The 2008 general election will be about issues, and abortion will resurface as an issue this fall.
Right now, McCain’s “maverick” reputation is causing many to think he’s a moderate on many issues. That is not the case, and the misperceptions are significant when it comes to abortion.
What John McCain really stands for came up most recently in light of his position on abortion. Planned Parenthood commissioned a survey showing that more than half of those women polled don’t know much about McCain’s stance, and a quarter of those who are in favor of keeping abortion legal mistakenly think the senator agrees.
These misperceptions will be corrected by November. Writers like Anna Quindlen are talking about it, and it will certainly come up in the campaign. McCain has been a favorite of many independents, but that was when he was running against Bush. Now that he faces a general election in a tough year for Republicans, his abortion stances are likely to hurt him with independents and some moderate Republicans.
