David Corn

Why not John McCain?

It may well be time for the ex-maverick to make a comeback. Not too long ago, I thought he was about as dead as Monty Python's dead parrot. But he has managed to keep his on-life-support campaign chugging along. Sure, it's not the Straight Talk Express of yesteryear, but at least in New Hampshire he's more or less tied for second place with Rudy Giuliani (while trailing Mitt Romney).

Is McCain poised for a surge? Well, if life were fair, he would be. What's the most important issue of the day? The Iraq war. And of all the GOP candidates, who has the best record on the war from a Republican perspective? John McCain.

Let's run down the opposition. What have they done to bolster the war effort? Giuliani--after 9/11, he cashed in, setting up a daisy chain of businesses to make millions. He was too busy giving speeches (for money) even to serve on the Iraq Study Group. Romney--was he a leading voice for the war on Iraq at the start? I cannot recall him saying anything of note. Sure, he's supported George W. Bush's escalation of troops, but he's done nothing special for the war. Ditto for Mike Huckabee. As for Fred Thompson, after voting to authorize the Iraq war, he headed to Hollywood for a Law & Order gig. Among this group, there's been no self-mobilization.

McCain, though, has been a champion of the war from the get-go. He has taken multiple trips there and has repeatedly proclaimed progress was under way (whether or not it was). What other GOP candidate has strolled through a Baghdad market with a heavily armed force guarding him to prove Iraq was on the mend? McCain bravely was not at all worried about the mockery that would be aimed at him for that stunt. Even though the Bush campaign slimed McCain in the all-important South Carolina primary in 2000, McCain loyally supported Bush afterward and went on to become one of the chief advocates of Bush's war. He has not wavered.

And for all that McCain gets little love from Republican primary voters. What ingrates. McCain is even right (by conservative standards) on the social issues. Whatever he might truly think about abortion, he has voted against it. He opposes gay marriage. He can boast a better record on the social front than Giuliani (who backs abortion rights and once happily lived with a gay couple) or Romney, who has back-flipped on both issues. McCain also has consistently targeted wasteful government spending--an endeavor that ought to be appreciated by true conservatives and Republicans.

Yes, McCain has peeved rightwing constituency groups by passing campaign reform legislation and by pushing an immigration bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. And, yes, on the campaign trail, he's looked a bit tired and worn out. But regarding the key GOP issues of the war, abortion, and gay marriage, he's a good deal for conservatives. Are Republicans really going to let a few wrinkles and an old dispute over campaign finance reform prevent them from supporting a fellow who has given his heart and soul to the Iraq war?

So with other candidates hitting bumps these days--particularly Giuliani and Thompson--might there be an opening for John McCain, the steady ol' warrior? Of the whole GOP pack, McCain is the only candidate who has dedicated himself to the war; he's the only one who has taken action to try to make the war a success. And Republican primary voters have not rallied around him. It makes you wonder how much they really care about the war.

WHAT DID HE KNOW, WHAT IS HE NOT TELLING? Want to see how Fred Thompson is fiddling with the truth about his role in Watergate? I explain all here.