Sen. John McCain may have lost the 2008 presidential election in a landslide, but it was in the face of a historic campaign by Barrack Obama who sought to become the nation’s first Black president. For what it’s worth, McCain drew out votes well above what his predecessors had done. Now, the veteran Senator is urging his long-time ally Lindsey Graham to run for the office of president.
There is no doubt that Sen. McCain does not view Washington gridlock favorably. Lindsey Graham has been a part of McCain’s much touted “gang of” agreements where a bipartisan group of Senators formed coalitions to thwart what they believed were directions not in the best interest of the nation. In some cases, the “gang of” coalitions were formed to promote legislation that was otherwise stymied by Senate cloture rules.
McCain’s first “gang of” agreement came at the time the GOP was going to revise Senate cloture rules to eliminate Democrat filibusters of President George W. Bush’s judicial nominees. Since that time, Sen. Graham has adopted the practice and used it to arrive at “gang of” coalitions of his own. It should be noted the “gang of” moves have rankled conservatives within the party. Graham also supports amnesty.
This would boost his candidacy among the segment of the Hispanic population that supports granting illegal aliens legal status. However, Graham lacks a political war chest and the support of the conservative base. Nor has he indicated he is seriously considering the enormous undertaking of seeking the nomination. At most, Graham has said that if no one else were seeking the nomination, he would join the race.