Editor's Notes: Conservatives, liberals draw line in the sand

With Super Tuesday 48 hours away, close to 90 percent of Green Valley voters will go to the polls or mail in ballots for the Arizona primary.

Interest in the 2008 presidential campaign has been staggering, especially now that it’s reduced to two major contenders in each party — Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

By Tuesday night, you’ll know the likely nominees, and the candidates can stop trying to devour one another until after Labor Day. The stakes are higher than the Super Bowl this weekend as candidates press for last-minute support in 24 states, from Arizona to Alaska and California to New York.

Two key trends have emerged, impacting the election more than other factors. Conservative Republicans have tried to derail McCain, who’s pulling away from Romney in the polls, by painting the Arizona senator as a loose cannon untrue to the Reagan revolution. Liberal Democrats, sensing razor-close races nationwide, have besieged Clinton for her vote to authorize war in Iraq.

The last-minute haranguing about McCain started on conservative talk radio. Hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, fearful of their diminishing influence, have attacked McCain as being soft on immigration and more loyal to Democratic causes than Republican principles.

Limbaugh’s crusade against McCain was predictable. In 1992, Limbaugh endorsed Patrick Buchanan in the Republican primary, helping Buchanan upset former President George Bush in the New Hampshire primary. Limbaugh’s move was calculated to curry favor with Bush. By Labor Day, Limbaugh was introducing Bush at campaign rallies and sleeping in the Lincoln bedroom.

Limbaugh proved his support could be bought at the right price with his 1992 antics. The decision, in my opinion, relegated Limbaugh, one of the most-talented commentators of our time, to the fringe right, boxing him in with a narrow audience and costing him his credibility.

With McCain, Limbaugh is desperate to regain his grip on Republican politics. Limbaugh has been merciless in his criticism of the war hero, even though McCain is the only candidate who appeals to independents and crosses enough demographic lines to defeat Clinton or Obama in November.

“If McCain is nominated, it’s going to destroy the Republican Party,” Limbaugh said on air. “It’s going to change it forever, be the end of it. A lot of people aren’t going to vote. You watch.”

McCain’s campaign was broke and forgotten last summer. But he has risen to the cusp of the nomination without support on conservative radio. And while some evangelicals will sit out the election, his candidacy will inspire others tired of partisan bickering to register and vote.

At some point, just as in 1992, Limbaugh will realize his support for Romney did not work out. He’ll draw up a peace treaty with McCain and start pulling punches again, just as he did when Bush lost to President Bill Clinton in the general election.

I would prefer to see an agitated, independent Limbaugh, firing at all the candidates. It does Limbaugh’s audience, and the electorate at large, no good for him to start carrying luggage for McCain or Romney.

“I have a very, very conservative record,” McCain said during a Florida debate. “I’ll put my country above my party every single time.”

Obama’s rise in the Democratic Party has been more dramatic than McCain’s surge. He positioned himself as the candidate of change, arguing that Clinton has been part of the problem, not the remedy.

Shrewdly, Obama waited until last week, the right moment, to appeal to the liberal wing of the party. He has reminded war protestors of Clinton’s early support for the Iraq invasion and of his opposition from the beginning.

Equally important, Obama has brought in television personality Oprah Winfrey and President John F. Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, for campaigning in California, hoping they’ll appeal to women voters and steal their hearts from Clinton.

The former First Lady's late campaigning in Tucson on Saturday was a signal about the real closeness of the race. She considered Arizona a sure victory until Gov. Janet Napolitano endorsed Obama last month.

When voters make up their mind Tuesday, I think it will be good news for McCain and Obama. Conservatives and liberals will have made their stand, win or lose.

Contact Editor James Bennett at 547-9770 or jbennett@gvnews.com. Respond to this column by e-mailing letters@gvnews.com. Comment online at www.gvnews.com. See Bennett on Channel 6’s “Arizona Illustrated” at 6:30 p.m. Friday with host Bill Buckmaster, discussing the results of Super Tuesday.