Bob_Tarlau's Blog

The Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama duel has been filling most of this blog in recent weeks… enough to where some of you loyal readers might be thinking: Hey, what about that Republican fellow who has already secured his party’s nomination? You’re right, so I’m blogging this week about Senator John McCain.

He’s long been a GOP agitator, but now McCain is easing into the role of its newfound leader.   He has met abroad with world leaders, intensified fundraising and taken control of the party apparatus. He is thinking about running mates and is introducing himself to the country. He's also made a few missteps and watched a challenging political terrain that favors Democrats grow more troublesome for Republicans.

A CBS/New York Times poll at the start of this month found Americans are more dissatisfied with the country’s direction than at any time since a major poll started asking about the subject in the early 1990s. Eighty-one per cent say they believe “things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track.” That 81 per cent is up from 69 per cent a year ago… and 35 percent in early 2002.

McCain seemed to be addressing that downbeat view when, on Thursday, he called for federal aid for well-meaning homeowners who can't pay their mortgages. That was clearly an attempt to fend off criticism that he has been indifferent to the housing crisis and the market upheaval it has spawned. He sketched out a plan that would cost up to $10 billion to help 200,000 to 400,000 homeowners trade burdensome mortgages for manageable loans. As usual in these kinds of overtures, nothing said about where the money would come from and exactly who would be eligible. Hillary Clinton was quick to call the McCain plan a halfhearted version of her own efforts. And from Obama: "I'm glad he's finally decided to offer a plan. Better late than never."

McCain certainly knows what he’s up against in trying to keep the White House in Republican hands in spite of the dust kicked up by the most unpopular President in at least a generation. Yet in the weeks since he clinched the GOP nomination, his White House campaign has entered an important new phase and he’s managed to move forward on all fronts — from message to mechanics — to position himself for the November election.

There have been speed bumps on the road. McCain faced fallout from an endorsement by a televangelist who has made anti-Catholic comments and confronted questions about his ties to lobbyists. He invited criticism with a speech that derided aggressive federal intervention in the housing crisis but offered no immediate relief for homeowners threatened with foreclosure. And, he mistakenly said Iran was allowing al-Qaida fighters into its country to be trained and returned to Iraq. On the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, he found himself having to apologize for initially opposing establishment of a national holiday marking MLK’s birthday.

In spite of the hurdles, McCain is saying: "I'm glad to be where we are. We're going to keep working hard." Polls put him in strong contention against either Clinton or Obama in a head-to-head match up. And McCain has the luxury of focusing on the general election while his Democratic rivals remain embroiled in their tight contest. And each day we hear Clinton and Obama assail McCain in hopes of appearing to be the strongest one to take him on in November.

Obama is fond of saying: "John McCain wants to continue the war in Iraq. I want to end it." And one of Clinton’s Pennsylvania TV ads proclaims: "John McCain just said the government shouldn't take any real action on the housing crisis, he'd let the phone keep ringing."

As Democrats bicker, these are the areas McCain needs to keep his focus on:

+ Money: Fundraising is arguably his biggest weakness and, thus, should be his highest priority. He raised only $11 million in February to a combined $80 million for Clinton and Obama, and has been slow to sign up many of Bush's big donors. Obama reported raising $40 million in March; Clinton said she raised $20 million. McCain is likely to surpass his February total but still trail his rivals. He held dozens of fundraisers last month and set up joint fundraising accounts with the Republican National Committee to encourage donations.

+ Unity: Trying to heal wounds from a divisive GOP primary is a high priority for a candidate who has spent decades bucking the party on issues that resonate with conservatives. In hopes of getting critics to swing behind him, McCain recently appeared with Bush in the White House Rose Garden and received Nancy Reagan's endorsement. He also campaigned with former GOP rival Mitt Romney to show solidarity. He’ll also need to play to the party’s middle-roaders and political independents… a tough tight-rope act especially given his continuing hard sell for the Iraq war.

+ Message: Speaking to a broader electorate, McCain, a former Navy pilot held prisoner during the Vietnam War, has cast himself as an experienced wartime commander in chief and statesman with his own vision, despite Democratic efforts to paint him as a Bush clone. McCain visited the Middle East, including Iraq, and Europe, where he met with allies. Stateside, he staged a weeklong biographical tour and began an ad campaign.

+ Vice President. McCain has a list of some 20 names from which he could choose a running mate and says he's in the "embryonic stages" of selecting someone. Aides say little to no significant vetting has occurred. The goal is to select someone before the nominating convention in early September, and McCain says he's mindful of the enhanced importance of the task because of his age. He is 71 and would be the oldest president elected.

Do you have any thoughts on who McCain should be considering for VP? Condi Rice perhaps? There sure was a lot of talk about that this week… but I’m tossing the chances of that happening into the “pretty slim” box.

I’ll be blogging at you again next Friday for another THIS POLITICAL WEEK. In the meantime, I’ll be looking forward to your comments.

Cheers, Bob