McCain (and His Campaign's) Good Luck Charms
NASHUA, N.H. -- On the bus after his 100th town hall meeting in Peterborough this afternoon, John McCain pulled three coins out of his pocket and showed them to reporters. He said he found the two nickels and a quarter lying together faced up and he put them in his pocket for good luck.
McCain admitted that he has held many similar trinkets over the years including an eagle feather he carried around until it became withered.
"I'm superstitious in the fact that I believe in good luck because I am the luckiest guy you will ever interview," McCain said. "I stood fifth from the bottom in my class in the Naval Academy."
McCain then referenced many challenges he's faced in his lifetime from his being shot down in Vietnam, to surviving fires on his aircraft carrier and his time spent as a prisoner of war in Hanoi. "There is no reason for me to be here and on God's green earth. There's no rationale or logic for me to be here, so of course I believe in luck," he said.
At the front of the bus looking cool, calm and collected, McCain's debate coach Brett O'Donnell sat in a leather chair. I don't know if he had a lucky charm in his pocket but he didn't seem worried about tonight's debate.
"The Senator has had years of experience on these issues so I feel very confident that he'll be able to answer the questions. He works very hard both on the campaign trail and in preparing for debates so were cautiously optimistic that he will have a fine performance tonight."
McCain, his wife Cindy and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., piled into their black SUV this evening headed to the debate, Brooke Buchanan and other staffers screamed "Good Luck!" as she closed his door.
As he peeled off with his entourage behind him Buchanan acknowledged she was nervous. "He does well at these things," she said to calm herself. She then walked to a snow covered tree a few steps away and knocked on wood. "Everybody's superstitious on this campaign," she admitted. Buchanan then pulled a gold Chuck E. Cheese arcade coin out of her pocket and displayed it for me as a good luck charm. "I found this at the Charleston airport lying on the ground face up."