John McCain the happy warrior finally reappears (getting giddy the slog is near done)

[DogPoundPup]

Source: LA Times


Reporting from Peterborough, N.H. -- It was almost nine years ago that John McCain's quest for the White House began in the basement of Peterborough's town hall.

McCain had held a few scattered town hall meetings in New Hampshire before then, but his candidacy in the 2000 Republican presidential primary generated such little interest that fewer than 20 people showed for the Peterborough event, even though his campaign distributed 1,000 fliers advertising free ice cream. And, as the Arizona senator recalled Sunday, his campaign "ate ice cream for the next two weeks."

Six months later, just before he posted a stunning 18-point primary win over then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, he returned to Peterborough for his 114th town hall event -- turning a preelection visit here into one of McCain's superstitions.

Given that McCain is down by an average of 10 points in New Hampshire polls, his return to the state that rescued his campaign then and his latest presidential run early this year seemed more nostalgic than strategic.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mccain3-2008nov03,0,791198.story

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A must read to the end...great reporting By Maeve Reston at the LA Times

~snip
In rallies across Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia last week, McCain finally appeared to be getting the upper hand in his struggle with the teleprompter. With the exception of a few flubbed lines, he has delivered his calls to "fight" with gusto, striking the podium with his fist or his pointer finger.

[Kalyan]

1. V2 sucks

McCain 2000 would have given BO quite a scare - not sure if either McCain 2000 or 2008 would have won but atleast McCain 2000 had dignity, honesty and was believable when he said he was the "maverick". Version 2008 is a dishonest liar who is so full of himself that he think he is royalty and that POTUS should be handed in a platter.

While version 2008 ensured that Obama won, McCain version 2000 would be sorely missed!