Following up on what I said in my previous post, something else has come to mind. John McCain is seeing a lot of Republicans in Congress treat him like Bush. That is to say they don’t want to be seen with him. Add to that the fact McCain always talks about not being voted “miss Congeniality” in the Senate, proof that he isn’t that well liked by his own party, and you are stuck asking yourself what he could accomplish as President.
The Democrats will still have control of both houses of Congress next year. Even the Republicans have admitted that, and are just trying to limit the damage now. For a President to accomplish much of anything he needs political capital. If his party is the minority in Congress he needs them to block legislation he doesn’t want to be seen vetoing. He also needs to make sure he has enough votes to uphold any vetoes. But with McCain building a wall between him and congressional Republicans, he won’t have the support he needs.
I can’t remember another election where the nominee was so disliked by their own party. McCain says he’s a maverick, but a President needs to be able to work with either or both parties in order to accomplish anything. A President McCain will most likely end up being a very lonely person in the White House and could actually be a lame duck when he takes the oath of office. With that said, a President McCain would be much the same as a President Bush.