McCain on the comeback trail

B.J. Boling sent out a release to call attention to this piece by Dan Hoover. Here’s B.J.’s release, here’s a link to the story, and here’s an excerpt:

    John McCain was midway through his "No Surrender" bus tour last Sunday when he entered territory both familiar and friendly, that of yet another military veterans’ group.
    The tour was named for his position on Iraq, one mirroring that of the Bush White House: No withdrawal, at least not in any numbers and not now.
    It also could have been named for his second Republican presidential run.
    The Arizona senator is hanging in there, something many thought unlikely after six months of disastrously low fundraising for a major candidate by 2007 standards….
    Now the leaves are beginning to turn, there’s a chill in the morning air, donations have improved, the private jet’s back on call, and, like Mark Twain, rumors of McCain’s political death proved premature.
    His Iraq-centered performance in the recent New Hampshire Republican debate won favorable coverage.
    He’s staking his final presidential run on being the candidate most vocally supportive of an unpopular war, a guy who wanted a troop surge before the administration thought of it.
    McCain has used Gen. David Petraeus’ report on Iraq in a sort of "I told you so" context to reinvigorate his campaign, combining it with sharper criticism of the Bush administration’s initial policies. A reference to an America in dire need of leadership is the closest McCain comes to even hinting he’s running for president….

Now, talk amongst yourselves…

3 thoughts on “McCain on the comeback trail

  1. Susanna

    Ana Marie Cox made the joke first, but I’m going to repeat it anyway. Every time I hear McCain’s new slogan I think of Galaxy Quest: “Never give up! Never surrender!” Hey, if he can save us from Zorg, he’s got my vote.

  2. bud

    Sunni Insurgents in New Campaign to Kill Officials
    Sunni Arab extremists have begun a systematic campaign to assassinate police chiefs, police officers, other Interior Ministry officials and tribal leaders throughout Iraq, staging at least 10 attacks in 48 hours.
    NY Times-
    Here’s why McCain is completely unfit for the presidency. He accepts at face value the testimony of a general who is motivated by his own ambitions to show that his plan is working. Yet there is a wealth of evidence from independent sources to suggest the “Surge” is a collosal failure. The GAO report for example suggests there really is no reduction in sectarian violence. Much of the so-called success in the Anbar province is due to our arming of Sunni militias, not the surge. The NY Times story shows the pitfalls in that strategy. Yet the myth persists, and McCain blindly buys into it, that we are succeeding.
    Typically the runner-up from the previous contested campaign season is an overwhelming favorite in the republican race so McCain should be a solid favorite. Yet his polling numbers continue to hover in the low to mid teens. Given the idiocy of the Guiliani campaign it would seem that McCain should benefit some. And perhaps to a small extent he has. Yet he continues to flounder. Apparently even those in the republican party are sick of this man’s constant denial of common sense. I’ll give plenty of kudos to his military service but as for the presidency I say not just no, but HELL no!

  3. bud

    Looney statement of the day. From John McCain:
    JOHN MCCAIN
    McCain Opposed Reauthorizing of the SCHIP and Providing Insurance For Millions of Uninsured Children. McCain voted against reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for five years, expanding the program by $35.2 billion. It would cover children in households with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty line. [Senate Vote #307, 8/2/07]
    McCain Claimed the Reauthorization Covered Too Many Children.
    That’s right, McCain will apparently vote against a modest ($7billion/yr) program to provide health insurance for children because “it covers too many children”.

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