Are Clinton and McCain Too Much the Same?

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Barack Obama recently accused Hillary Clinton of holding views on issues that were quite similar to those of John McCain.

While she didn’t appreciate the suggestion, Obama was on to something. But it’s not what you might think.

Clinton and McCain do have some similar political views. But the real issue they have in common is that some voters in each of their parties are so put off that they have vowed to vote for the "other" candidate, should they win their respective party nominations.

Conservative Republicans have complained that McCain is too liberal for their tastes, and in fact McCain bristled at the label when it was lobbed his way by Mitt Romney. And while McCain has said publicly that he is the Republican candidate who can facilitate a working relationship with the Democrats, some have taken that to mean that he might actually…work with the Democrats!

For her part, liberal Democrats are not particularly fond of Clinton, either. They see her as far too mainstream and conservative. In addition, she is seen as far too politically self-conscious, playing for effect in her campaign rather than revealing substance.

Both have been criticized as not being representative of their parties, and too similar to each other. It is true that they hold similar opinions on immigration, campaign finance reform, global warming, a patient’s bill of rights. But they do differ in many other areas, such as same sex marriage, the Iraq war, healthcare, and taxes.

What would happen if these are the two candidates running for President? Bill Clinton himself has said the race might be a yawner. "She and John McCain are very close," said former President Clinton at a campaign rally in South Carolina. "They always laughed that if they wound up being the nominees of their party, it would be the most civilized election in American history, and they’re afraid they’d put the voters to sleep because they like and respect each other."

And while it’s nice that everybody’s so friendly, the election would be interesting if for no other reason than voters are so steamed about not being represented that they’re vowing to vote against their own party.

Several recent polls have reported that if Barack Obama and John McCain were running for President, Obama would win by a margin of 48% to 41%, whereas a McCain-Clinton race would be a virtual tie, at 46% each. Some political pundits have said the race would be so close between the two for the reasons stated above: they’re too similar and they’ve alienated portions of their own respective parties.

One advantage McCain is said to have is that, in the case of a close race, he is the more likable of the two candidates.

But not to everyone in his party. Ann Coulter, conservative author and media attention magnet, has publicly vowed to support Hillary Clinton if McCain is the Republican Party’s candidate, which it now seems all but decided that he is. Coulter said that she would actively campaign for Clinton because "She’s more conservative than he is. Plus, she’s smarter."

Added Coulter to reporters, "We’re imperiled by both of them, but I think Hillary presents fewer risks."

Coulter claims that Clinton would be tougher on terrorists and that based on his voting record, McCain is essentially a liberal.

And while no-one quite so out there on the other side has defiantly stated that he or she would choose McCain over Clinton, there have definitely been murmurs of that on the blogosphere.

Obama’s overwhelming successes of late may have made the discussion moot, but just in case, we can entertain the idea that a matchup between Clinton and McCain would be anything but boring.