1996 or 1976?

John McCain's momentum reminds me a little bit of 1996 when republicans nominated Bob Dole. The thing the two have in common is that both were and are unelectable as President of the United States. Yes - McCain has "paid his dues" so to speak, like Dole. And yes, the republican establishment may think "it's his turn." But these are often the worst candidates. Deep down we all knew that Bob Dole would not be elected. Don't we know the same is true of John McCain as well? (Actually Dole had a number of good policies, whereas McCain doesn't, unless you're a democrat, but the point is, neither are winners).

I suppose it also reminds me of 1976. Reagan ran a spirited campaign that year, but everyone in the GOP hated him. The GOP establishment hated the fact that a non-Washington guy came in, never "paid his dues" and all of a sudden, he wanted to run for President. They fought him tooth and nail, and ultimately Gerald Ford won the nomination, only to get crushed by the worst President of all time, Jimmy C. A similar thing happened in 1980, but at that point there was no stopping the Gipper - the country had gone through enough JC's left wing, high tax, high inflation, high unemployment, and ultra-high pessimism. Romney is not perfect, but he's probably the best we have and he's an optimist. Is it four years too early though? Maybe we have to go through four years of hell to get to the promised land.

I'm holding out hope for Romney and all is not lost yet. Actually if tonight's debate were a two man debate, I'd have no doubts who comes out on top. I'm a little worried, however, that the two independents will once again gang up on the conservative. And at the same time, CNN can smell blood, and I sense they'll go after Mitt. It's up to Mitt to hold them off.