ID :
24125
Mon, 10/13/2008 - 13:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/24125
The shortlink copeid
`Republican leaders worried about McCain chances in Prez race`
New York, Oct 12 (PTI) With just over three weeks left for the Presidential polls in the U.S., Republican leaders are worried about the chances of John McCain making it to the White House unless he settled on a clear message to counter his Democratic rival Barack Obama, a media report said Sunday.
Several Republican party leaders said that while they believed that McCain could win over voters, they were concerned that he and his advisers seemed adrift in dealing with an extraordinary challenging political battleground and a crisis on the Wall Street, 'The New York Times' reported.
The report follows an Alaska ethics panel's revelation that Governor Sarah Palin, the running mate of McCain, "abused her power" in seeking to get her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.
The panel's findings released on Friday night dealt a significant blow to the embattled Republican ticket with Mccain struggling to hold ground against Obama in the run-up to the November 4 polls.
"I think you're seeing a turning point," Saul Anuzis, the
Republican Chairman in Michigan where McCain has decided to
stop campaigning, was quoted as saying by the paper. "You're
starting to feel real frustration because we are running out
of time. Our message, the campaign's message, isn't
connecting."
Tommy Thompson, a Republican who is a former governor of
Wisconsin, told the paper that it would be difficult for
McCain to win in his state but not impossible, particularly if
he campaigned in conservative Democratic parts of the state.
Asked if he was happy with McCain's campaign, Thompson
replied, "No," and added, "I don't know who is."
In Pennsylvania, Robert A. Gleason Jr, the state
Republican Chairman, was quoted as saying that he was
concerned that McCain's increasingly aggressive tone was not
working with moderate voters and women in the important
southeastern part of a state that is at the top of the
Republican Presidential nominee's must-win list.
"They're not as susceptible to attack ads," Gleason said.
"I worry about the southeast. Obama is making inroads."
The Times quoted several party leaders as saying that
McCain needed to settle on a single message in the final weeks
of the campaign and warned that his changing day-to-day
dialogue — a welter of evolving economic proposals, mixed with
on-again-off-again attacks on Obama's character — was
not breaking through and was actually helping Obama in his
effort to portray McCain as erratic.
"The main thing he (McCain) needs to do," said Vin Weber,
a former Republican Congressman from Minnesota, "is focus on a
single message — a single, concise or clear-cut message, and
stick with that over the next 30 days, regardless of what
happens. He's had a lot of attack lines. But it's time to
choose."
John C. Danforth, a retired Republican Senator from
Missouri, said McCain should turn his attention mainly to
drawing contrasts with Obama and "essentially go back to the
basics," the paper reported.
"I don't think it's enough to talk about earmarks
incessantly," Danforth said. "He's made that point. You've got
to get beyond that and talk about the very dramatic taxes and
spending in the Obama programme."
McCain's advisers, however, said they remained confident
of victory.
The Times said there were continued signs of confusion
and turmoil in the McCain campaign, as his aides wrestled with
conflicting advice, daunting poll numbers and criticism from
state party leaders increasingly distressed with the way the
campaign has been run.
Republicans said he had been damaged by several rallies
last week in which supporters shouted insults and threats
about Obama, prompting McCain on Friday night to chide
audience members. His aides suggested that they were trying to
find a balance between attacking Obama and painting him as
untested and risky without stirring unruly crowd reactions.
"I think there have been quite a few reporters recently,"
McCain's closest adviser Mark Salter told the paper, "who have
sort of implied, or made more than implications, that somehow
we're responsible for the occasional nut who shows up and
yells something about Barack Obama."
The difficulties of the McCain campaign, the Times said,
have led some Republican leaders to express concern that he
could end up dragging other of the party's candidates down to
defeat.
"If Obama is able to run up big numbers around the
country," said Anuzis, the Michigan party Chairman, "the
potential for hurting down-ballot Republicans is very big."
Several Republican party leaders said that while they believed that McCain could win over voters, they were concerned that he and his advisers seemed adrift in dealing with an extraordinary challenging political battleground and a crisis on the Wall Street, 'The New York Times' reported.
The report follows an Alaska ethics panel's revelation that Governor Sarah Palin, the running mate of McCain, "abused her power" in seeking to get her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.
The panel's findings released on Friday night dealt a significant blow to the embattled Republican ticket with Mccain struggling to hold ground against Obama in the run-up to the November 4 polls.
"I think you're seeing a turning point," Saul Anuzis, the
Republican Chairman in Michigan where McCain has decided to
stop campaigning, was quoted as saying by the paper. "You're
starting to feel real frustration because we are running out
of time. Our message, the campaign's message, isn't
connecting."
Tommy Thompson, a Republican who is a former governor of
Wisconsin, told the paper that it would be difficult for
McCain to win in his state but not impossible, particularly if
he campaigned in conservative Democratic parts of the state.
Asked if he was happy with McCain's campaign, Thompson
replied, "No," and added, "I don't know who is."
In Pennsylvania, Robert A. Gleason Jr, the state
Republican Chairman, was quoted as saying that he was
concerned that McCain's increasingly aggressive tone was not
working with moderate voters and women in the important
southeastern part of a state that is at the top of the
Republican Presidential nominee's must-win list.
"They're not as susceptible to attack ads," Gleason said.
"I worry about the southeast. Obama is making inroads."
The Times quoted several party leaders as saying that
McCain needed to settle on a single message in the final weeks
of the campaign and warned that his changing day-to-day
dialogue — a welter of evolving economic proposals, mixed with
on-again-off-again attacks on Obama's character — was
not breaking through and was actually helping Obama in his
effort to portray McCain as erratic.
"The main thing he (McCain) needs to do," said Vin Weber,
a former Republican Congressman from Minnesota, "is focus on a
single message — a single, concise or clear-cut message, and
stick with that over the next 30 days, regardless of what
happens. He's had a lot of attack lines. But it's time to
choose."
John C. Danforth, a retired Republican Senator from
Missouri, said McCain should turn his attention mainly to
drawing contrasts with Obama and "essentially go back to the
basics," the paper reported.
"I don't think it's enough to talk about earmarks
incessantly," Danforth said. "He's made that point. You've got
to get beyond that and talk about the very dramatic taxes and
spending in the Obama programme."
McCain's advisers, however, said they remained confident
of victory.
The Times said there were continued signs of confusion
and turmoil in the McCain campaign, as his aides wrestled with
conflicting advice, daunting poll numbers and criticism from
state party leaders increasingly distressed with the way the
campaign has been run.
Republicans said he had been damaged by several rallies
last week in which supporters shouted insults and threats
about Obama, prompting McCain on Friday night to chide
audience members. His aides suggested that they were trying to
find a balance between attacking Obama and painting him as
untested and risky without stirring unruly crowd reactions.
"I think there have been quite a few reporters recently,"
McCain's closest adviser Mark Salter told the paper, "who have
sort of implied, or made more than implications, that somehow
we're responsible for the occasional nut who shows up and
yells something about Barack Obama."
The difficulties of the McCain campaign, the Times said,
have led some Republican leaders to express concern that he
could end up dragging other of the party's candidates down to
defeat.
"If Obama is able to run up big numbers around the
country," said Anuzis, the Michigan party Chairman, "the
potential for hurting down-ballot Republicans is very big."
