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LATEST SUBMISSIONS

McCain down, but don’t count him out

Friday, July 13 at 2:13 PM

By Sue Casey, Denver

The twists and turns of John McCain’s presidential campaign continue. He raised more than $25 million — real money even by 2008 standards — but incomprehensibly spent most of it with little to show for it except for suggestions that his campaign is kaput. On Tuesday, with his second major “shake-up” in three months, most of his top campaign aides have been fired or resigned and he is on the Senate floor once again defending the president’s indefensible plan in Iraq.

Befuddling, to say the least. While money seems to be at the heart of McCain’s travails, following the money does not help make sense of John McCain in 2008. Instead, we must look to John McCain circa 2000. McCain didn’t raise the most money back then either; not even close. He did not have the best organized campaign or the most well-regarded staff. Yet he won the New Hampshire primary and became the candidate to beat.

But in 2000 McCain cut a romantic figure. A cross between John Wayne and the Lone Ranger, campaigning aboard his Straight Talk Express, this seemingly principled man spoke his mind, answered every question, and was fearless. He epitomized the maverick independent spirit and Western heroic character that one meets only in the movies.

And voters fell in love, choosing to forgive him for his too conservative views, or his too-liberal views, depending on which side of the fence the forgiveness needed to come from.

It wasn’t just voters who fell in love, however. Many members of the media did as well.

So when McCain stepped back on the presidential campaign stage a few months ago, his admirers were expecting their romantic hero. Instead they found a candidacy riddled with contradictions and questions. Voters and media alike were left with nostalgia for the old days, or worse, a sense of betrayal.

The coverage of his campaign has reflected this contradiction — deep affection for who they thought he was and deep disappointment in who he might have become, in an almost roller-coaster swing of coverage.

There were glowing stories early, as McCain was preparing to formally enter the race, but by late April the story line changed. McCain’s campaign was in “meltdown,” according to Newsweek magazine. E.J. Dionne declared that we were witnessing the McCain “tragedy.”

Others opined about the “political death watch” surrounding his candidacy, only partially fueled by his anemic fundraising totals.

Just as quickly as reports of his imminent demise appeared, they disappeared and positive articles of him righting the ship, reorganizing, hiring new staff, getting back on the Straight Talk Express became the norm. The John McCain of 2000 was back, supposedly.

Soon enough, the story line changed once again. Certainly his support for the surge, and his fight for immigration reform have cost him support. But his visit to Iraq and his incomprehensible testimony of how safe he felt walking the streets in Iraq (while he was surrounded by an army of protectors) and his musical comedy attempt “Bomb, bomb, bomb — bomb bomb Iran” (to the tune of the Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann) were quickly turned into fodder for late-night comedy, and his candidacy reached an all-time low.

Yet again he seemed to rally, only to see his roller-coaster ride for president hit bottom again, with campaign aides deserting the seemingly sinking ship.

McCain is no stranger to making it through difficult times, and while he is having a rough ride right now, he is not totally deluding himself in thinking that this too will pass.

Money is not and never has been the essence of McCain. Nor is it the central challenge of his campaign. Instead it is about character and whether or not John McCain can persuade voters that he still is that independent heroic figure, a leader of principle and conviction, who earned his moral authority from his service and his courage and his willingness to talk straight in 2000. And that, money can’t buy.

Sue Casey is a former member of the Denver City Council and veteran of five presidential campaigns. In 1987 she authored Hart and Soul: Gary Hart’s New Hampshire Odyssey and Beyond.

READER COMMENTS

He is out, in my book. His stance on illegal immigration was not leadership, it was anti-American. I admire the man for his military service. But he dabbles with the extremist left and that makes me very uncomfortable. I will not vote for Mr. McCain in 2008. At one time he had my vote, but he lost it now and forever.

Posted by Tom on July 17, 2007 09:19 AM