"We Are The Makers Of History, Not Its Victims" & The Comeback Kid Redux

Ladies and gentleman, the winner of the Republican New Hampshire Primary, John McCain:



I can't argue with his words. These are just excepts from his acceptance speech, of course, but the entire address has been getting a lot of attention, and with good reason. In particular, this line turned some heads:

"The history of the world will not be determined by this unpardonable foe [the jihadists], but by the courage of free peoples. In this historic task, we will never surrender. They will."

Jim Geraghty goes so far as to call this line "Churchillian," which I think is extraordinarily generous. He said all the right things but his monotony still grates on me. If Obama had delivered those lines I may have broke into tears. McCain's comfortable margin of victory - by 6,000 votes or so - was surprising given the expected turnout on the Republican side, as The Confederate Yankee points out. With most independents voting in the Democratic primary, many were calling for a Romney upset since McCain was counting on those independent votes to boost his numbers. Clearly, he didn't need them.

As for the Democrats, the race was close for awhile but Hillary pulled it off. Could this mark the end of Obamania? The hype around this man since Iowa was unbelievable and I couldn't help but be drawn into the messianic narrative myself. Let this be a reality check for us all. The Clinton Election Machine is a frighteningly powerful engine.

Her acceptance speech was, well, it was Hillary Clinton. "Over the last week I listened to you and, in the process, I found my own voice." She certainly knows how to play to the female demographic. Her speech reads like a Virginia Woolf novel. Listen to the cheers that line got her though:



Next stop, Michigan.

Hillary To New Hampshire: "That Hurts My Feelings..."

Although I'm no fan of his politics, it's difficult to argue that Barack Obama is anything but a clever politician and an inspiring speaker. He was really great tonight at the debate in New Hampshire. Look how easily he undercuts Hillary's only sympathy-inspiring moment of the night:



Mark my words: this man is a very serious threat to the Republican party. As Hillary's free fall continues, it is becoming increasingly obvious (as noted over at Small Dead Animals) that the North American media has anointed the Obamessiah as the Chosen One to lead the American people from the darkness of reason and small government with his glorious and nebulous message of change.

Although he's my 4th favourite Republican candidate in terms of policy, I'm going to be paying much more attention to John McCain over the next few weeks because the polls and common sense indicate that he's the only Republican who could handle Obama in the general election. Republicans will have to look past his pro-Amnesty policy though, which may not be possible given it's consistently polling as the number one issue among conservative voters. We could do worse than a McCain presidency. You better believe the troops wouldn't be going anywhere in Iraq.