July 2, 2007
Money Woes Signal McCain Malaise
Poor Fundraising Is Only A Symptom Of Deeper Problems For Arizona Senator's Campaign
-
Play CBS Video Video Critical Week For '08 Hopefuls Mitt Romney is poised to beat Presdient Bush's record fundraising number of $37 million in the first quarter of his campaign. Joie Chen reports on the race to raise campaign cash.
-
Video Candidate Romney Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has gone from being a long shot to a top candidate. Romney speaks with Hannah Storm about the controversy surrounding his faith and his stands on abortion and Iraq.
-
Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., answers a question during a news conference in Greenville, S.C., on June 25, 2007. McCain's campaign reported raising just $11.2 million in the second quarter of 2007. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
If the main problem with John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign were a lack of money, there would be some obvious ways to fix it. Cutting staff salaries, or an infusion of federal matching funds, might do the trick.
But lackluster financial results ($11.2 million for the second quarter) are as much symptom as cause of the malaise that is shadowing and threatens to prematurely end the Arizona Republican's presidential campaign.
A once front-running candidacy is clinging to life, and at bottom the problems are about McCain's complicated relationship with the Republican Party's activist base. Simply put, there is scant evidence that nearly seven years of effort since his failed 2000 bid to cultivate and reassure these people have paid any dividends.
In a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon, McCain's senior aides attributed the mediocre second-quarter fund-raising which came despite an overhaul of his team after weak first-quarter results to the candidate's willingness to take principled but unpopular stands.
His high-profile support for a bipartisan immigration reform bill offended many conservatives, they said. His attacks on earmark spending turned off deep-pocketed givers. And his unwavering support for the Iraq war turned away potential independent donors who in the past have liked his maverick reputation.
It takes brass to present news like this as an opportunity, and McCain's team did their best. They said McCain would target his time and resources in early states, as well as try to revive the spontaneity and intimacy with voters that marked his 2000 campaign. "We believe, quite frankly, that good things happen when John is before the voters," said John Weaver, McCain's chief strategist.
But there is no mistaking the torpor of McCain's condition.
Aides are being sent packing; his campaign manager is working for free; his star status is demolished; and he has just $2 million in cash to finance what's being billed as a summer comeback tour.
"He doesn't have a convincing plan for survival, let alone a way to win," said one Republican strategist. Although key Republicans said it would be foolish to write McCain off, the deck is now stacked against him in pivotal ways:
Indeed, the only thing that appears to be propping up his candidacy is the free media exposure that comes from his senior status in the party and his maverick nature which could serve as equal liabilities.
The recovery plan is reminiscent of one adopted by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry in 2004. But Democratic activists' disenchantment with Kerry didn't run nearly as deep as the resentment held by some Republicans against the unpredictable McCain.
In addition, Kerry had some maneuvering room that McCain lacks. When Kerry was deemed insufficiently anti-war especially when compared to the upstart campaign of Howard Dean he began stepping up his criticism of the war and tacking left. McCain's positions on the war and immigration are not so malleable, nor does his personality lend itself to the kind of message-creep that other candidates are blasι about.
By Jeanne Cummings and David Paul Kuhn
© 2007 The Politico & Politico.com, a division of Allbritton Communications Company
| We cover politics with enterprise, style, and impact. |
More From Politico
Add a Comment See all 14 Comments
- MCLAME, You deserve to lose you BIG PHONY!!!!!!!I think he thought BUSH was going to give MCLAME some
of BUSH'S BIG MONEY DONORS...... LOOKS LIKE BUSH SCREWED YOU AGAIN....... - Reply to this comment
- I'm a yellow dog Democrat who has been flirting with supporting a Republican for president ever since 1980 when Howard Henry Baker was by far the best choice out there. The GOP, of course, ignored Baker and opted for some third-rate actor.
I was once ready to support McCain but, of course, the GOP opted for the Shrub instead. This time around, however, McCain has shrunken to half his size cozzying up to Soothsayer Pat Robertson and his ilk. So, a yellow dog Democrat I shall remain. - Reply to this comment
- McCain is senile and if there is anyone close to him who really cares about him then they should take him aside and talk him into quitting the race, resigning from the senate and retiring to AZ, before he embarrasses himself in public again. He once was a man to be respected, but he sold that all out for a long shot at the White House. The only possible explanation there could be for him cozying up to Bush (and Rove who insulting him so viciously) is that he has lost his mind. He is either senile or in early stage Alzheimer's. Either way he needs to go while he still has a few shreds of self-respect left.
- Reply to this comment
- My only problem with Mccain is that he is too old. I like everything he has done. I like his position on Iraq and I like the fact that he tried to fix imigration. I like the fact that he is constantly the thorn in the side of every pollitician on the wrong side of an issue. I don't care for any of the Democrats or other republicans. I like McCain more than any one else. I just worry about his age.
Posted by cbscrash07 at 01:20 PM : Jul 03, 2007
Sir or Sis, you have every right to support your canidate but i'm sorry to bring this to your attention McCain
The Bush-McCain
BS Express
By Frosty Wooldridge
4-27-6
This week, President Bush said in California there's no way to deport millions of illegal aliens. He's the one that opened the barn door and let them into our country. He's the one that won't close the door as tens of thousands pour into our nation weekly. Senator McCain, his side kick and presidential wanna-be touts his ability to lead our nation with his bus ride "Straight Talk Express." However, he promised the one-time amnesty in 1986 with a pledge to secure our borders. He failed us then and Bush fails us now-miserably.
- Reply to this comment
- Ain't that a shame, he ONLY raised $11.2 MILLION in the second quarter.
My first question is why do we care what the number is? Do they tell us this so we will donate more?
Does he require that much to get elected or does he just think he needs more? Why do they need to advertise on TV so D*** much? I for one am sick of the political ads.
Does he think we don't know he's running for office so he has to be on radio, television, newspapers and magazines to tell us he's running? Did they need that much money back 20+ years ago to get elected? - Reply to this comment
- The repubs. havn't got a chance in hell. They're all just money down the drain.
- Reply to this comment
- Dr. Mr. McCain,
As a veteran myself, I want to thank you for your service in Vietnam. Now, good riddance! - Reply to this comment
- John McCain pandered to every voting block in the country. He changed position on virtually every issue. He told fantasy stories about how well his and Mr. Bush's war was going in Iraq. He failed to
condemn the swift-boating of John Kerry. He allowed Karl Rove to roam freely through the Constitution while twisting and distorting it for Bush's benefit. In short, McCain failed to act with integrity. His maverick bluster was a thin veneer for his true character. His bid for the Oval Office is history. - Reply to this comment
- Look, you aren't going to win in '08...you're too old and well, frankly you creep me out a bit...be a sport and donate the money you've raised to providing healthcare coverage or food and other needs to the poor here in the U.S.
You too hilary and obama...you're both just too arogant and i think we've had 6 years too much of that already... - Reply to this comment
- My only problem with Mccain is that he is too old. I like everything he has done. I like his position on Iraq and I like the fact that he tried to fix imigration. I like the fact that he is constantly the thorn in the side of every pollitician on the wrong side of an issue. I don't care for any of the Democrats or other republicans. I like McCain more than any one else. I just worry about his age.
- Reply to this comment
- The guy is toast. Totally out of touch with what Americans want right now.
- Reply to this comment
- Stick a fork in McCain....he's DONE!
- Reply to this comment
- Valley Forge, true character building stuff.
- Reply to this comment
- Paying too many people $50/hr for picking lettuce, is that why? :rolleyes:
- Reply to this comment
The road ahead in Afghanistan, and the crucial decision Obama faces.
