Johnny Has Some Fences to Mend

Sitting at my desk back in Jefferson City I have the chance to reflect on this past weekend's Republican Lincoln Days activities in Springfield. To say news was made this weekend would be an understatement. After all, Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder withdrew from the race for Governor - and Friday's surprise announcement was hard to top.

What was equally important, I think, was the announcement that was not made. I attended the weekend event with hopes of gauging GOP opinion on John McCain's all but certain clinch on the Republican presidential nomination.  Granted, the evidence is anecdotal, but if reaction to the returns from Saturday's primaries and caucuses are any indication of how Missouri Republicans feel about the maverick from Arizona, said Maverick has some fences to mend.

While people were enjoying themselves with tasty food and beverages during Saturday's socializing in the hospitality suites, folks were also paying attention to the TVs (tuned to Fox, of course) in each suite to follow the returns. Each time the numbers were updated and Mike Huckabee either gained ground on or moved further ahead of McCain, I saw smiles coming across the faces of some of the attendees.

I asked a number of these people, in a social "not for attribution" kind of way, how they feel about the prospects of John McCain at the top of the ticket in November. Some said they expect they'll vote for whomever wins the nomination. Others held back, saying they want to see who McCain chooses as his running mate ... and went so far as to suggest it had better be someone with conservative credentials.

Again ... it's only anecdotal ... but the sense I got from Missouri Republicans this weekend is that they don't really mind McCain being a maverick ... but they're pretty upset with a guy thinking that being a maverick means it's okay to poke members of your own team in their eyes with a stick.

- Steve Walsh