McCain Makes Play for Clinton Supporters

By: John Bentley
Topics: John McCain

(CBS)

From CBS News' John Bentley:

How angry are Hillary Clinton's supporters? Angry enough to leave the Democratic Party behind and vote for John McCain?

The presumptive Republican nominee certainly hopes so, and he has not been shy about making his pitch to Clinton voters. "There are many of Sen. Clinton's supporters who believe that I am by far the best qualified to secure this nation's future, who don't want us to sit down with Ahmadinejad and other tyrants," McCain said. "I think there's a lot of Sen. Clinton's supporters who will support me because of their belief that Sen. Obama does not have the experience or the knowledge or the judgment to address this nation's national security challenges when we're in two wars."

There is some polling evidence that suggests McCain may have a shot at picking up disaffected Clinton supporters. Over a quarter of Clinton voters said they would switch to McCain in the general election, according to a poll conducted by Gallup, which found 28% would leave the Democratic Party for the Republican candidate.

But those numbers could also be the byproduct of a long, fractious Democratic race between the Clinton and Obama. Whether those numbers will hold until November is debatable, but McCain is looking for support wherever he can get it, reaching out to Clinton supporters at the very beginning of his speech last night that kicked off his general election run. "As the father of three daughters," McCain said, "I owe her a debt for inspiring millions of women to believe there is no opportunity in this great country beyond their reach."

The Republican Party says they have been hearing from unhappy members Clinton's camp. "Even our convention office in Saint Paul has received numerous calls in the last few hours from Sen. Clinton's supporters, asking how they can help Sen. McCain," said Matt Burns, the spokesman for the GOP convention in St. Paul.

If history is any guide, though, McCain shouldn't hold out hope for a quarter of Democrats to come rushing to the Republican Party. Four years ago, only 8% of Democrats defected from John Kerry to George Bush, and only 7% left Al Gore for Bush in 2000.

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by sawkur June 6, 2008 11:52 PM EDT: Blast from the past:
In June 1998 at a Republican Senate fund-raiser, McCain told a downright nasty joke making fun of Janet Reno, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton.
The fact that McCain had made the tasteless joke was reported in major newspapers, as was the vain attempt by his press secretary to initially deny what McCain had done. In several major newspapers, the joke itself was kept a secret. When Maureen Dowd penned a column in the New York Times about the joke, she wrote that McCain "is so revered by the press that his disgusting jape was largely nudged under the rug." But Dowd chose not to relay the joke, either.
The joke did appear in McCain''s hometown paper, the Arizona Republic, and the Associated Press did report the joke in full, this is what he reportedly said:
"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno."
Google it.; Reply to this comment


by oldwhiteguy1 June 5, 2008 11:18 PM EDT: anappleadae
you offered a little feed back last night on my comments,then alluded to Obama''s middle east ties...
Let me point out ALL AMERICANS have ties to ''somewhere'' unless you''re a "native american/indian".
All Americans are ''tied'' to the middle east by our dependence on oil, we''re ''tied'' to China because we can''t afford stuff made anywhere else. I could go on but I think you get the point.
Obama was called a Muslum, before he was called a christian racist. Anyone who believes the smear emails about Barack should stay home...they''re too stupid to vote anyway.
The Rep party will play all the same sound bytes that the Clintons used, the same negative tactics, the same smears, but, they should reflect on how well America responded to that policy. Its a great plan if you hope to lose!
The Rep party began their primaries with a full list of front runners who knew they could steamroll Clinton. As Obama began his surge they all dropped out leaving McCain as their "token" candidate. They despise him as much as the Dems do.
Obama will win because America must Change or perish, its that simple...; Reply to this comment


by oldwhiteguy1 June 5, 2008 10:58 PM EDT: McCain is going after Hillaries supporters...what a joke. I just read that up to ten percent of Clinton voters were Republicans who followed Rush the lush and his Chaos campaign. Thats why so many at the exit polls said they voted Clinton but wouldn''t back Obama...duh!
Clinton needs some time to decompress. I imagine her losing this primary decision is a little like watching your child get hit by a bus-while 100 reporters are sticking a mike in your face saying "how do you feel"?
So okay, I was disappointed that she didn''t "man up" on Tuesday night and concede, but hey, she''s not a man.
I trust her supporters will back Obama, not for him or the party, perhaps, but because AMERICA will not survive four more years of a Republican.; Reply to this comment


by anappleadae June 5, 2008 3:56 PM EDT: oldwhiteguy1

Obama has documented Middle East ties. The Dems can''t criticize this issue, because revealing this information would cause the Democratic Party to fall on it''s sword.

However the Republicans will be exposing these ties in spite of the media trying to black out their attempts.

It''s going to be a very entertaining campaign. My advice; Make sure your passport is in good order and stockpile ammo.; Reply to this comment


by anappleadae June 5, 2008 3:45 PM EDT: Huge numbers of Clinton supporters will rally to John McCain. That is what I''m hearing in this part of the country.; Reply to this comment


by mattcat25 June 5, 2008 12:53 PM EDT: John McCain isn''t George Bush, but%u2026.McCain is a Republican and has voted 95% along the party lines. His decision to back all of the Bush Policies would in fact sustain the Bush Presidency for a 3rd term. Conservatism has given the advantage to the top 1% leaving the American Middle Class with a higher cost of living with a lower lifestyle.

It''s not about Bush versus McCain, nor moderate versus hard right, it''s about what is in your better interest.

Don%u2019t vote against yourself.; Reply to this comment


by oldwhiteguy1 June 5, 2008 9:28 AM EDT: Lets see if I get this right...Obama ran a campaign on the same platform as Hillary. Her supporters won''t vote for him for "sexism" reasons. They WILL, however, vote for McCain out of ''spite'' even tho he called his wife the "C-word"...excuse me but that doesn''t add up; Reply to this comment


by shingles1 June 5, 2008 3:59 AM EDT: Matt Yglesias on McCain:

One virtue of having a reputation as a straight-talker is that you can get away with constant lying. For example, in response to a question about why he twice voted against a commission to investigate the response to Hurricane Katrina, John McCain says he voted in favor of every investigation. In reality, just as the New Orleans local news reporter said, he twice voted against a commission to investigate the matter.

Now there''s probably some crazy strained reading of McCain''s remarks so that his claims are consistent with reality. And since everyone knows McCain''s a straight-talker, the press will read it that way. And because that''s been the press''s response each of the dozens of times in the course of this campaign that McCain''s told bald-faced lies, his reputation for straight-talk never vanishes. A lesser figure who was in the habit of constantly lying and flip-flopping would develop a reputation as a kind of madmen, so invested in self-love that he thinks he has no obligation to political principles or basic factual accuracy.; Reply to this comment


by feistygranny June 5, 2008 1:57 AM EDT: I an a Clinton supporter and I will
not vote for Obama ,but I''m going to vote for McCain.Just don''t understand Obama asking Caroline Kennedy to help him choose a vice Presidint.Guess he will ask Caroline what he should do in Iraq and help him run the Country. May be she should have run for President.; Reply to this comment


by mjcf12-2009 June 5, 2008 1:12 AM EDT: I do not understand why people go on and on about John McCain''s "great character". This is a man that repeatedly cheated on his wife. He asked a woman to marry him before he filed for divorce. What kind of presidential character is that?; Reply to this comment