McCain in Pakistan

As part of the Senate Armed Services Committee McCain, with the accompaniment of Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, visited Pakistan to lessen the mounting tensions between Pakistan and India.The tensions between the two countries that have had three wars in the last 60 years,has been sparked once again after the Mumbai attacks killed 200 and injured hundreds of other people.After their meeting with the prime minister of Pakistan Yousaf Gilani,McCain is optimistic that the two countries will resolve the issue,"From our meetings we have had today we are encouraged that the government of Pakistan will show that co-operation in words and deed." Will McCain be a part of the new administration? Tune in next week.

McCain announces he will run again in 2010

John McCain has disappeared from the national stage in the past weeks. He recently announced that he is planning to run for senate again in 2010.  Most of the news concerning McCain has been analysis and observations about his loss. McCain has continued to stand by his pick of Governor Palin as his running mate saying that he picked her for her qualifications.

McCain and the Hard Road Ahead

With the devastating loss over two weeks ago, John McCain has to shift gears and have a different mindset going back to the Senate. After almost two years of campaigning, McCain aides say that he is ready and happy to go back to the lower profile job in congress. His ability to maintain a low profile will be hard, especially since there are many Republicans that think the McCain campaign did not properly represent the party or was completely incompetent. With McCain's ability to "reach across the aisle", and Obama's promise to the American people to leave the partisan politics of old, we may see more of McCain in the future, possibly working for Obama.

Tonight Show tommorrow

On Tuesday, McCain will visit the Tonight Show in the hopes that Jay Leno will not go as hard on him as did David Letterman a few weeks ago. Too bad for McCain. The election would have inevitably been much closer had he nominated VP someone with a trace of brain cells. As for his future political career, McCain's maverickness will not allow him to retire from politics until death. According to correspondent David Kirkpatrick from NPR, "McCain is one of the most unpredictable politicians out there... if he thought he was young at 72 to run for the presidency,who knows what he'll do next". Wouldn't it be something if Obama selected McCain as one of his cabinet members?



http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=96811878&m=96813005

McCain in hiding

After much searching on CNN and the Washington Post, I could not find scrap of what McCain has been doing the past two days. With the dismal defeat Tuesday, McCain is most likely sheltering himself from media attention, hiding in his house in Arizona. Shortly following the major Presidential defeat, prominent Republicans are already contending for the position chairman of the RNC (Republican National Committee); Al Franken is closing in on Minnesota; Obama will meet the Bushes in a couple of days. More on McCain next weekend.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902345.html

McCain is Defeated

If you have not heard already McCain has lost his bid for the presidency. McCain has since congratulated Obama on his victory. John McCain still has 2 years left as a senator for Arizona and he will finish out his remaining years in the United States senate. 

SNL

John McCain absolutely stunk on SNL. Cindy, on the other hand, was hilarious; especially when she talked about the fine gold necklaces.

McCain visits swing states

Both of the presidential candidates spent the Saturday visiting key swing states. John McCain campaigned in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and finished the day in western New York. McCain will be hosting Saturday Night Live tonight. This is kind of irrelevant, but when I went to church (St. James in Solana Beach) today, police cars blocked the entrance to the church due to a bomb threat. Apparently, there was a large box in front of the main door to the church labeled "ammunition". In addition something- not sure what- was found inside the church. The only conclusion that I could come up to - other than just a mean prank - was Proposition 8. Many people are enraged by the Catholic church's support of prop 8; pretty outrageous that someone might have wanted to blow up a church for a petty prop. Will talk about McCain's result in SNL tommorow. Sorry for the tangent.

McCain in Defiance Ohio

To add what to Cameron said,McCain visited Defiance Ohio today (Thursday). According to McCain, he will not give up the fight in Ohio - b/c of his Maverickness- stating that they were going to defy pundit expectations in Ohio. The second day of a ten day bus trip in Ohio, McCain so far has toured in primarily Republican territory. Near the end of his trip, McCain will go eastward to liberal-leaning city Cleveland where he will attempt to win the hearts and minds of the independents and conservative Democrats. McCain has relentlessly continued to depict Senator Obama as a socialist and has told Ohioans that the economy will worsen under all round control by the Democrats (House/Senate/President).


http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/30/macohiod.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

Is the End Near for McCain?

On Sunday McCain visited Cedar Falls Iowa, Zanesville Ohio, and Lancaster Ohio. On Monday he visited Dayton Ohio, Pottsville Pennsylvania, and Mentor Ohio. On Tuesday McCain visited Hershey Pennsylvania, and Fayetteville North Carolina. On Wednesday the citizens of Miami Florida have the privilege their very own Joe the Plumber Rally.
It is doubtful that McCain can win Pennsylvania or even Ohio at this point unless the polls are seriously flawed. It seems that he has also abandoned his short attempt to court voters in New Hampshire. There have been no big recent gains by McCain but only after the election can we know for sure.

McCain turns to New Mexico

Going to the wild west where true Jacksonian democracy was created, John McCain spent his Saturday campaigning in New Mexico. With the amount of swing states seeming to diminish as the polls show Obama with an ever-growing lead,McCain is aware of the urgent task at hand. To make up for the possibility of losing swing states such as Virginia,the McCain campaign has focused of late on New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada. Speaking to a small group (under 1,000 people), McCain has stepped up the attacks on Senator Obama, "Senator Obama is measuring the drapes and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending and concede defeat in Iraq" (San Diego Union Tribune). McCain will be off to Iowa in vain search of a victory in the corn state (people there are not too pleased with McCain's stance on subsidies for corn ethanol).

McCain's Chances Looking Slim

John McCain visited Ohio on the 22nd in the cities of Findlay, Green, Cincinnati and Troy. On the 20th of October he visited Missouri, Colorado and Pennsylvania. According to pollster.com Obama has been solidifying his lead while McCain has barely improved his poll numbers. McCain is now making a late effort to win New Hampshire. Although he has made small gains in some swing states it is questionable whether he has enough time to recover.

McCain in North Carolina and Virginia

On Saturday, Barack Obama drew an estimated 100,000 supporters at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis Missouri. Meanwhile, John McCain campaigned in North Carolina and Virginia; both traditionally Republican states but currently classified as "swing states". While McCain drew fewer crowds (around 7,000 in N.C.), he gave his opponent no mercy. McCain criticized Obama's tax plan, calling it "socialism" and declared that under an Obama administration the IRS will be turned into "a giant welfare agency". In just over two weeks we will see whether the "Bradley Effect" will decide the winner.

McCain Debate

First make sure you have done the required reading here and here. The first is a great summary and the second is a quick fact check both from NPR.org. States rights and judicial nominations were part of the debate for a time which was great to hear although they were in the context of roe v. wade.  McCain has introduced a new character into the American political vocabulary "Joe the plumber" who took the place of "Joe six pack" or other personifications of the average American in the debate. The debate, like most political debates had no clear winner. But as pointed out by NPR during their post debate broadcast Obama accomplished his goal of creating trust with the American people, while McCain did not manage to discredit the Obama campaign. Although from a policy standpoint McCain surely appealed to the conservative voter it seems as though he failed to appeal to the swing voters. 

McCain gets nailed by John Lewis

John McCain will be appearing on the David Letterman show Thursday night, making up for the last minute cancellation three weeks previous due to the financial crisis. In other more important news,Senator McCain is shocked by the comments made by Georgian congressman John Lewis who compared the McCain campaign to that of segregationist George Wallace. Before the charge made by Lewis, McCain praised him for his efforts in the civil rights movement and considered him to be "one of three men he would turn to for counsel as president"(CNN). Senator McCain has called on Barack Obama to renounce Lewis'comments. Spokesman Bill Burton of the Obama campaign released the message that Obama disagrees in what Lewis said but the Georgian congressman "was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night". Watch the Letterman show on Thursday, it should be interesting.

More Debate Opinions

According to an article at the Huffington Post in both CBS and NBC's focus groups of independent voters more individuals believed that Obama was victorious in the debate. According to Survey USA 54 percent of voters who watched the debate in Washington believed that Obama won. More importantly Ohio surveys indicated that Obama was the clear victor according to 54% of those polled compared to McCain's 30%. See the article here.

McCain Campaign Update

According to the John McCain website and other sources McCain has not been campaigning since Saturday although Governor Palin has made visits to multiple states. McCain's next scheduled campaign stop is to Waukesha, Wisconsin on Thursday October 9th. The initial analysis of the debate between McCain and Obama on Tuesday October 7th mostly indicates that McCain did not come away ahead but that he showed that he understood the economy. It seems unlikely that this debate will have a significant impact on the race. Some analysis can be found here. 

McCain in Arizona

McCain, as of right now is in his home state of Arizona preparing for the next debate versus Barack Obama. McCain's daughter, Meagan is currently campaigning in Ohio for her father. Ohio, as in the past two elections, will be a major battleground State between the two parties.

Economy not Helping Out McCain

Recently, John McCain has been weakened by the faltering economy. John McCain has been attempting to paint Barack Obama as the most liberal politician in the U.S. Senate. With 159,000 jobs lost in September alone, McCain has been unable to get people to trust him on the economy. According to Michael Cooper of the New York Time News Service, "polls have shown that voters trust Obama more to handle the economy". Barack Obama associates these job loses due to the policies of the GOP. If the circumstances were different with economic turmoil during the end of the second term of a Democrat, more people would trust in the Republican candidate b/c the Democrats would be considered at fault for the worsening economy. At this point in time with only a month left before the elections, it seems that the best chance McCain has of winning will rely on his ability to portray Barack Obama as inexpierenced for the job.

The battle continues

Senator John McCain ended his campaign in Michigan due to his campaign's belief that the state is not win able. McCain has appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" where he discussed the pork barrel spending in the new bailout plan. On Thursday the senator was campaigning in Denver hoping to win Colorado a swing state. on Wednesday McCain was in Missouri. he spent 24 hours in Iowa around Des Moines, this is an attempt to keep the state that Bush narrowly won in 2004. McCain has been taking heat recently over his past statements over regulatory policy where he stated that he was overall in favor of deregulation. 

McCain Falters in the 1st Presidential Debate

The first presidential debate held at Oxford Mississippi, dealt a huge blow to McCain. The topic that was discussed for the majority of the debate was foreign affair based, such as the war in Iraq, Iran, Israel, etc. While senator McCain seemed to continually point out how inept and inexperienced Barack Obama was (specifically with foreign affairs), Obama held his ground and repeatedly said that McCain "is right". To many of the American public, it would seem that McCain was the grandfatherly bully while Obama was innocent child with the candy he was not supposed to take in his pocket. Although there were some scuffles, there were no knockout blows to either of the opponents. According to Fox 6 News, Obama has gotten a boost as a result of the debate. While Obama has gone immediately back on the campaign trail in order to strengthen his lead over his opponent, McCain decided to take the Saturday off and go to his home in Virginia; kinda a stupid move.

Obama goes after McCain on retirement funds

Ending Friday on a positive note by receiving the endorsement of Donald Trump, McCain was under fire on Saturday by Barack Obama. The democratic candidate accused McCain of gambling the retirement savings and health care of Americans by "subjecting them to the uncertainty of open markets" (Reuters). McCain campaign rebuked this attack by saying Obama is attempting to use scare tactics to make people worry about their retirement accounts. The McCain and Obama campaign have gone after each other on the key issues of social security and the economy in an attempt to show the American people who has the stronger economic plan for the U.S. Health care and the economy are generally considered the most imporant issues in this election. The candidate with a more favorable approach to turn around the economy and improve the health care, will inevitably win the hearts and minds of the American people.

Economic Showdown

John McCain is currently trying to remake the public perception of his economic policy in response to the current economic crisis and Senator Obama's accusation that he is anti regulation. His response has taken the form of ads and a speech proposing to create a commission to study the current economic crisis and offer solutions to prevent further crises. The proposal to completely overhaul the regulation of financial markets has also been adopted by the McCain campaign. 

McCain has received an important endorsement from Donald Trump on Larry King Live finishing a tough week with some good news.

Republican Showdown

In the News: Almost two months after having captured the GOP Presidential Nomination, and still waiting on a single Democratic challenger, Senator McCain has been focusing his efforts on his actual job: legislation. McCain is currently drafting legislation that calls for a federal "gas tax holiday" between Labor Day and memorial Day; a move that would theoretically encourage people to travel and spend more money on non-gasoline items. However, McCain's proposal is facing strong opposition from states, as well as fellow Congressmen who see this as a temporary fix to a continuous problem.

Scandal: McCain has been under fire recently for using his wife's private corporate jets on his campaign, since he has co-authored legislation demanding that politicians pay in full for their plane tickets while on the campaign trail. These critics demand that McCain pay his wife, chair of one of the nation's largest Anheuser-Busch distributors, for all of these unethical flights.

What's he been up to?

After a seemingly huge break, we're all back online to see what McCain has been up to.
It seems that McCain is still trailing Obama and Clinton in fund raising rather massively, as he's been attempting to kick up his income for the upcoming election race. Though his methods have brought McCain an improved income, it seems nearly impossible for him to catch up to the money making machine that is Barack Obama.
On the topic of money, McCain has stated publicly that balancing the budget is less important in his eyes than dropping taxes. It seems that McCain hopes to correct the economy of the United States by ensuring that people have more money to spend on what they want, rather than to first fix the budget crisis of the federal government. With the impending recession, this may be a plan favored by some citizens of the country, while many others will still be focused more on the need to balance the budget.
Interestingly, Obama has come out stating that he believes that McCain would be a better president than Bush. While it may be surprising to hear this coming from a potential opponent in the upcoming election, it's really not as big of a deal as it seems, when you take into account that certain democrats believe Bush to be a rather large failure as a president.

The Stare, Rice and Rockefeller

In the News: After accusing John McCain of not caring for people because he dropped bombs on Vietnam, Senator Rockefeller apoligized (but does he mean it?). Condoleeza Rice denied the rumors that she has any intention of becoming a running mate for McCain. Instead, she will reportedly head back to Stanford University. McCain accused the promises of the Democratic nominees that outline a plan of removal of troops from Iraq as a "failure of leadership." So what then is a "success of leadership." African American leaders such as Oscar Tillman, part of the NAACP, and Campbell Jr. say that the relationship between McCain and African Americans is becoming strained. This could seriously injure McCain's chances at becoming the next president. He better step up. Also, McCain is well behind in campaign finances, raising only $15 million dollars in March, $5 million behind Clinton and $25 million behind Obama. And McCain, to his great horror, was treated with THE STARE of Hillary Clinton during hearings on Iraq with General Petraeus.
Endorsements: National Right to Life endorsed McCain. This will hopefully get him a boost with the social conservatives.

Official GOP Presdential Nominee!

In the News: With the Senator's win in the Super Tuesday Part Deux Primaries (March 5th in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont), McCain clinched the Gop nimination, forcing out Huckabee to win more than the required 1,191 delegates to earn the nomination. After his expected sweep, McCain also received the backing of his former rival Mike Huckabee, and a rather awkward, distanced endorsement from President George W. Bush II. McCain went on to distance himself from the promonent, controversial televangalist John Hagee, who endorsed him last month (Hagee has been very anti-Semitic, Catholic, social issues, etc.), and pick up former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiornia as the "campaign surrogate," charged with fundraising and "getting-out-the-vote." McCain wrapped up his week with leading a congressional delegation to visit to the Middle East and Europe, and will return on Easter Sunday.

Who's It Gonna Be?

There have only been two real questions that have been facing the McCain camp for some time now: Who's going to be his running mate, and who's he going to be running against?
Well, these questions are still up for debate, so it's been unclear what the answer will be, but as time has chugged along, we've come to a point where as of Tuesday, March 4th, we may have an answer to who McCain will be running against, which ultimately may lead to an answer to the first question. (The idea of picking out a running mate based on the opponent has been tossed around quite a few times so far!)
However, over the past week, McCain has been a man of honor, taking the high road against the petty bashing against his Democratic rival, Barack Obama. While at a McCain rally in Ohio, Bill Cunningham made several references to Barack's middle name, "Hussein." This, was obviously done with the intent of stirring up trouble and trying to scare swing voters away from supporting him because his name sounds unamerican. McCain, however, immediately denounced Cunningham's actions and remarks- which resulted in Cunningham's prompt pulling of support from John McCain.
With McCain squabbling with his supporters, who knows whether it's helped him gain support from swing voters, or lose support of the far right for nit picking at Cunningham's remarks.
I suppose we'll find out sometime soon.

McCain's Delegates

In the News: The Democrats have accused McCain of violating campaign finance laws when he tried to withdraw from his contract with the Federal Election Commission which allowed him to cap his campaign spending and receive public money instead. Mr. Black, a senior advisor to McCain-who was accused of doing favors for a female lobbyist-said that any accusations today are grounded from similar accusations eight years ago. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty appeared of CNN's "Late Edition" criticizing the New York Times for suggesting that McCain had an improper relationship with a lobbyist. McCain struck big when he was awarded all 20 delgates of the Republican party in Puerto Rico. This support is based off of McCain's promises to help resolve the complications in the relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Also, the American Samoa Republican Party will send all 9 of its delgates to the GOP National Convention in favor of McCain. Although they will not be able to vote in the November election, the first nine delegates of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas say they will support McCain. Also, Connecticut's "super delegates" on the Republican side are all supporting McCain. McCain picked up another 50 delegates from Michigan and Louisiana. In an attempt to bring more republicans to his side, McCain assured Republican governors that he fully supports states' rights.

And the Endorsements Keep Coming In...

Endorsements: This past week, Senator McCain secured the backing of former-presidential candidate rival Mitt Romney, as well as the support of President George "41" Bush. The current President Bush (#43), despite referencing McCain directly in his Fox News interview and alluding to the Senator while speking to some Republican Party conservatives, has not and will not come out and openly endorse any one candidate for the presidency until after primary season at the earliest (although it can be counted on that he will back the GOP nominee).

News: Most of Michigan's delegates have now pledged themselves to John McCain, after their former candidate Romney "suspended" his run a week ago (if their candidate drops out, delegates are basically free agents unless they committ themselves to someone else before the National Convention). Meanwhile, the Senator has been escalating his attacks on his two Democratic rivals, especially in regards to the Iraq War, pork barrel spending, and taxes. Simultaneously, the Senator has also been defending himself from Republican conservatives (i.e. Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck) who have decided that, since they failed to find/rally around a "neoRegan" figure, they are going to undermine their own Party's attempt to regain the White House.

Listen, He's GOING to win, Crazy Lady....

Everyone's dear friend Ann Coulter has taken a jab at McCain this week, saying that she would rather work for Hillary Clinton than see McCain in office. This comes as no surprise to some of us, as over the past weeks it's become nothing less than trendy for the famous right wingers to voice their disapproval of McCain, despite his widening lead in delegate counts in the primaries.
Since Romney is out of the race, McCain has been able to turn his sights toward the Democratic party for the upcoming general election showdown. Working out his plan for the general election, Romney's action of removing himself from the race should have allowed the Republican party to unite more and work harder to get a headstart shooting down the Dems. (Though, this doesn't seem to be the case... See above for evidence...) Risking losing the votes from Independents and Moderate voters alike, McCain plains to stand steadfast and strong in support of the war in Iraq, despite the fact that such an overwhelming majority of the country has turned away from supporting the questionable conflict.
With McCain running for the Republicans in 2008, we'll see who he has to face: Obama or Hillary?

McCain's success

In the News: Despite his lead in the republican race, McCain admitted that he feels nervous for Super Tuesday, when almost half of America will be casting their votes. Trying to reach out to the right wingers, McCain promised to appoint Supreme Court Judges similar to Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. This statement was an attempt to counteract Mitt Romney's claim that McCain is not conservative enough. In another attempt to reach out to conservative voters, McCain stated that he is the only candidate that will be able to beat the Democrats in the race for the White House. Also, McCain is acting very peculiar for someone ahead in the polls. Instead of being courteous to his fellow competitors, McCain was obnoxious in his debate with Mitt Romney. Just like his fellow Republicans, McCain is trying to make himself seem as if he is Reagan reincarnate. Also, McCain publicly thanked two prominent Christian leaders, Tony Perkins and Dr. Richard Land, for speaking highly of him earlier in the week.

In the Polls: In a poll recently conducted by Pew Research Center shows McCain making gains in various political groups. Also, McCain has shown to have a strong lead in Illinois and New Jersey polls. In Georgia, McCain holds a six point lead over his competitors. However, even though McCain may have the lead in the aforementioned states, he is just barely hanging onto his lead in California.

Endorsements: Even though his wife, Maria Shriver, backed Obama, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger backed McCain. Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman endorsed McCain after his initial favorite, Giuliani, dropped out. Georgia senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson and Georgia mayor Bob Young have all endorsed McCain. Also, the New Haven Register backed McCain, claiming that he is the "least calculating" and the "most genuine" candidate. The Los Angeles Times endorsed McCain as well. Also, the largest Spanish language newspaper, La Opinion, endorsed McCain.

John "Rocky" McCain

In the News: McCain and Romney have begun some serious campaign jabs as the competition heats up before the big Florida primaries; the Senator has been criticizing the former Mass. Governor about his Iraq record and "flip-flopping" on issues, while Romney also claims that McCain has been reshuffling his positions, and is being "untruthful" about Romney's record. Meanwhile, Florida internet searches for "John McCain" have increased by an impressive 50% since this time last month, while searches for McCain's other rival, Guliani, are down 60%.

Endorsements: This weekend, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will be hitting the Florida campaign trail for the Senator. Meanwhile, Fred Thompson's former finance chairman, Scooter Clippard, has signed on with the McCain campaign, with Thompson's supporters still up for grabs. This past week McCain picked up the support of the Philadelphia Enquirer and the New York Times, as well as that of the Latin Builder's Association in Miami, and Senator Mel Martinez of Florida (which is unfortunate for Guliani, who had been heavily courting the Cuban-American vote). Also, Sylvester Stallone, best known for his role as "Rocky Balboa," has announced his support of the Senator: WHAT NOW CHUCK NORRIS?!?!

McCain Picking Up Speed?

Although our favorite Republican candidate, John McCain, did not win the Michigan primary, losing it to Mitt Romney, he is picking up speed. Winning the South Carolina primary, McCain is looking to be a much stronger candidate than he had been looked at being in the past few months. With this win, it seems that Romney and McCain are pushing the early winner, Huckabee, out of his position, leaving him in the dust. McCain, though, has also lost Michigan to Romney, who's personal history in the state gave him a great advantage over the other Republican candidates. Romney's position in the race perhaps has stuttered a bit, as he took only fourth in the South Carolina primary, far behind the lead.
Interestingly enough, though, the actor seen in the back of all the recent news footage of the election campaign trails, the internet-famous Chuck Norris, has been stirring up trouble with McCain. Attacking McCain for his age, saying that he is not young enough to serve as president, Norris has been struck back at by McCain. As the campaign continues, we'll see how McCain, who is currently polling first in Florida, a state chock full of retired persons, will pull through.

Post-New Hamphire, Pre-Michigan

In the News: Now that the New Hampshire primary is over, with McCain coming out on top, McCain and Romney are heatedly discussing how to bolster the Michigan economy, both attempting to outshine their opponent before the Michigan primary begins. On Wednesday, McCain will be visiting York County for a town hall meeting. Also, McCain will be speaking at the Burnham Brook Community Center, Michigan in order to try to boost his chances of winning the primary. There is a question whether the assassination of Bhutto has raised the number of people who will vote for McCain. The theory is that because he has the most experience in foreign policy and national defense. Because South Carolina is home to many war veterans, McCain, a war hero, is counting on that primary to boost his presidential campaign. Also, in a gym at Clawson High School, McCain tells the crowd that the USA is winning the war in Iraq, and simply needs more time. McCain has, along with Environmental Defense, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Pew Center on Climate Change, supported a tax increase on energy.

Endorsements: South Carolina’s largest newspaper, The State, endorsed McCain, choosing him above the inexperienced Huckabee.

In the Polls: Romney is currently leading McCain in the polls leading up to the Michigan primary, while Huckabee is in third.

Post-Caucus Evaluation: The McCain Surge

Iowa: Despite coming in fourth place at the "ballot" boxes, McCain's overall chances are looking up; Romney's lackluster performance, coupled with Huckabee's semi-"Iowan surprise," make the Senator look more presidential by the minute.
Not Iowa: In Michigan, he was recently endorsed by the Detroit News, and New Hampshire, he recently beat out former frontrunner Romney in the polls. There is also some speculation that, of all the GOP hopefuls, McCain would attract the most Independents at the ballot box, a very significant (if not the most significant) voting pool.

McCain Pre-Iowa

In this pre-Iowa Caucus period of political uncertainty, John McCain has been active, like every other candidate, in rallying support for the upcoming event in attempt to "pick up speed" politically.
Although McCain had been polled ahead by certain sources in the Iowa Caucus, it is not yet clear whether he has secured a victory in the first primary/caucus event for this Presidential election. With Huckabee and Romney hanging around, McCain took a last minute trip to Iowa, on the day before the caucus itself, in order to rally some last minute support. Importantly, though, McCain has been polling well in New Hampshire, as well, a sign that hopefully (for him) he will be able to pick up speed and get the ball rolling on his campaign.