WITH a gracious nod to Barack Obama, John McCain acknowledged defeat and urged his supporters to move beyond partisan differences to put country first — an echo of his campaign theme. McCain implored his backers to fall in line behind Obama, which was met with a smattering of boos and shouts of “No-Bama! and “Reverend Wright,” a reference to Obama's incendiary former pastor. This just shows what months of negative campaigning has done among voters. The ‘real' America speeches has only increased division, polarized the American people. Ideally, after its defeat, the GOP should ask itself how they lost touch with the national mainstream, work on where they went wrong and change their approach. But this is less likely to happen. The Republican party – post-election – will be left with the kind of people who attend Sarah Palin's rallies, who chant “Vote McCain, not Hussein!” It will be the party that harbors menacing fantasies about Barack Obama's Marxist — or Islamic — roots. The reason why the GOP will become more, and not less, extreme is because projections suggest that this election will drive many of the remaining Republican moderates out of Congress, while leaving the hard right in place. Also, the Republican base already seems to be gearing up to regard defeat not as a verdict on conservative policies, but as the result of an evil conspiracy. A recent Democracy Corps poll found that Republicans, by a margin of more than two to one, believe that Mr. McCain is losing “because the mainstream media is biased” rather than “because Americans are tired of George Bush.” Did McCain intend this? It was his campaign, so he must have agreed to it even if he didn't believe in it. Earlier, when a woman at his rally called Obama “an Arab”, McCain defended Obama: “He's a decent family man (and) citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign's all about. He's not (an Arab).” Now, while conceding defeat, McCain told his supporters, “I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.” McCain's ideals are strong. “Whatever our differences,” McCain said. “We are fellow Americans.” This is the real John McCain. __
