Royal Purple

Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: Opinion

Luther

The Republicans started off last year with two big names, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain. If you asked me three months ago who would still be around come the Wisconsin primaries I definitely would not have guessed McCain.

McCain started out as a strong contender last year, but as 2007 wore down it seemed as if McCain was done for. He had spent almost all of his funds and he had to let go many of his staffers. However,

McCain mounted a comeback and is now the front runner for the nomination.

McCain has all but won the nomination as only Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul

remain to challenge him. McCain's biggest challenger, Mitt Romney, dropped out of the race last week, saying he didn't want to "forestall the launch of a national campaign, making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win."

So here we are in a race that's all but won for McCain, but Huckabee still has a long-shot chance considering many southern states are expected to swing his way. Ron Paul does not have enough support to win and is really only staying in to say he stuck it out until the end.

McCain has been somewhat of a rebel within the ranks and rubs many Republicans the wrong way. Despite that, McCain still sticks to important Republican issues like lowering taxes, defense and immigration.

One thing you can count on year-in and year-out is the Republican desire to lower taxes. McCain wants to cut spending by government and will couple that with lower taxes to promote growth in the United States' faltering economy.

McCain, like many Republicans, believes in the need to send more troops to Iraq. He thinks until Iraqi forces are fully trained, American troops need to stay in Iraq: it's a commitment made easier by a man who has fully experienced the horrors of war and understands the cost of failure in Iraq.

Immigration has been a hot-button issue in both parties during the campaign. The GOP wants to fill American jobs with

American workers and eliminate the high numbers of illegal immigrants pouring into the country. McCain believes that his tax cuts will allow businesses to pay for American workers and not have to resort to illegal immigrants.

The verdict? McCain will have a tough time playing ball in Washington for one reason; he is very hard to sway. The Republican Party will want to see a cooperative McCain before they go along with any of his plans. Many of his ideas are tied to lowering taxes and cutting pork from the budget. If McCain can't deliver the economic stimulus promised through tax cuts, many of his policies will fall short.

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