainstream evangelical Christianity, so Dobson has his dander up pointing that out.

Impact on the race is likely minimal. No real surprises here.. My guess is that, at best, this will help McCain stem the bleeding of independent evangelical christians, who are concerned about social welfare, the environment, etc. from floating over to the Obama camp.

Washington Post:

Sen. John McCain called yesterday for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, offering an aggressive response to high gasoline prices and immediately drawing the ire of environmental groups that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has courted for months.

The move is aimed at easing voter anger over rising energy prices by freeing states to open vast stretches of the country's coastline to oil exploration. In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, nearly 80 percent said soaring prices at the pump are causing them financial hardship, the highest in surveys this decade.

"We must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil," McCain told reporters yesterday. In a speech today, he plans to add that "we have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. . . . It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions."

According to Rasmussen, this appears to be a popular move:

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey-conducted before McCain announced his intentions on the issue--finds that 67% of voters believe that drilling should be allowed off the coasts of California, Florida and other states. Only 18% disagree and 15% are undecided. Conservative and moderate voters strongly support this approach, while liberals are more evenly divided (46% of liberals favor drilling, 37% oppose).

Sixty-four percent (64%) of voters believe it is at least somewhat likely that gas prices will go down if offshore oil drilling is allowed, although 27% don't believe it. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of conservatives say offshore drilling is at least somewhat likely to drive prices down. That view is shared by 57% of moderates and 50% of liberal voters.

Presidential campaigns are won and lost on emotion. The candidate who taps into a sense of camaraderie with voters invariably ends up living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, while the loser laments that the country never really got to know him (or her). Consider our most recent also-rans: John Kerry, Al Gore, Bob Dole, Michael Dukakis. Each of these men failed to forge an emotional connection with voters. Indeed, to varying degrees, each was perceived as stiff or phony in comparison to the person he was running against. In short, they lacked the ability to stir up unalloyed enthusiasm in the contest to decide "the lesser of two evils." In other words, the strategy of "Hey, I'm better than the other guy," is not always sufficient to put you in the White House.

Enter John McCain, whose strategy in the race of '08 has consisted of an assurance that he'd be better than both Bush and Obama. But the lack of enthusiasm for what McCain is selling is evident everywhere you look. Conservatives are wary of his ever-morphing platform positions. Hispanics, the fastest growing segment of the voting population, have had enough elephants for one lifetime. Evangelicals like James Dobson would rather sit the election out than vote for him.

Today's LA Times chronicles McCain antipathy in Ohio:

As the architect of Ohio's ballot measure against gay marriage, Phil Burress helped draw thousands of conservative voters to the polls in 2004, most of whom also cast ballots to reelect President Bush. So Burress was not surprised when high-level staffers from John McCain's campaign dropped by his office, asking for his help this fall.

What surprised Burress was how badly the meeting went. He says he tried but failed to make the McCain team understand how much work remained to overcome the skepticism of social conservatives. Burress ended up cutting off the campaign officials as they spoke. "He doesn't want to associate with us," Burress now says of McCain, "and we don't want to associate with him."

With the party base ever suspicious, McCain is faced with a pressing need to court independent voters. The problem for him is that Obama also runs strong with that demographic. And for every independent voter McCain woos with anti-Bush posturing, another Republican foot-soldier (half of whom think the president is doing a dandy job, thank you very much) is put off.

Rush, on his show yesterday (via Politico)

If you run around and you make a big deal out of trying to distance yourself from George W. Bush, you are going to pay for it in ways that you can't understand, because the one thing, of many, that separates Republicans and conservatives from those mealymouthed little creeps and kooks and wackos on the left, they respect a leader who they think has done his best. And they are loyal. And the one person, the one thing that is threatening Republican Party loyalty right now is the very McCain campaign, not George W. Bush. So if you think that you gotta run around and distance yourself from George W. Bush, and if that's how you have to get elected, think again. You may not have to run around and embrace him, and you may not want to run around and have him fund-raise for you in public, and you may not want to be seen in public with him, and you may not want to have to praise him, but I warn you, do not publicly disrespect him. It will kill you. You won't go anywhere. The voters on our side are not going to put up with that because he's not disliked, he's not despised, he's not hated. You Republicans that don't have the guts and the courage to separate yourself from what you read in the media and listen to the Democrat candidates say had better realize, this president is not hated, he is not disliked. Big difference in that and being unpopular.

And that's absolutely correct. McCain and his advisers should not mistake ambivelance about Bush to a retreat from core Republican principles. And to the extent that McCain is to the left of Bush, especially on stem cells and global warming, McCain will inherit that ambivelance. Remember, there are still about 30% of the population that publicly approves of Bush, and those are, or should be, McCain's base of support. McCain absolutely positively cannot win without those thirty percent.

The best advice came from Patrick Ruffini, and that remains that if the McCain advisers are worried about their stance with Bush, it's simple. Ignore him. He's not the issue. If Obama brings it up, all McCain has to say is that he is not so concerned with what has happened but what will and should happen.