What Ross said, to some degree. McCain's attempts to appeal both to the public and to movement conservatives have led to things like an absolute focus on porkbusting, largely because conservatives don't much like pork, the public doesn't much like pork, and he's a deficit hawk (in theory). But pork is not a salient issue in today's world. The economy, healthcare, Iraq--these are the biggest issues out there. Campaigns don't get to unilaterally decide which issues are in play. So McCain, if he were to follow Bush's example (as Ross said) would have to flip on one of those issues. The problem is that it's harder to imagine three issues upon which the GOP is more dogmatic than those three: how long have we heard Republicans inveigh about the horrors of socialized medicine? McCain appears to be a true dead-ender in Iraq, so nothing doing there. And I suppose he could try to maneuver with respect to the economy, but he's come out hard right on his economic plan, and anything less than huge tax cuts are going to leave the Norquist gang unhappy. This is where McCain's porkbusting emphasis comes in, but he's been basically trying to argue that pork is responsible for the recession, which is stupid and unconvincing. Then again, that's all he can do--one senses McCain desperately trying to hold the GOP coalition together with both hands, not wanting to piss anyone off. I wonder if he'll actually manage to keep it together.
So, what major issue could McCain use to Souljah his way to the top? Actually, the economy would probably be the easiest way. What if McCain were to abandon his economic plan in the general election, say he's reconsidered, and that he's going to try to balance the budget before talking about any tax cuts? The Wall Street Journal editorial board would go batshit, but I suspect that most actual conservatives would support this, and it would actually give him an issue upon which to go after Obama on the right (I often sense that Norquist's power is largely illusory anyway. If the Republican nominee told him that there wouldn't be any tax cuts and that he should suck it up, I suspect he would do so). Plus, this would be a rare opportunity for McCain, as he'd be able to break with Bush and still be conservative. As it stands, Obama is proposing an expensive (~$50 bil) healthcare plan that will largely be financed when Bush's tax cuts expire in 2010. So is Clinton. McCain is proposing a huge (over $1 tril) series of tax cuts that will not be offset by anything, save some 20-30 billion from tax cuts. He is, definitionally, the least fiscally conservative candidate in the race. I suspect that his heart is with the balanced budget stuff, so he should follow his instincts, I think.
