What should McCain do with the time he
has been given to strengthen his candidacy
for the general election? We put that ques-
tion to a number of strategists and opera-
tives in both parties.
Their top ten ideas -- coupled with a few of
The Fix's own thoughts -- are below.
A caveat: Not all of these suggestions -- or perhaps none
of them -- will come to pass. We asked our sources to think
outside the box to start a conversation. We want to hear
your thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of the
ideas below.
To the Line!
10. Resign From the Senate: Running for president from
the Senate is a bad idea. First, there's the history of it -- no
sitting senator has been elected president since 1960.
Second, the Democrats who control the chamber will do
everything they can to complicate McCain's life, forcing him
to vote on controversial measures. (Third, how great would
another competitive Senate race be for political junkies?
Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) versus Rep. John Shadegg (R),
anyone?) Of course, resigning from the Senate to focus on
the presidential race full time isn't full proof. See Dole, Bob.
9. Stop Criticizing Outside Groups: McCain may not like
all of the outside money coursing through the system but in
an election where he is likely to be badly outspent by the
Democratic nominee and his (or her) allied groups, McCain
needs some third party spending on his side as a counter-
weight.
McCain has made his disdain for 527s and 501(c)- (4)s clear
over the past few years, and the donors who fund these
groups know it. Republican strategists worry that if McCain
is too tough on these conservative aligned groups the donors
may take their money and walk away, a situation that many
GOP operatives would equate to fighting the general election
with one hand tied behind their backs.
8. Court Blue Collars: Even Obama's staunchest suppor-
ters privately acknowledge that he will have some work to
do to win over blue collar white voters if he winds up as the
Democratic nominee. McCain should make Obama's task
more difficult by spending the next weeks (or months) mak-
ing it clear to blue collar voters that he understands their
concerns and will stand up for them if elected. McCain is
already doing some of this with his "forgotten places" tour --
a trip that has taken him to Kentucky, Ohio and Arkansas.
7. Tell the Story: McCain's greatest strength in this contest
is his long resume of service to the country. Of course, that
same long resume means that McCain has been around a long
time and, at 72, would be the oldest president ever inaugur-
ated to a first term. With Obama and Clinton otherwise oc-
cupied, the Arizona senator's campaign should make sure
that voters in swing states focus on McCain the war hero
not McCain the septuagenarian. One suggestion from a GOP
consultant: cut an extended biographical video (10-15 min-
utes long), put it on You Tube and try to drive young inde-
pendents to it.
6. Pick the Playing Field: There's a huge amount of debate
in the Democratic party about how different the electoral
map would look depending on who they nominate. Exacer-
bate those concerns by starting to advertise on television in
selected swing states.
(McCain has already done some of that by running TV ads
in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and southern Ohio.) Compli-
ment the ad campaign with appearances by the candidate in
the state -- stops sure to draw scads of coverage on local
tele-vision and in smaller news- papers. (Game out your
own general election scenarios on our interactive electoral
college map.)
5. Research Thyself: McCain should turn the full efforts of
his research department on himself. Figure out every nega-
tive nook and cranny that Democrats will seek to exploit and
decide how the candidate (and the campaign) will respond.
Moreover, have television ads ready to go to respond to the
four or five most likely attacks from either the Democratic
nominee or other Democratic affiliated groups. The 2000
and 2004 presidential campaign brought the phrase "rapid
re- sponse" into the political lexicon; the 2008 general
election will take the concept to new heights.
4. Control the Convention: The next time the average
voter will pay close attention to McCain is at the Republi-
can National Convention in Minnesota in early September.
The Democrats' best case convention scenario is some low-
evel grumbling from the supporters of the candidate not
picked; worst case is an all-out floor fight between backers
of Clinton and Obama.
McCain should make the GOP con- vention the model of
unity and cohesion; not let any free agents steal the story
with inflammatory speeches that will distract from the mes-
sage the Arizona senator's campaign wants to convey to vo-
ters. Scrutinize every element of the convention -- from
speech-givers to staging. Then go over it again.
3. Aside from Bush: It's no secret that Democrats will
paint McCain as the heir to the presidency of George W.
Bush -- particularly when it comes to the war in Iraq.
(Liberal groups are already hard at work tying Bush's
unpopularity around McCain's ankles.) McCain needs
badly to convince voters that while he may support the
President on some issues, he is not a Bush Republican.
While remaking the Republican brand before November may
be too high a bar even for McCain, he must convince voters
that the outgoing president doesn't define the party. McCain
may have already gotten the message:
His outspoken criticism of the President's handling of the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina drew massive press coverage.
2. Pick Early: The vice presidential pick is usually not
made (or at least made public) until days before the party
convention. By picking his ticket mate early this summer,
McCain would draw a stark contrast with Democrats; while
Clinton and Obama continue to fight it out for the Demo-
ratic nomination, McCain and his vice presidential pick
would present a united front to the American people.
It could also have a number of positive practical implica-
tions. McCain and his running mate could double the amount
of ground covered in a day of campaigning and having a vice
presidential pick in place could also help McCain to raise
money as the candidate chosen could tap his (or her) own
dedicated donors.
1. The Collection Plate: Even though McCain is appar-
ently accepting public financing for the general election,
that doesn't remove the onus of collecting cash. McCain has
never relished raising money and his underfunded run to the
Republican presidential nomination may have solidified the
idea in his mind that he doesn't need to do it.
But, he does. Badly. McCain needs to make sure that the
Republican National Committee is as well funded as pos-
sible so that the voter identification, contact and turnout
operations traditionally run by the party are taken care of.
More RNC money can put more states in play -- the kind of
flexibility McCain needs for an electoral map in flux.
By Chris Cillizza - Washington Post
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