McCain Report

McCain's Appeal: He's Electable

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 17:43:46 -0500

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.

Hmmm. 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.

John McCain is old. But that's not necessarily a bad thing

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:26:34 -0500

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.

Tell us how you really feel

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:10:35 -0500

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.

A Last Hurrah?

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:20:44 -0500

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".

A Last Hurrah?

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 17:20:44 -0500

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".

The Death Watch

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:49:55 -0500

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.

McCain-Giuliani?

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:54:30 -0500

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.

Long History of Nativist Pride Continues

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:38:07 -0500

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.

What's Next for John McCain

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:13:22 -0500

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.

McCain's best response was to O'Reilly's question concerning the reason behind America's "hate" for the war in Iraq:

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.

McCain on Today

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:28:06 -0500

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).

McCain Update

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:38:55 -0500

[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).

French Fries or Presidential Nominee

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:46:08 -0500

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.

The Mitt Mobile

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 20:51:43 -0500

This is pretty cool

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:34:52 -0500

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.

A Slow Death for the McCainiacs

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:27:55 -0500

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.