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As discussed at the Republican debate tonight, John McCain has received the endorsement by the New York Times on the Republican side. Hillary Clinton received the endorsement on the Democrat side.

I thought it was interesting that in the debate, the moderators were asking Rudy Giuliani about this endorsement, and saying that (paraphrasing here) wasn’t this a bad thing, considering that this was the newspaper from the town he was mayor of for so long? After all, this was his hometown. Shouldn’t the NYT be supporting him? That line of questioning was beyond crazy to me, and revealed the inner workings of a liberal’s mind (which both Tim Russert and Brian Williams are liberals, FYI. In case anyone was wondering.) Not being endorsed by the NYT as a Republican is a badge of honor, because if you are at all a conservative, the NYT should hate your guts.

Now to poor McCain: What to do? I almost feel sorry for him. He couldn’t get away with saying to the NYT, “That’s okay, I’d really rather that you not endorse me, thanks” without committing political suicide. He just couldn’t do it. But on the other hand, this is something that definitely hurts his push to be seen as a conservative. You don’t get more conservatives to believe in you by having the most liberal newspaper in the land endorse you.

Notice that I said that I “almost” feel sorry for McCain. I don’t actually feel sorry for him because quite frankly, he brought this on himself. If he had decided to actually act like a conservative, and fight against amnesty, and fight for free speech, and fight against this travesty that is being pushed on the American public called “global warming,” and stayed the heck out of the Gang of 14, well, he wouldn’t have been endorsed by the NYT. His choices brought this upon himself.

Let me say it again in cased you missed it: If John McCain had actually been a conservative senator, the New York Times would have hated his guts like they hate Giuliani’s and Mitt’s. That would have left the New York Times in the predicament of having to endorse Huckabee, whose stance on social issues would normally make the NYT going running screaming in the other direction, but whose stance on spending, taxing, and immigration is so similar to Democrats as to almost be a complete match. I’m surprised they didn’t give Huckabee a Runner Up nod, to be honest.

Of course, it’s interesting to note that the two candidates who seem to almost have a love fest going between them (McCain and Huckabee) are also the two that are the most liberal in their philosophy. Is it because they realize that they stick out like a sore thumb when compared to other Republicans, and thus feel a kinship? Maybe a little. But I believe the bigger and more important reason is because Huckabee wants the VP position under McCain, and McCain is smart enough to dangle that carrot in front of him in an effort to keep at least one opponent from attacking him. After all, McCain has been in politics for the last 127 years and counting.

He knows how to play the game.

Havs

UPDATE: Here is the video of Rudy being asked about the NYT endorsement, in case anyone missed it.

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