Reply #55: You're making my point.

[boxster]

The point is: the base is a given. Kerry is a liberal. He's been a liberal for 30 years. Anyone who bothers to pay attention knows that he's not going to make a radical shift to the right.

In fact, the primaries are perfect proof that the base is out there and that it knows Kerry for what he is. His campaign was dead, yet when it came time to vote, who'd people vote for? Mr. Liberal.

Therefore, stuff like the McCain charade is safe where the base is concerned. They KNOW that Kerry is a liberal. They KNOW that McCain was never *really* being considered for VP. The know that Kerry isn't going to suddenly turn into a conservative.

Kerry wants the swing voters thinking when they get to the ballot box. He wants them thinking that he's more likely to be able to get something accomplished, because he's willing to step across party lines. He's talking to the people who are sick of the political divides in our country.

But, it's all a charade. He had no intention of following through, nor did McCain ever have any intention of seriously considering crossing party lines.

Anyone who was paying attention knew this was dead from day one. McCain has said from day one that he has no intention of considering the VP slot. Yet, people keep harping on it (people on DU were particularly rabid about it- why, I can't comprehend), just like they're doing now.

The bottom line is that the base is safe. If people want to waste their votes on someone else because of a complete misunderstanding of this issue, fine. If they think that Kerry is likely to ditch 30 years of fighting for liberal causes, they weren't going to vote for him anyway.