McCain thought:
Was the 2000 Republican presidential primary a turning point in American history? After a massive New Hampshire win, it seemed like McCain was the nominee. Then South Carolina shadiness happened.
Imagine if McCain had been president in 2001...
Was the 2000 Republican presidential primary a turning point in American history? After a massive New Hampshire win, it seemed like McCain was the nominee. Then South Carolina shadiness happened.
Imagine if McCain had been president in 2001...
2/ It's impossible to know what McCain would have done after 9/11. He surely would have prioritized Afghanistan better. He was a hawk, so maybe he would have gone after Iraq, too. But W relied on Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz. I recall others have written about this question...
3/ But in many ways, 2000 was the fork in the road for the GOP that ultimately led to Trump.
Don't get me wrong: George W. Bush is not Trump. He stood up for Muslims after 9/11. A brutal demagogue like Trump would have led to more violence against Muslim Americans. But..
Don't get me wrong: George W. Bush is not Trump. He stood up for Muslims after 9/11. A brutal demagogue like Trump would have led to more violence against Muslim Americans. But..
4/ G. W. Bush talked about "compassionate conservativism." But he also followed Karl Rove's playbook on the culture wars: God, Gays, and Guns, plus the death penalty. He was shamelessly ignorant about the world. He ran on fake populism, governed as a plutocrat. Sound familiar?
