January 07, 2008, 22:15
US Republican presidential candidate John McCain says even he had some doubts about whether he could come back from the political graveyard to which he was consigned last summer.
But come back he has, to the point that he is leading in New Hampshire a day ahead of its crucial vote tomorrow. With a victory he would gain important momentum heading into subsequent contests in the Republican race for the November presidential election.
"I always believed we could win but I can't give you straight talk and not tell you that maybe on occasion I had a couple of doubts," says McCain.
Last summer McCain's political obituary was being written. Out of cash, he shook up his staff and streamlined his organization, eschewing expensive television advertising for cheaper town hall meetings, putting him in direct touch with voters.
He largely skipped the campaign for the Iowa contest last week, but still managed to finish fourth behind winner Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, and second-place finisher Mitt Romney, who was governor of neighboring Massachusetts. Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee barely edged out McCain.
The strategy of the 71-year-old former Vietnam prisoner of war could pay off, putting him back in the race to win the Republican nomination. His rise has come despite criticism from Romney for his support for now-dead Senate legislation that would give 12 million illegal immigrants a pathway to US citizenship.
McCain won New Hampshire in 2000, devastating the campaign of George W. Bush, but Bush rebounded in South Carolina and went on to win the White House. Eight years later, McCain's peppery enthusiasm remains the same, although he might have toned down his act a bit. Back then, his "Straight Talk Express" bus was a running circus of media attention.
Now the message is much more focused. The lead theme is that the struggle against Islamic extremism is the calling of our times, and must be dealt with firmly, starting with a victory in the war in Iraq. - Reuters
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