Office of the Independent Blogger

John McCain is in some trouble, but I’m not sure how dire it is. Let’s go to the Wall Street Journal, first.

It began with reports of the heavily guarded senator shopping at a Baghdad market and declaring “things are better,” and it ended with a New Hampshire poll showing Mr. McCain, the longtime leader in that first-primary state, now in a dead heat with Mr. Romney. Sandwiched in between were the stories of his money woes.

All of that makes next week — and the next month — critical to the survival of his candidacy. Mr. McCain’s campaign scheduled three policy speeches in consecutive weeks, culminating April 25-27 with his “official” announcement tour through early nominating states of New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina and finally to his home state of Arizona. Wednesday’s first speech, at the Virginia Military Institute, will showcase Mr. McCain’s “commitment to winning the war in Iraq.”

Trouble is, no one doubts Mr. McCain’s commitment. But recent polls show the public is increasingly doubtful of the prospects of winning the war. And that, in turn, may be undercutting Mr. McCain’s chances of winning the nomination.

The senator’s war stand is a popular one with Republican voters, but polls show they are not rewarding him, given longstanding resentment of his maverick ways. Meanwhile, the independents once attracted to him for just that reason no longer see him as the straight-talker of the 2000 campaign. For many independents, that brand has gone to Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. And with Mr. McCain’s electability in question, many conservative donors appear to have decided he is not a good investment.

re: the bold — Mitt Romney might very well win the New Hampshire primary. He’s from their neighbor. If he wins, or comes close to it, that doesn’t mean anything about his electability or anything like that.

re: the italics — that is my biggest concern (and hope) with regard to John McCain’s Presidential run. That the Republican Party still won’t trust him because a) he’s such a maverick and b) they must realize that the American public is tired of the War. I’m glad to see there’s truth in this based on his low donation figures.

Where will this all lead McCain? Hopefully to the pit of political hell. Beyond hope, I think that’s where he’s headed, anyway.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 7th, 2007 at 11:40 am and is filed under Outside Retort (Current Affairs).