Straight-Talk? More Like Old Talk

There was a time when John McCain was the Republican frontrunner. No, I’m serious. I know that names like Romney, Giuliani and Huckabee have clouded your thinking but if you remember, back in the beginning of the year, McCain was the guy to beat.

Things have definitely changed for the Senator from Arizona. There was support for a Bush-backed immigration overhaul that was extremely unpopular in GOP circles, unwavering support for the war (if not the strategy) in Iraq, out of character courting of religious conservative leaders, and severe mismanagement of campaign funds. The McCain campaign was written off and left to wither amongst the less successful candidates like Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter. With McCain floundering, Fred Thompson was seen as the Great White Hope.

However, the holiday season has brought a lot of joy to the McCain campaign in the form of endorsements. The Boston Globe, The Manchester Union Leader, and The Des Moines Register all have picked the Vietnam veteran as their Republican of choice. Also, Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat who won reelection as an independent in 2006, came out in support of his old friend.

McCain isn’t polling very high in Iowa. The focus of his campaign has been New Hampshire where he beat Bush in 2000 and has a chance of repeating that performance in 2008 (or at the least coming in second to Mitt Romney). Although Iowa isn’t his priority, he has recently been campaigning in the Hawkeye State and in fact made an appearance Thursday morning at the Elks Lodge in Urbandale, a suburb of Des Moines. Although there was no bus with his picture plastered on it, there was a decorated jeep parked outside to denote the presence of the Senator.

It was frigidly cold and lightly snowing, but 200 people crammed into the room to hear McCain speak. The average age of the attendees was 60 (mind you there were lots of young journalists and photographers that I include in this average). McCain, who is 71, was described by the gentleman who introduced him as a leader that “has seen it, done it, and learned from it.” Speaking behind a banner that said “John McCain A Commonsense Conservative” the Senator discussed Bhutto’s assassination, what that meant for the U.S., what the importance of Pakistan is but didn’t say how he, as commander in chief, would deal with the continuously unstable nuclear power. That being said, it’s clear that he has a command of the situation and understands what’s at stake.

McCain continued on with jokes -- one ethanol and one Irish (I haven't quite figured why the Irish one) -- and then on to the classic stump speech followed by questions from the audience. Speaking to some people afterwards who have been to other McCain events, the consensus was that he’s great at staying on message. Of course he’s still straight-talking but it’s the same straight-talk they’ve all heard before.

I personally believe that John McCain is an admirable man and I have deep respect for him. But if the demographic of his supporters at this event is any indication, perhaps McCain and his straight-talk are a little outdated to carry Iowa which continues to be predominately made up of economy focused war skeptics.

I look forward to seeing some McCain magic in New Hampshire.