Does John McCain appeal to a wider audience than rest of Republicans?

Rudy Guliani might only win primaries in the north east because he is the most liberal candidate support gay marriages, abortion, and gun control. Mike Huckabee only wins votes from evangelicals. Mitt Romney is mormon and will have some problems getting votes from christian. John McCain is only war veteran, he is moderate on social issues which gets him votes from independents and conservative democrats, he is also most experienced politician in the election.

Public Comments

1. He will win the presidency. This guy is not a flip flop...He's straighter than straight whether you like him or not. And, ofcourse, a true veteran. He also attracts votes from either party.
2. Yes, he has a conservative approach that is balanced by common sense and compromise where necessary. That appeals to a much wider audience than Republicans (or Democrats for that matter) who refuse to compromise to get things done. Take immigration for example: How many more illegals do we have in the country today because Congress refused the Bush/McCain/Kennedy (Conservative/Moderate/Liberal) compromise bill last year. (Doing something would have been better than doing nothing, and John McCain recognized that). Does anyone honestly think illegal immigration is less of a problem today because we are did nothing last year? Also, his pledge to stop waste in Washington is a noble goal as well, given the enormous amount of waste currently. He is the only politician I actually believe when he says he will use his veto to stop wasteful spending. On a side note, the political climate for McCain is as perfect as it possibly could be. If Republicans were popular nationally, he could never win the nomination of his party. If Clinton is the Democratic nominee, the Republican base will come out and support him despite disagreements in some areas. So basically there is only one way McCain could ever be President given his moderate history, and that is if the Republican base is in divided over who they support and the Democrats nominate one of the most divisive polititians in recent history I personally would like to see him get a chance. I think he would do a lot of good for the country, and would not be tied to either extreme wing of the party -- something that can not be said for msot of the other candidates, Republican or Democrat.
3. He appeals to some democrats. He doesn't appeal to me at all because he wants amnesty for illegals.
4. As a Democrat, I viewed McCain as a man that, while I disagreed with his politics, I could still respect him as a man of integrity and principle. Not anymore -- he went from referring to the religious right as "agents of intolerance" to openly courting their votes. That cost him my respect.
5. He will not win. Especially when people wake up and remember his Co-sponsorship of the failed immigration bill.
6. God help us if any of these morons get into the white house!! The only true conservative and Republican with any integrity good enough to run this country and bring it back to being the greatest the world has ever known is RON PAUL!!!!!
7. No. I am a democrat and I like Ron Paul first and Romney second. McCain not at all.
8. This used to be the case. I did have a lot of respect for him. Then he began pandering to pet right wing causes he clearly didn't believe in. I think he'd be a hell of a contender and probably the strongest of all the R's running. However, he does have an age issue and is prone to unbelievable fits of rage. His yelling at staff members is legendary.
9. He doesn't appeal AT ALL to the Republican base. His appeal is to the "middle of the road" uncommitted voters who lean toward the left.
10. Arthur said it. I lost a lot of respect for him when he, a former prisoner of war and torture victim, voted against habeus corpus, just to tow the party line. I guess I wouldn't move to Bolivia if he became prez. The others scare the hell outta me. That's not much but I guess it's something.
11. John McCain has very broad appeal. He's a straight shooter and a bona fide war hero. I'm a Dem, and while I don't agree with him on some issues, depending on who the Dems nomate, he just might get my vote.