John McCain - Straight Talking Surge is Working!

The New York Times fed internet snitch Matt Drudge some political stink-bombs last week expecting John McCain to fold like a Stanford Math Major/Internet Poker Dweeb playing five card stud with Doyle Brunson.

Huge Hat Tip to John Rubery's Marathon Pundit! Way to go. Rubes!

http://haloscan.com/tb/marathonpundit/46896944299748457

NoTimes story this morning, Drudge-O, but John McCain took the leash off of National Pit-bull lawyer Bob Bennett and yesterday, got out in front of the allegations. Sounds like Michael Flatley v.The Serial Skank- No Contest, but another golden moment in American litigation legal legend. Could be straight talking stare down time for the New York Times but those ink-slingers have a history of getting their britches yanked down with the truth. No shame - No sales, I guess.

Anyway - The Straight Talking John McCain Campaign is Surging!


Even the Brits are getting it; check this out from The Telegraph:

A new poll published yesterday placed him equal with Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, the north-eastern state whose primary is held on Jan 8. Just weeks ago Mr McCain trailed his rival by more than 10 points.

He has also been endorsed this week by both of Mr Romney's hometown newspapers in Boston, a significant blow to the former Massachusetts governor.

The Boston Herald, a conservative tabloid which also circulates in neighbouring New Hampshire, said of Mr McCain: "There are times in this nation's history so perilous that they cry out for a steady, experienced leader, a person so trusted that we would put the fate of this country in his hands. This is one of those times, and Sen John McCain is that person."

At the age of 71 Mr McCain has been dubbed the "comeback kid". The phrase was coined by Bill Clinton in 1992 when he came second in New Hampshire and went on to sweep through the subsequent primaries.

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The same state could be the long-serving senator's base for victory. In 2000, Mr McCain beat George W Bush in New Hampshire by a wide margin only to be overtaken quickly in states further south.

Largely because of his strong performance then, the senator started out the primary campaign a year ago as the Republican front-runner only to appear washed up in the summer amid claims of mismanagement and a poor fundraising performance.

But his consistency on Iraq has paid off. From the outset of the war, Mr McCain opposed Donald Rumsfeld's strategy, arguing that more troops were needed. He supported the surge of 30,000 US troops when others were dismissing it as too little too late, and has made tackling Islamic extremism a central part of his platform.

He told the Wall Street Journal recently: "This is a seminal moment in American history. We've got a long way to go. Al-Qa'eda is on the run but they're not defeated."

Meanwhile his own wartime heroics - he was a North Vietnamese prisoner of war for five years - has continued to underpin his credibility as a national leader.

Mr McCain has also benefited from the lack of a clear favourite in the Republican field capable of attracting both the evangelical and economic branches of the party, as Mr Bush was able to do.

He has given up hope of winning Iowa, the conservative Midwestern state that votes on Jan 3. But a victory there for Mike Huckabee, the southern Baptist minister who is weak in New Hampshire, could enfeeble Mr Romney and open the door to Mr McCain.

"I really don't like that," he said this week of the "comeback kid" nickname. "But things are turning around."

The race in New Hampshire is particularly hard to predict as registered independents are allowed to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary and form the largest bloc of voters. They are renowned for making up their mind at the last minute.

Therefore the endorsement this week of Joseph Lieberman, an independent senator who normally votes Democrat, gave another timely boost.

Mr Lieberman, who was Al Gore's vice-presidential candidate in 2000, said he chose his longtime Senate colleague because he had the best shot of breaking partisan gridlock in Washington.

"The status quo in Washington is not working," he said.

BTW - Just my south side Chicago Dinny Dimwit's opinion - but can the McCain crew get the press to LAY Off the 'The Comeback Kid' tag line? Bubba Clinton beat that one to death - along with the trust the American People vested in him.

I better put a call into Illinois McCain Chairman Jim Durkin and maybe he can apply a little of that Chicago Catholic League level of convincing to the pencil neck geek crowd from Medill School of Journalism here in the Midwest. Naw, They get all of their stories from The Chicago Reader ( a local free press) anyway.

Click my post title for the San Francisco Chronicle Story on The Straight Talk Surge - It's working!