With the future of the free world hanging in the balance last night we took the kids to see the stage production of the Lion King.  It was great, a pleasant distraction from the world of politics although I think I found a new nickname for McCain:  Scar.  Couldn't help but draw comparison to the shows antagonist who was a petty, conniving, power obsessed, vindictive, insider.   Oh well.

Dean Barnett, who I really got to like while he was blogging at with Hugh Hewitt, but whose writing has suffered under the style guidelines at the Weekly Standard, managed to sum up in a few words:

"John McCain is who he is. John McCain also pretty much sewed up the nomination last night. He won it fair and square. Now conservatives have to decide whether he's preferable to the neo-McGovernism that's likely to emerge from the Democratic party. At a time of war, it should be an easy decision."

That pretty much distills it to its essence, today at least. On the basis that the main issue is defeating Islamofascism, and it is, this really should be a no-brainer, even if the apparent standard bearer happens to be an irascible jerk.  Patriots from every corner of the big tent can unite around the theme, if not the candidate.

George Will reminds us that the McCain resurgence began the day Benizir Bhutto was assassinated.  Given poll results this would have to mean that moderates are more in line with McCain than Democrats on the war.  If that is the case then the strategy becomes pretty straightforward - - merciless and persistent attacks on Democrats as weak on security with a fundamentally naive, or no grasp of, the threat we are facing.  God knows there's a plethora of material to support that argument.  The rub is, for this to work McCain will have to get even nastier toward his liberal friends than he has been with his conservative enemies.  Now there's a flop I wouldn't mind seeing.    

If he can pull this off party unity will take care of itself and he might even have a shot of winning both the election and the war.  My primary vote is still going to Romney but I'll be keeping a sharp eye on Scar.  De Tocqueville said nothing unites a movement better than a common enemy.  If Scar can shift the debate back to Islamofascism while painting the Democrats as their accomplices he has a chance.

UPDATE: just heard a snippet of Rush over lunch and he talked about a press conference with McCain wherein he touted his ability to "reach across the aisle" to get things done, while pointing to Reagan as his example.  That pretty much goes dead straight against my hopes of MCain alienating Democrats as a means to victory and party unity.  It doesn't take much to set Rush off these days but that seemed to do the trick.  Per Rush, paraphrasing, the only time Reagan reached across the aisle was to slap them into submission.  The first question Rush poses is since when has reaching across the aisle in and of itself become a measure of success?  If McCain counts reaching across the aisle to pass McCain Feingold, Kennedy McCain, McCain Leiberman, as successes then he is woefully out of touch.  The other great question is, did McCain ever experience a similar bipartisan "success" that actually favored rather than compromised conservative principles?  Didn't think so.  Is there any doubt why he got the New York Times endorsement?