What's A McCain Man To Do?

There's a reason George W. Bush has raised record amounts of campaign cash. People want to bet on a sure thing. There's a reason for that, too. Just ask Bill Jones.

Remember Bill Jones?

He's California's Secretary of State; the one who bucked the system in John McCain-style by rescinding his endorsement of Bush less than a month before the California primary and throwing his support behind McCain.

Jones, one of only two statewide officials from the GOP to keep his seat after the Democrats' 1998 landslide, feared the state party was making a mistake in ignoring the impact of independents and Democrats turning out for McCain. "I'm sending as clear a message with this resignation as I can that this is unacceptable to me, in the strongest terms," Jones told the Los Angeles Times.

The little-known state official received national attention for his action. But perhaps now he'd like us to forget all about Bill Jones.

Eat your own words. Jones stands by his.

"I think if I had it to do over, I'd have done exactly the same thing considering the circumstances at the time," says Jones, who shares McCain's belief in campaign finance reform and retiring the national debt. But the man who oversees elections in California also recognized McCain's ability to energize voters.

Jones credits McCain for attracting the most voters to a California presidential primary in 16 years. More importantly, he points out that 1.2 million voters crossed party lines to vote Republican, almost two-thirds of them for McCain.

"People who are upset with me ought to go look at the numbers," he says.

Jones contends Bush can win California if he holds onto those cross-over voters and increases their numbers to 1.5 million. But the secretary of state doesn't sound entirely sure that will happen, unless McCain stays involved. His personal solution would be a Bush-McCain ticket, though he doubts that's likely.

Still, Jones says it would be an insult to McCain's backers to ignore their concerns now that their candidate is gone. "If you throw cold water on them in March and try to welcome them back in November ... they're not going to do that."

Like McCain, Jones has yet to endorse the Texas governor. He says he's waiting to talk to the Arizona senator first, out of courtesy. "I've always said I would support the nominee. There's no question about that," says Jones.

Margita Thompson, a spokesperson for Bush in California, repeated a promise made by the campaign in February after Jones switched sides. "Should he decide to endorse the governor," Thompson said, "we would welcome him back to the fold."

But Jones went for broke in a world where a man's word is his capital. Can he get back in the game?

One Republican Party insider suggests Bush is as likely to appear in future campaign stops with Bob Jones as Bill Jones.

This is, after all, the political party that chooses aelephant as its symbol. As one GOP insider put it, "Republicans are not a forgetful group."

Only time will tell what Jones' political future holds in store. Voters have much shorter memories than rank-and-file party members. If Jones does decide to run for governor - some have suggested he was trying to stoke his name recognition by backing McCain - that election is still two years off.

"Any damage he's done could be repaired by a clear message on his part that his priority is putting California in the Republican party column in November," says Leslie Goodman, a Sacramento-based Republican strategist and Bush supporter.

Jones says he plans to do just that. "If I was wrong and Governor Bush can win in November, then California wins," he says.