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Sen. John McCain: 'I Will Respond If Attacked'
The self-described "Happy Warrior" of the 2000 White House race has gone negative in 2008. Republican John McCain struck a positive tone throughout much of his first presidential campaign, assailing rival George W. Bush only after the Texas governor engaged in nasty politics in South Carolina. Eight years later, the Arizona senator is mixing it up with rival Mitt Romney with increasing intensity after largely ignoring the former Massachusetts's governor's criticisms - a full six months before voting begins, and as McCain, once considered the Republican to beat, finds himself struggling to regain momentum. His support in early primary state surveys has been static or slipping; this week, polls in Iowa and South Carolina showed him in single digits. He is facing fierce challenges from Romney and Rudy Giuliani, sniping from lesser-knowns in the 10-man field and the wild card of actor-politician Fred Thompson, a likely entry.
Story Continues Below McCain also lags in fundraising, with another financial deadline looming, and has trimmed campaign staff. His embrace of a bipartisan immigration bill has furthered angered conservatives - a key GOP primary voting bloc already wary of him. And he's fighting the perception that he's yesterday's candidate. "McCain's campaign is acting frustrated as they lost their front-runner status," said Scott Reed, who ran Bob Dole's 1996 campaign. Added Rich Bond, a former Republican National Committee chairman: "McCain is feeling cross pressured, by Romney in particular, and is giving back as good as he gets." Romney, to be sure, has been provocative; he and his aides have assailed McCain on everything from gay marriage to tax cuts for months. As Romney campaigns, he routinely ribs McCain for co-sponsoring campaign finance and immigration measures with liberal icon Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. McCain says he won't remain silent.
"I will respond if I am attacked for things I've done legislatively or things that I've proposed such as immigration reform. I think that that's fair, but I will not have any personal attacks," he said earlier this week. Not only has McCain's campaign started to more forcefully answer Romney, but it also has launched at least two unprovoked hits in recent days. McCain's aides unearthed and distributed video clips of Romney's statements on stem cells and abortion rights to illuminate his equivocations on the topics. One news release was titled: "MITT VS. FACT. SAY. DO. ANYTHING." It referenced Romney's "shifting positions" and questioned whether he had principled stances. The implied argument: Romney lacks the core beliefs needed to be president. Romney's aides say McCain's actions smack of desperation and bear the mark of a flailing campaign. McCain's aides counter that Romney has jabbed at their boss since last year, and they're simply fighting back. McCain criticizing his rivals carries risks, especially given his first upbeat campaign; his negativity could turn off voters when his campaign could use a burst of energy. One recent national poll showed that 30 percent view McCain unfavorably, while only 23 percent view him favorably. "The key to John McCain's appeal is that he's always been a different type of politician," said Dan Schnur, a McCain aide in 2000 who is unaligned in 2008. "While it's unfair to hold McCain to a higher standard than other candidates, (going negative) does make it more difficult for him to stake out his own turf and separate himself from the rest of the field." The flip side: doing nothing to counter Romney's criticism or stunt his recent uptick in support in early primary states could have disastrous effects on McCain's pursuit of the nomination - and his strategy to be the last Republican standing. "McCain took a life's lesson away from what George Bush did to him in South Carolina, and that is: when you're going to get hit, and especially when you're going to get hit unfairly, you've got to hit back," Bond said.
A serious contender today, McCain is in a markedly different spot than 2000. Then, he was an underdog looking for traction against the establishment candidate. McCain honed a straight-talking image and largely refrained from mud slinging. He could; Bush ignored him. He didn't compete in Iowa but he soared in New Hampshire with a stunning 18-percentage-point win over Bush. Only then, in South Carolina, did Bush play dirty. McCain was the target of whispers by Bush allies that he was mentally unbalanced and that he had fathered an illegitimate black child. Bush took on McCain, and McCain lashed back, only to return to his even-keeled campaign. In the end, he lost the nomination, and says he regrets his flash of negativity. "I think I made a mistake in South Carolina. I got angry. People don't like angry candidates," McCain told reporters in March on his campaign bus in Iowa. "I should have been more mature." Just three months later, McCain and Romney are openly sparring.
© 2007 Associated Press.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
2008 Presidential Race Inside Cover Stories
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