How McCain helps Cameron
James Forsyth 1:09pm
John McCain’s victory last night and the fact that he is now the most likely Republican nominee is great news for those on the centre right who value the special relationship. McCain translates in a way that George W. Bush simply does not and will be far harder to demonise than the current president. British leaders will not have to fear the political effects of being seen with McCain.
On a more substantive level, McCain is good news for Atlanticists Conservatives. First, McCain understands how to fight this war better than any other candidate and the current president. Second, McCain is defining a new agenda for the centre right that could help David Cameron. Cameron has rightly grasped that the Tories need to show that they care about the environment but so far there has been little policy beef to accompany this, the only ideas that seem to be doing the rounds in Tory circles are of the hair shirt variety. McCain’s emphasis on how tackling global warming can actually spur economic growth and the potential of green technology should show Cameron how to talk about this issue.
We can only hope that Cameron will also pay attention to McCain’s views on the war. The Tory party, with a few honourable exceptions, has abandoned the Iraq war and has hardly been supportive of the surge. But what the new strategy has demonstrated is that defeat was not inevitable.
TGF UKIP
January 30th, 2008 8:05pm Report this commentJames, your final, almost forlorn, paragraph gives substantial lie to what went before. "We can only hope... etc" Dream on baby! This a conviction-free Tory Party especially where Foreign and Defence policy is concerned. Dave's Charlie Kennedy or Joschka Fischer style overview speech in Berlin!! and the Tory pledge to continue Labour's underfunding of the Armed Forces provide incontrovertible evidence of this. When a substantial slice of the Tory front and backbenches are supporting the Clintons it says everything US or UK conservatives need to know about the Cameron Tory Party.
Hal
January 31st, 2008 6:23am Report this commentDefeat in Iraq was not inevitable (why the past tense?)? But what does victory look like? A unified, peaceful, democratic Iraq? Little sign of that. An enduring American colonial presence? That's the path of moral corruption. John McCain said in New Hampshire that the US may have to keep troops in Iraq for 100 years. He's a likeable man, and a courageous one, but on Iraq he's a dangerous nut.
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