What needs to be done

As Obama and Clinton continue to duke it out for the Democrat nomination, John McCain now needs to turn all of his attention to the upcoming general election. Having secured the nomination early allows McCain time to work on a number of critical issues if he is going to win the White House. The first thing McCain need to figure out is what to do with current President George W. Bush. Obviously, you do not want Bush campaigning and making speeches on your behalf since he is so unpopular, but Bush can be instrumental in fund-raising, especially among conservatives, for McCain. Secondly, McCain needs to energize the conservatives in the party which is easier said than done. While he has made in-roads with conservatives these past few weeks, it will take a lot more rhetoric and hand-holding before conservatives buy into McCain. Third, develop a strategy to win the necessary 270 electoral votes to win the White House. As Common Sense reported yesterday, the Republicans have 216 electoral votes if the election was held today. If McCain wins all of the states Bush did in 2004, he obviously wins the White House. Unfortunately, that calculus included Ohio which is now leaning Democrat. If McCain does not win Ohio, he'll need to cobble together 20 electoral votes from some where else, which is a difficult task at the moment. Fourth, McCain needs to begin the search for vice president. Common Sense has blogged several times on this topic. The latest entry is Senator Kay Bailey-Hutchison of Texas who has a better conservative score than McCain does. Perhaps this is the bone that McCain throws conservatives in order to woo their vote. Lastly, McCain needs to fine-tune his general election message to convice conservative Democrats, independents, and conservative Republicans why he should be the next president. Obviously, drawing contrasts with Obama on experience and Clinton on the fundamental role of government.