By any reasonable measure, the primary excitement this week (and for the next couple of months) is on the Democratic side of the aisle, with the Battle of the Titans poised to continue on through the convention.
But I’d be remiss if I neglected to mention that the Republican race is officially over, and John McCain is the last man standing. He’s been the “presumptive nominee” for a while now, but it looks like we can drop the pretense and qualifier.
John McCain capped one of the most remarkable political comebacks in American history by seizing the Republican nomination tonight. With decisive victories in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island, McCain surged past the needed 1,191 delegates to win the GOP nod.
Mike Huckabee, the last remaining obstacle in McCain’s path, withdrew from the race and offered his support to McCain.
Minutes later, McCain took the stage along with his wife, Cindy, to thank voters from the four states and claimed the prize he was denied eight years ago by President George W. Bush.
“And I am very, very grateful and pleased to note that tonight, my friends, we have won enough delegates to claim with confidence, humility and a great sense of responsibility that I will be the Republican nominee,” McCain said here to loud applause from supporters.
Yesterday’s Republican contests were not at all competitive. McCain won by large margins in each of the four contests, including Texas by 13 points — notable because Huckabee actually tried to win there.
The GOP exit polls, though, were not especially encouraging for McCain, even now. Republicans voters who described themselves as “very conservative” supported Huckabee, again. Seven in 10 Republicans said they’d be satisfied with McCain as the party’s general-election candidate, but given that he’d just wrapped up the nomination, one imagines the McCain campaign would have preferred to see that number much higher.
Nevertheless, the next step is the official coronation from Bush.
Expect there to be a lot of cameras on hand for this.
President Bush will officially endorse John McCain’s presidential run Wednesday at the White House. The two men will have a private lunch followed by a joint public statement.
The move by the president, who remained neutral throughout the Republican primary process, comes after a victory in Texas that gave McCain more than the 1,191 delegates required to claim the GOP nomination.
The event will apparently go something like this.
At the White House on Wednesday, Bush plans a noon welcome for McCain at the North Portico. Bush will host a lunch for McCain in the private dining room. Bush then plans a public statement with John McCain in the Rose Garden.
Given that a key component of the Dems’ general-election strategy is tying McCain to Bush, pictures from today’s White House event will likely be seen again and again.
Finally, I thought I’d pause to note that Mike Huckabee proved to be an immensely entertaining right-wing candidate. He presented a horrifying policy agenda, premised in part on changing the Constitution to bring it into line with “God’s will,” and he gave most of the conservative movement heart palpitations at the thought he might get the nomination, but he was probably never a serious threat to anyone. And he was always quite charming on Colbert.
I’ll always remember him for wanting to quarantine AIDS patients. And for claiming to be God’s anointed presidential candidate. And for being the first presidential candidate to ever mention “Christ” in a TV commercial.
The thing I always liked about Huckabee was his honesty. There weren’t any surprises from this guy — he was a transparently theocratic candidate. There was no real wink-wink here; Huckabee laid it out there for all to see — on matters of faith, he’s a right-wing evangelical creationist who has admitted publicly that he wants to help take the nation “back for Christ.” It was always better for Americans to see that and evaluate those beliefs accordingly, than for Huckabee to believe this and keep his agenda under wraps.
It didn’t work out, obviously, and Huckabee was more of a regional candidate than a national player.
So long, Mike, we knew you a little too well.