Just below the fold of Sunday's
Arizona Republic front page
, I was asked the rhetorical question,
"2008: Will it be McCain?" It was the center-piece of a pages-long love fest from McCain's hometown paper.
One can only hope that the fact that the
Republic was echoing some of
what I've posted here means that they've been reading the blog. However, I doubt it. Frankly the questions asked and the conclusions drawn are obvious to all who know what they ought to be looking for.
With the 2008 presidential election more than three years away, the Arizona Republican is making it clear in nationally prominent ways that a second run for the White House is more than on his mind; it's a distinct possibility that is now in its formative stages.
From there they get on to mentioning the deal with Maverick Media's Mark McKinnon (that I blogged about last Tuesday) and his trip to Michigan that I blogged on Friday. Again, it's all obvious to those who know where to look.
The majority of the piece consists of unbridled adulation of Senator Maverick, er, McCain. Many a paragraph devoted to his recent good publicity, his efforts at lining up support in important states to the near-sycophantic loyalty on the part of some supporters. This
Marshall Whittmann quote takes the cake:
"I'd walk over a field of broken glass for Senator McCain," Wittmann said. "One thing that transcends party loyalty is my admiration for John McCain."
The only interruption in all this fawning comes in a short section titled
Fences still to Mend. Here the
Republic takes a few paragraphs to examine the Senator's relationship with the rest of us Republicans:
But although McCain's political independence and bipartisan slant on such issues as campaign finance, judicial filibusters and global warming continue to help him achieve high marks in polling that includes independents and Democrats, his popularity ratings slip when only Republicans are asked about him. For example, the Marist poll revealed that just one out of five (20 percent) GOP members preferred McCain among a field of lesser-known potential GOP candidates, putting him second behind former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (27 percent), who is much more moderate than McCain on some social issues.Mark, the Campaigns & Elections Magazine editor, and some party members, including South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson, say this is a reflection of how McCain continues to "grate" on the nerves of many of the party's more conservative members. McCain may be anti-abortion, pro-family, fiscally conservative and strong on defense.He may argue that he has since mended some fences with conservatives through his adamant support of the Iraq war, or by his pitch for Bush with a speech at the Republican National Convention in New York. But Dawson said Republicans in South Carolina aren't convinced.McCain's teaming with Democrats last month in a compromise over Bush's judicial nominees helped to rekindle their mistrust, Dawson said. Then, there has been McCain's constant criticism of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, his refusal to quickly put an end to speculation about possibly being Kerry's running mate last year, and his push for new campaign-finance rules that "have put the handcuffs on state parties," Dawson said."To fire up the old Straight Talk Express down here now will take a lot of work," Dawson said, referring to McCain's 2000 campaign bus. "Quite frankly, I don't know how he recharges it."But Quinn, McCain's 2000 South Carolina media consultant, says his recent polling in South Carolina indicates that the senator now has approval ratings as high as 68 percent among Republicans in the state. And New York-based pollster John Zogby, who says he has talked "informally" to McCain contacts, says that McCain now does "reasonably well" among conservatives across the country.Now it's possible I and my colleagues in the
anti-McCain alliance are the minority and have misread conservatives badly on this point. It's of course also possible that I might win the lottery this week, but highly unlikely.
Given my twenty-years as a conservative voter, along with my burgeoning understanding of political dynamics in the Republican party I tend to doubt that the anti-McCainiacs are off base here. Just as I doubt that I'll be $10 million dollars richer by this time next week.
The senator's bona-fides are questioned by many a conservative. While appealing to conservatives desire for strong defense, budgetary constraints and the likes
are conservative positions and things we like to see, the larger question is that of Senator McCain's loyalty to his party and it's voters, clear and simple. Answering that takes more than allusions to last year's campaign (Especially in light of
this as reported elsewhere by the
Republic).
When you're having to overcome the anger or ambivalence created by
this, it takes more than sound bites. And right now, that's all we're getting. What we need are some actions from which we can draw conclusions.
And that will only come over time. As we wait for additional data points, let us not forget what we already know; Senator McCain when the chips are down is just as likely to follow his own best interest as his party's.
Additionally, here are links to the
other pieces of this love-fest.
