I'm starting to think McCain may be the sleeper candidate on the Republican side.

[Kat45]

Many of us wrote off McCain very early in this campaign. We were thinking that his time had passed, nobody was all that interested in him anymore. The media always talks about Guiliani and Romney, with Huckabee suddenly polling well and therefore garnering media attention.

All of a sudden, McCain is getting the endorsements, perhaps the bulk of them for Republican candidates. The "Boston Herald" even declined to endorse a Democratic candidate because they felt so strongly the McCain is the one person who absolutely should be our next President.

What is going on here? Bush and his war are highly unpopular, and McCain is the one candidate who has hitched his wagon to Bush and his war as other Republicans are scrambling to distance themselves from the unpopular administration. And yet he's getting all these endorsements.

I know endorsements don't directly translate into votes, but I'm sure some voters are influenced by them, perhaps particularly those who don't do their own research into the candidates (probably most people). Endorsements also bring attention to the candidates who get them, which means the media will be more likely to cover McCain and he will be more likely to start polling higher than he has been.

Many people also still see McCain as the maverick with the straight-talk express that they saw in his earlier presidential run. They also have the impression that he's somewhat "liberal," which is far from the truth. McCain may have been joking when he sang, "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann," but I do not think it is funny, and it's also a tacky and irresposible thing for an elected, or appointed, official to say. I would not want this man to become the President of the United States.

[AlCzervik]

1. Good luck to him winning the SC primary.

[babylonsister]

2. And this doesn't help:

Source: McCain Online Fundraising Up 500 Percent This Week
By Greg Sargent - December 21, 2007, 2:18PM


A source close to the McCain campaign tells me that online fundraising is up 500 percent this week over the previous weekly average -- a reflection of the Arizona Senator's lift in the polls and some key endorsements he garnered in recent days, such as that of the New Hampshire Union Leader.

"We had the Union Leader, and we had a kick-ass six day trip," the source says.

In another positive development, the source says there's been a rise in the number of people calling the campaign to volunteer their services. Interestingly, the callers are volunteering on the strength of having seen the mailer that McCain recently dropped in New Hampshire telling of the Christmas inspiration he felt during his days in captivity as a war prisoner in Vietnam:

"It's incredible," says the source. "People who see the mailing are calling in, saying they want to join."

At any rate, such developments are producing something approaching good cheer in the McCain camp.

Late Update: One necessary caveat: As Josh says, "big percentage jumps are a lot easier to put together when you're coming back from near zero."

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/12/source_mccain_online_fundraising_up_500_percent_this_week.php

[Kat45]

5. Not happy to see that, but thanks for posting it. n/t

[HeraldSquare212]

3. Wide open on the Republican side

I think there's plenty of room for someone new to enter that race. I am so surprised that more people haven't gotten in it. I guess they all feel the Dems are going to take the WH.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Manchurian Candidate, more likely.

[Kat45]

6. Interesting take. How so? n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

10. Just a little play on the Rove job he got in 2000.

Portrayed as being unstable & dangerous, having more-or-less lost his mind in the North Vietnamese POW camp. A typical Rove maneuver of taking a presumed strength in your opponent & turning it into a negative.

[HughMoran]

7. The "Boston Herald" even declined to endorse a Democratic candidate

That's kinda funny since the Herald is a right-wing paper!

NPR did a bit on McCain making inroads that was along the same lines as your post. I think he's a good one to run against as he can look sickly at times and he's turned into a Bushco flunky.

[Gato Moteado]

8. LITERALLY

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/01/24/mccain-falls-asleep/

[calteacherguy]

9. Me too, and I think Obama is the only one with a chance to beat him. nt

[Gato Moteado]

11. why would obama be the only one with a chance to beat him?

nt

[BlueManDude]

12. IMO he is unbeatable in a general election.

I've been saying taht he wasn't dead for months. It's become apparent that the rest of the field are a bunch of freaks and geeks so McCain will become the alternative.

[gorekerrydreamticket]

15. Agree, and because Gore isn't running, McCain can be the one to

say "See, you should have voted for me in 2000..."

[soothsayer]

17. Are you kidding? He's a kook and absolutely unelectable.

[BlueManDude]

19. Hopefully we'll never find out but

if he gets the nomination I think you'll begin to see what I'm talking about. He is absolutely beloved by the political press in DC and they will be propping him up and trashing the Dem all the way to election day.

[Kat45]

13. self-kick because of all the McCain threads that have popped up since.

:kick:

[Catchawave]

14. Yep, and Edwards is the only Dem that has consistently beat him...

with much higher percentages than Hil and Barry.

[NCarolinawoman]

16. McCain will be the "I Will Keep You Safe" candidate.

The press will aid his candidacy, even when he makes blunders. This is what they did for Bush.

If there is an international crisis--and there is bound to be one, his candidacy will be helped even more.

[immoderate]

18. He'll win by default.

All the other pubs seem to be disqualifying themselves.

Maybe Fred Thompson will awake from his coma. :boring:

--IMM