On the rise
John McCain, considered by some to be a mere footnote in this presidential race, is making a comeback. And what a comeback it is. After the general populace got over his strong stances on topics such as pork and immigration, he is now being viewed as a gentle moderate. In short, the electable choice on the side of the elephants.
According to a recent report, McCain goes head to head with the leader of the dems (Hilary) better than any other republican candidate. The report (here) goes on:

Pollsters say that is no accident, and if Republicans who head to the polls really do make electability a priority, then swallowing doubts about the maverick would give them the best shot at winning the White House.

Dodging the bullet
McCain recently angered a Clemson University professor when he refused to answer a question about whether a person who researchers 9/11 is, in his book, a terrorist. Nevermind that this is a ridiculous question that many would have trouble answering (yes, and criminologists are by definition criminals, zoologists are...let's just stop this).
Instead of telling the professor, Mr. Brent Igo, no, you are not a terrorist, McCain commented on his clothing sense. Mr. Igo's choice of a brown blazer and pink undershirt, while somewhat comical, were not what the prof had come to discuss.

"I wasn't expecting that. I expected something cruel — not personally cruel," Igo said. "I'm not satisfied with his response at all. He didn't answer my question. I gave him three chances. He refused to tell me I am not a terrorist."

New Commercial
I happened to see a new John McCain commercial on tv the other day. Usually I throw up a little in my mouth when I see or hear political ads. The typical flag waving, the blue plastered everywhere, the immaculate candidate holding a baby and smiling at something hidden from our view. The ubiquitous approval that we dearly needed because we would fail to be swayed had the message not been stamped for authenticity by the candidate him/herself.

But this one was different. Take a look.
In it, McCain celebrates his maverick reputation, and spins it into a good thing. He has the courage to say and do what he feels is right. And sometimes, that angers people. But it doesn't intimidate him. Good stuff.

Keep your stick on the ice.

Pretty interesting article in the Chicago Tribune regarding McCain's age. The author argues that politics nowadays are too polite; for some reason opponents are neglecting to go down the path of age attacks.
Steve Chapman writes:

If elected, he would be the oldest person ever to enter the office. Ronald Reagan was 69 when he was inaugurated, nearly 2 1/2 years younger than McCain will be on Jan. 20, 2009. If he served two full terms, McCain would leave the White House at the age of 80.

For some reason, Chapman never stops to speculate that perhaps the reason McCain's opponents haven't yet resorted to particularly nasty and personal attacks is because, for now anyway, they are not necessary. To beat an opponent without slinging mud is always to come out cleaner in the end.

***

Meantime, a new poll out today suggests that McCain may be regaining popularity. The poll (here) shows McCain rise from having 11% to 15% of likely republican voter support, placing him third in front of Mitt Romney.

On Tuesday, Presidential hopeful John McCain found out that he is not safe, even in a high school environment. Speaking to a crowd of Concord High students in New Hampshire, McCain was confronted by a student with an axe to grind.
William Sleaster, who, I think it is safe to say, has achieved his "fifteen minutes", did not take kindly to McCain's views, specifically those regarding gay rights. Sleaster, a professed bisexual, immediately became famous when he uttered the words, "I came here to see a good leader. I don't", directly to McCain. View the clip here.

Pretty compelling stuff.
****
In other news, the Trail, a blog created by the Washington Post, has posted an interesting analysis of where McCain's camp may be going. In what can only be interpreted as a slightly optimistic piece swimming in a sea of negativity, the article argues effectively that McCain needs to emphasize that he has been "right all along" on the war; that he criticized President Bush two years ago for failing to plan adequately, calling for more troops, and has not been given the credit he deserves for proposing the "new" plan that seems to be working--for now. Read the article here.

Several news outlets are reporting that for McCain, it is President or Bust.

The new news is that McCain, floundering in the presidential polls, is not even the favorite politician in his home state. A new poll, conducted in Arizona, has the democratic Governor, Janet Napolitano, beating McCain in a potential race. Both policitician's terms end in 2010. The Arizona Republic reports:

The poll says that Napolitano, a Democrat, would defeat Arizona's senior U.S. senator by 11 percentage points, 47 percent to 36 percent, if the two were running for the Senate today. Seventeen percent of respondents were undecided, according to the poll of 629 Arizona voters conducted by the nonpartisan Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center.

Anne Applebaum has written a fantastic piece analyzing the election process thus far. Everything is not as one would have guessed it would be at this time. She notes that considering all the disdain for the republican party, democrats should win without trouble. Yet, the two frontrunners, Hillary and Obama, are unelectable.

And John McCain, on the outside, is the perfect choice for the republican nomination. But he is fading badly. She writes:

By any normal reckoning, the candidate should be Senator John McCain. Fantastically well-versed in foreign affairs, adored by the Washington press corps, with a war-hero biography and a long political career, McCain is nevertheless faltering, badly. He's thought too old - he's 70 - as well as too unwell, with a history of war injuries and skin cancer.

Far more importantly, his party's deep-pocketed funders aren't giving him any money. It seems that his long reputation as a moderate, even a maverick, willing to disagree with the party elders (and the religious Right) in public has come back to haunt him. His campaign is broke.

Her piece illustrates all that is great about this American election process. You just never know. And, as they say, "that's why they play the game".

Several news outlets are reporting that for McCain, it is President or Bust.

The new news is that McCain, floundering in the presidential polls, is not even the favorite politician in his home state. A new poll, conducted in Arizona, has the democratic Governor, Janet Napolitano, beating McCain in a potential race. Both policitician's terms end in 2010. The Arizona Republic reports:

The poll says that Napolitano, a Democrat, would defeat Arizona's senior U.S. senator by 11 percentage points, 47 percent to 36 percent, if the two were running for the Senate today. Seventeen percent of respondents were undecided, according to the poll of 629 Arizona voters conducted by the nonpartisan Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center.

Read the full article here.

Anne Applebaum has written a fantastic piece analyzing the election process thus far. Everything is not as one would have guessed it would be at this time. She notes that considering all the disdain for the republican party, democrats should win without trouble. Yet, the two frontrunners, Hillary and Obama, are unelectable.

And John McCain, on the outside, is the perfect choice for the republican nomination. But he is fading badly. She writes:

By any normal reckoning, the candidate should be Senator John McCain. Fantastically well-versed in foreign affairs, adored by the Washington press corps, with a war-hero biography and a long political career, McCain is nevertheless faltering, badly. He's thought too old - he's 70 - as well as too unwell, with a history of war injuries and skin cancer. Far more importantly, his party's deep-pocketed funders aren't giving him any money. It seems that his long reputation as a moderate, even a maverick, willing to disagree with the party elders (and the religious Right) in public has come back to haunt him. His campaign is broke.

Read the full article here

Her piece illustrates all that is great about this American election process. You just never know. And, as they say, "that's why they play the game".

A morbid title to an otherwise amicable column. I try to keep the McCain postings as upbeat and fresh as possible, but that has taken some doing of late. A quick bit of research on the latest goings-on in the french-fry camp shows why.

Google John McCain and click the "news" tab. What do you see? Ten stories about McCain, compiled from various internet sources and newspapers. Seven overwhelmingly negative in their descriptions of McCain's dwindling hopes. One posting from the New York Sun describes a story about receiving a plea for a two dollar donation for every year John McCain has been alive--to celebrate his upcoming (the 26th) birthday. The post is entitled the "McCain Death Watch".

Upon reading the article (here) I realized the title referred to his age. Forgive me though, in light of the other stories on Google's News page, for thinking that the "Death Watch" referred to McCain's presidential campaign.

What else do we see on Google? Well, go here to read about how McCain has "angered" conservatives with his positions on immigration. (Ten bucks says no more than two people click that link--it's getting tired, no?)

Click here to read about how McCain trails Clinton in a latest poll.

Click here to read about how McCain may be losing the independent voter in NH.

There's more, but you get the picture.

And, thankfully, there is a point to this tirade. The overwhelmingly negative press John McCain is getting right about now is not good for his campaign, nor for any hopes he has of making a comeback. The difficulty I am having with digging up any positive news means that it is even less likely that the casual news consumer is "getting any".

And that means that Team McCain is not responding, not defending (or offending, for that matter) to the blitz of negativity as is necessary to counteract the message that is being conveyed. We saw it happen with John Kerry three years ago. Let the other side define you, and you will not come out smelling like a rose.

John McCain is not dead yet. His campaign, that is.

According to ABCNews, comments made by two Republican presidential hopefuls translates into a possible future tag-team.

Fmr New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani mentioned that he would support John McCain were he himself not trying to fill the same want-ad. To ABC, this may suggest that the two would be a great Prez/vice-Prez match. Read the article here.

In other McCain news, the presidential hopeful showed up on Face the Nation this week. There, he reiterated his basic (if not controversial) stances. He also threw in an "I know what's right for America" line that caught a few headlines.

Unfortunately, it sounded all too defensive. And playing defense this early in the game makes it difficult for your team to score points--points Team McCain desperately need.

Remember, keep your stick on the ice. We're all in this together.

Isn't it ironic that this country was founded on...immigration? I know, that is a canned phrase, used by lefties pushing some crazy agenda. But it is also true. Cultural diversity has never been a burden to those with open minds and hearts. Cultural diversity offers a type of education that is not available in schools alone. It brings in new ideas, new technologies, new opportunities to this country.

But for some reason, segments of America have not been able to see that. Historically, we have been resistant to allowing those who do not look like us share a piece of the pie. Why? Is it that we feel threatened? Do we truly think that those from "away" are dangerous, that they will hurt us, take away our jobs, our language, our livelihoods?

It is interesting how history always repeats itself. From the "know-nothings" of the mid-1800s, who opposed Catholic immigration into this country enough to form a super-secret society, to the legislators of the 1900s who saw fit to limit immigration to a dwindle when the "wrong" types of people started coming.

And with all the progress made over the course of the 20th century, the steps toward tolerance, we still fear people who are not clones of ourselves.

I write this with sadness because of the speech I read today that John McCain gave in Colorado. He has, as some of you have likely noted, changed his tone on immigration. We now learn that the heat he took from the American public might have had something to do with that.
In his speech, McCain said:

“I have never seen an issue that has inflamed the passions of the American people the way the issue of immigration reform has, ever, including Iraq. I have never heard such rhetoric. We have never received death threats before like I received”

And in doing some research on this speech, I find that "Americans" are outraged enough to post the following comments in a blog discussing the death threats at the freerepublic.com:

"Really John? Is it really unbelievable that Americans don’t want it taken over by illegals?", one blogger said.

According to another:

"Politicians are selling our sovereignty for their own political and financial gain, and then they are in awe and wonderment that many citizens are irate.
Sometimes it seems the politicians just go insane when they get elected."

Finally, perhaps the most ridiculous of all, is a post by "Sheana":

"Let me see if I can find some sympathy for poor John McCain. Nope, he is not dead like those poor kids in Newark. Their blood is on his hands."

Wow. Did you know that about 80% of people arrested for a violent crime are male? And 9/10 individuals incarcerated in correctional facilities are male? Yet, I advocate having males in this country. My hands, strangely enough, are clean.

Immigration is a touchy subject. Hard to defend illegal behavior. But, we should recognize that McCain's solution does not involve amnesty for law breakers. What he proposes is to diffuse a touchy and as of now unstable situation. To do nothing, to increase "border patrol", isn't going to solve our problems.

We need to think with our minds and not our hearts.

Presidential hopeful John McCain is understandably taking criticism for his absence in Iowa this week. Some have taken this as an indication that he is throwing in the towel.

Yet, all along he has said that he places no merit or worth in straw poles.

So, what has McCain been up to? Heading to South Carolina, traveling with the common folks aboard a public airline. According to a Reuters article (here), McCain is hedging his bets with small locales, in the "early voting states" of New Hampshire (where I currently am) and South Carolina.

Yesterday, McCain appeared on the always entertaining Bill O'Reilly show. Predictably, the two chatted about immigration (McCain is now stressing that he wants border security) and the war in Iraq. McCain, to his possible detriment, continues to argue that the US is winning, despite any clear markers of what that means.

We're winning. It's not success; we're winning. And that's the facts on the ground.

And for four years, I have railed against the failed policy orchestrated by Donald Rumsfeld, and Americans are frustrated and saddened and angered. And again, a credibility problem because of things like "mission accomplished", "last throes", "few dead-enders", et cetera. In fact, when you look at it over time, the patience of the American people was quite good.

Now we have a strategy that's winning. What ought to give it a chance to win. Will — is the political situation? Yes. As you say, on the ground the political situation is improving in a lot of areas. I believe that the Maliki government must be told. And I call on them to act in a more inclusive and effective fashion.

I don't know but they've lost sight of the fact that president's don't lose wars and parties don't lose wars. Nations lose wars.

John McCain appeared on the "Today" show this morning. All told, it was a positive interview, with McCain answering questions with the honesty and straightforwardness that we have all come to expect. When Matt Lauer asked him if he would peek at his daughters diary, given the chance, he showed no lack of certainty at what could have been a loaded question:

“I would and I’d tell her I read it. Parents should know what our children are doing. We tell our children that. We need to know as parents what our children are doing."

Please see full article here (includes video of the interview).

[Written by Mike. Posted by Phil]

McCain gaining ground

A Rasmussen report has John McCain only two percentage points behind Senator Clinton in a head to head poll, and tied with Barak Obama. See the story here.

Mark your calendars

McCain is set to appear on the "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on August 16.

That's it for now. Remember, keep your stick on the ice; we're all in this together (This, for those of you not familiar with the great North, is a hockey phrase, and a tag line coined by the great Red Green, the Canadian comic whose show appears regularly on PBS in Maine).

Does anyone else think that McCain's website logo looks awfully familiar? It strikes me every time I visit his site that I have been redirected to the french fry company of the same designation. (McCain for President vs. McCain Foods Unlimited).

On a more serious note, McCain today emphasized his views on one of his strongest (and most uncontroversial) topics--pork. In Iowa today, he said:

"I think it's important to point out that in the last transportation bill was a $50 billion piece of legislation. Two billion of it was earmarked pork barrel projects."

This subject is one that most can agree upon; too much fat goes into the bills written in Congress. It is an understandable situation for individuals who all have a say in whether a particular bill flies or dies, and who see a clear opportunity to "make good" with their constituency. Nonetheless, it is infuriating for someone from Michigan to have to pay for a pet project of some Senator from Texas.

This is pretty cool

Greetings all!

Life has gotten in the way of my updates of late, but here again with another installment of "How the (McCain) World Turns", I bring to you what is new in the John McCain camp.

As many of you know, a presidential hopeful debate took place yesterday morning. Not much to report from that event; I'm told that the countless previous debates pretty much told you all you need to know. McCain appeared to be on the aggressive concerning his war stance--it is "do or die" time, and he is doing or dying with that issue.

The Economist, in a well-thought out piece, characterizes McCain's campaign as "desperate". Yet, because of his "lackluster" opponents on the elephant side of the aisle, he still has a chance.

It is time for Mr McCain to get the change bucket out. Enthusiasm among Republican voters for their candidates is low: it will not take much for support to switch. If Mr Thompson fails to deliver, if a stop-Giuliani movement materialises, if Mr Romney stumbles in Iowa, then Mr McCain could yet make a comeback.

On Saturday, the Washington Post, one of my favorite pubs, reported that McCain is now blaming the Congress (which would, incidentally, include himself) for the bridge disaster in Minnesota last week. I cannot agree with this assessment. True, Congress could have doled out more moula for various public works projects across the country, but this solution begs the question: how in the world can we pay for all the failing bridges in America? In Maine, where I currently reside, a governor's report last week told us that 30% of our 3,800 bridges are "structurally deficient", as was the Minnesota bridge. This tragic disaster was just that, tragic. But monday morning quarterbacking amounts to little more than "coulda, woulda, shoulda" (but never really woulda if this hadn't happened).

And finally, Brit Hume of Fox News tells us that McCain has changed his stance on immigration (story here). According to Hume, he has toned down some of his suggestions, backing a bill that does not mention the guest worker program. Nonetheless, McCain's wording suggested that he may still "go there" down the road.

Side Notes:

Please feel free to comment on these pieces (positive and negative); it lets me know there are still interested McCainnites out there.

Keep your stick on the ice; We're all in this together.

AS you can see by the dates of previous entries the Poli report gave up on McCain back during the horrible Immigration bill fiasco. The last post was from May and then McCain came back with such low fundraising numbers. McCain certainly could have been saved by a rich donor but as I thought and as many others stated since then ironically his own rules kept that from happening in his time of need. It's been a painful experience to watch his campaign slowly faily apart.

It's become a painful site to see for the highly successful and famous Senator.

Since Mr. McCain accepted the resignations of former campaign manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver two weeks ago, and put Mr. Davis in charge, more than a dozen senior staffers have left from the headquarters in northern Virginia as well as state offices in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina -- all states with early nominating contests. Several fund-raisers have cut their ties to the campaign, which reported a debt at the end of the second quarter.

Now an article from WSJ revealed more bad news.

Political ad-makers Russ Schriefer and Stuart Stevens, veterans of President Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns, on Monday emailed the new campaign manager -- lobbyist and longtime McCain adviser Rick Davis -- to say that they were quitting. The two men told friends they had considered leaving for days, as they hadn't been paid and the campaign's financial straits raised questions of when and how much they would be.

I feel like I'm watching someone pull the legs of a spider one by one while it tries to crawl
across its web.

Senator McCain recently expressed public dissaproval for the votes made by Senator Obama and Senator Clinton on the Iraq war spending and time tables.

I think this is a good move, someone needs to remind the public that even though Clinton supported the war in the beginning, she has the toughest policy on the war. In other words, things only get more wussy from there... I'm not sure why McCain is attacking the Democrats now, when he still needs to get past the primary.

Maybe to avoid hurting the Right and making potential supporters mad??? It shouldn't be long before things turn back to the GOP as the contenders need to remove their opponents.

WHAT THE F?- Sigh. I hate to have to start out the update with this, but apparently it is news to some (who find that there is nothing of any consequence that interests them). According to the New York Post, in an exchange with Texas Senator John Cornyn, McCain dropped the F-bomb. It isn't surprising, nor is it particularly interesting when one considers the touch and go relationship McCain has had with other politicians (from both sides of the great divide) due in large part to his stances which have earned him the "Maverick" title. Read more about McCain's "event" here and about his temper here.

NEW POLL- For what it is worth, a new poll from Iowa has McCain trailing Romney by 12 points. An interesting twist to the norm, but one that must be taken with some caution, considering for those voting for the Dems, John Edwards came out on top. (Story here). I might want to check out the error margin there and perhaps the sampling strategy...but who knows?

MCCAIN AND IMMIGRATION- Finally, and related to the Senate floor F-bomb fiat, some are criticizing McCain's support of the new immigration bill (see story here). But, as one Fox news analyst argues, this issue is far from black or white (or, rather, blue or red). It is as complex as one of those "algorithm" thingy's that guy from NUMB3RS puts up on the chalk board every friday night. Being angry at those who break our laws is certainly justified. But, it's hard to get that angry thinking about a Mom trying to feed her kids, who does what anyone would, given the circumstances. So, do we punish the children? Or do we punish those who follow the lawful path to citizenship? We can't have it both ways. This bill tries, and for that it is to be commended. But for that, also, it will ultimately fail.

Nonetheless, at least McCain is doing as he should be doing--legislating. He is reaching across the isle, he is seeing issues that need to be resolved and he is trying to do something about them. Isn't that what we want in a representative? In a commander? I think so.

Today at 6:00 pm the U.S. Senate reached an agreement on the so called 'Amnesty Bill'. Otherwise known as McCain-Kennedy and referred to by Mitt Romney in the debate on Tuesday night.

This bill treats our own government like it was helpless and inept. Oh, well, maybe that's the message, that the U.S. Government is so uselss it can't even manage the job of deporting illegal aliens. This bill would allow many illegal immigrants to stay in this country and apply for a special visa called the Z-visa. In the long run though many of these immigrants would end up neither citizens nor guests which is bad for everyone.

Senator Jon Kyl was just on Hannity and Colmes and he did confirm that the bill does offer amnesty. This bill could hit Senator McCain hard since the bill seems to treat the immigration issue as if the U.S. had no control over the problem.It's exactly as if the U.S. Government didn't have the right to simply deport these illegal people. It's really weird, the bill offers amnesty with a variety of easily removed restrictions. I really just don't get it, and apparently I'm not alone.

I know the Democrats have been fired up by the Hollywood contingent on this issue. I say that because everyone from Newsweek, to Cosmopolitan, US Weekly has covered the fact that Adrienne Shelly was killed by a mexican illegal(keyword illegal) immigrant last Fall. Shelly was a well respected Hollywood actress and director, with a family, living in New York when she was murdered. Right now, her last project Waitress is being released and I have heard the movie is good. Every time the movie comes up in the media though so does her death.

Anyways, her death fired up many people in that community on the issue of managing illegal immigrants...And then there are the Republicans.

The Republican party has been debating about the issue with fence debates to things like this bill for over a year. It's true that the Republicans have been worried about alienating hispanic voters by not being 'fair' enough. And there has definitely been pressure from the business lobbyists to keep the illegals here for work. It makes the Republican party look sketchy for rushing the bill and Sen. McCain will probably pay for sponsoring this bill with his campaign for President.

It will most certainly weaken him when it comes to the next debate.

First off, I'd like to commend Fox News on organizing and moderating this debate. The format, questions, and moderating were much better than the debate on MSNBC earlier this month.

Now to the good stuff...it became very clear in this debate that there are some candidates who have the vision, gravitas, and experience necessary to be the president while there are some candidates who need to bow out and help the GOP in other areas. Once again, there wasn't any major shake ups amongst the 3 top tier candidates. I do think that Gov. Huckabee has emerged from the lesser known candidates as a possible dark horse, or at least someone who can secure the VP spot if he plays his cards right. He was very impressive in last night's debate. I also noted in the live commentary that I've been impressed with Duncan Hunter, but I think the GOP would be better served if he either stayed in the House or tried to make a run for the Senate.

Though Giuliani had the best soundbite from last night by calling out Ron Paul on his outrageous assertion that we brought 9/11 on ourselves, the top tier candidate with the best overall performance in the debate was John McCain, hands down. He showed that he is the best candidate under the current circumstances because of his experience and knowledge. There are so many praises from the politicos out there that it would be impossible to put them all up here but here are a few of the highlights...

National Journal's Marc Ambinder: "[I]n my judgment, John McCain convincingly and incontrovertibly won tonight's debate. He was strong, confident, answered tough questions with ease and dispatch, and seemed the most presidential." (Marc Ambinder, National Journal's Hotline "On Call" Blog, "Pre-Spin Room Thoughts: McCain, Rudy, Romney," hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com, 5/15/07)

Former Secretary Of State Bill Jones (R-CA):"Last night, the best messenger on stage for the party of Reagan was clearly John McCain. His steadfast commitment to conservative principles and the defense of traditional values is what our party needs in its next standard-bearer, and his peerless experience in public service is what our country needs in its next President. ... Last night's debate also found John McCain in his comfort zone railing against excessive spending in Washington." (Bill Jones, "Flash Report" Blog, "John McCain Will Do What Is Right For America," www.flashreport.org, 5/16/07)

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC): "John was passionate last night, he looked like a guy that could become president on day one with no learning curve. But more importantly, he's exactly where he's been his entire life on the issues. John McCain was very genuine and it was from the heart last night, and a year from now, he's going to be in the same position on those issues." (Fox News' "Fox And Friends," 5/16/07)

For more commentary on Sen. McCain's debate performance, go here http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/PressReleases/Read.aspx?guid=5c11e34b-312c-4e91-8571-e113f30b6762

The latest national CNN poll conducted May 6-7 shows the race for the GOP nomination has tightened up. Giuliani's lead, which has been slipping since March, is now within the margin of error over Sen. McCain. In this poll of registered Republicans, Giuliani came in at 25% while McCain is right behind with 23%.

Speculation that Fred Thompson might toss his name into the ring for the nomination has cut into Giuliani's numbers, as Thompson came in third in this poll with 13%.

To see the full poll results go here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/05/07/schneider.2008.polls/index.html