The Hindu : New Delhi News : John McCain campaign picks up

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Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
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John McCain campaign picks up

Simon Tisdall

— Photo: AP

Making a mark: Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain campaigns in Salem, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.

After Bill Clinton, beset by claims of infidelity, scraped into second place in the 1992 New Hampshire primary, campaign guru James Carville dubbed him the Comeback Kid. Considering that he had been beaten fair and square by Paul Tsongas, it seemed a presumptuous claim. But Carville knew his man. After that, there was just no stopping Mr. Clinton.

As an uninspired Republican field trundles down to the New Hampshire wire on January 8, a resurgent John McCain is hoping he can pull off the same trick. The Arizona Senator would obviously prefer to win outright. But with polls suggesting that honour will go to his wealthy rival, Mitt Romney, Mr. McCain would be happy as runner-up.

After initially setting the pace, his national campaign all but collapsed last summer for lack of cash and energy. But a performance that “exceeds expectations,” as he puts it, in the state-wide vote of New Hampshire would create crucial momentum going into the key South Carolina clash on January 19. He could also lay claim to the vacant Comeback Kid title.

Poll watchers say the prospect of a countrywide McCain surge is growing as rivals’ ideas and personal histories come under scrutiny. Rudy Giuliani’s frontrunner status is slipping fast. The latest NBC News national poll has the former New York Mayor down 13 points, tying with Mr. Romney. A Reuters/Zogby survey also charts a sharp decline for “Mr. 9/11,” with the slack taken up by the Bible-thumping lightweight Mike Huckabee. The polling took place before Mr. Giuliani’s health scare on Thursday.

The ultra-conservative Romney is wrestling with his own problems, having failed to dispel puzzles over his Mormon beliefs and what he stands for — apart from repulsing immigrants, bearing arms, and shooting terrorists.

High-profile endorsements by Al Gore’s 2000 running mate Joe Lieberman, and leading newspapers in New Hampshire, Iowa and Massachusetts have helped recharge Mr. McCain’s batteries. His relatively advanced age of 71, once seen as a drawback, is now being equated with experience and gravitas.

But Mr. McCain’s low poll ratings are at odds with his success in defining the key campaign issues, often to the discomfort of his rivals. He regularly stresses the need for fiscal responsibility, low taxes and welfare spending reforms — standard Republican themes.

He has also won plaudits across the political spectrum for his call for federal help for mortgage crisis victims, activist stance on climate change, fierce opposition to CIA torture, and his support, an anathema to the right, for an amnesty for illegal immigrants. These positions, carrying wide appeal for non-Republicans, are possible building blocks in a “big tent” presidential platform.

Unlike his rivals, Mr. McCain boasts a foreign policy pedigree. His credibility on defence and “war on terror” issues is hard to match, partly due to his service in Vietnam (where he was captured and tortured).

Mr. McCain has most to gain politically as the sting goes out of Iraq. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

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