The Flyover View, Granite Wishes And Comeback Dreams
John McCain stumped in battleground New Hampshire today, making his pitch to the state that has twice resuscitated his career to make him a Comeback Kid once again.
From the Nashua Telegraph's coverage of the Manchester rally:
A defiant, Republican presidential nominee John McCain said today he’s confident he’ll confound the pollsters and pundits and win New Hampshire’s four electoral votes.
"I’ve learned a lot over the years from the people of this state and I know one thing for certain -- it doesn’t matter what the pundits think or how confident my opponent is," McCain declared.
What's happened to McCain's support in NH? In both '00 and '08, it was the Granite State that catapulted his presidential bid into legitimacy. But this time around, some of his strongest supporters say they have left the McCain fold for good. From the AP's Holly Ramer:
Marge Bonneville voted for John McCain in the 2000 New Hampshire primary and wrote him in on her general election ballot after he lost the Republican nomination to George W. Bush. She did the same four years later, when McCain wasn't even running.
"I look at McCain now and say, 'How can anyone want him as our president?' " said Bonneville, 58, a lifelong Republican from Tilton. This year, she's changed her registration to undeclared and is volunteering for Obama's campaign in New Hampshire.
What's caused the shift for Bonneville and other voters? "State trends." More from the AP:
New Hampshire was the only state to vote for John Kerry in 2004 after voting for Bush in 2000, and Democrats swept both its congressional seats, the governor's office and both houses of the state Legislature in 2006. In the last two years, Democrats have increased their voter rolls by 20 percent, compared to a 6 percent gain by Republicans. The GOP has seen its advantage over Democrats shrink to just under 6,000 votes. Undeclared voters, who were key to McCain's primary wins, have decreased but still outnumber those registered with either party.
The change for McCain in NH might be more summed up by the comment section attached to the New Hampshire Union-Leader's coverage of today's McCain rally. A sample:
John McCain can give an order "never give up," but the fact is a lot of Republicans and Independents have already given up on him. He has run a terrible campaign and his worst decision by far was his VP pick. Today we find out that Sarah Palin has been on a shopping spree with campaign contributions (funded in part with taxpayers' money). In the few weeks she has been campaigning, she has spent $150,000 on clothes and makeup. That's a lot of lipstick! I'm glad to see that McCain is earmarking his campaign money wisely.
- Mark Johnson, Concord
And despite McCain's vow to fight for NH, the Telegraph also reported that the state's Obama-leaning poll numbers might be having an effect on the McCain camp's strategy:
The Telegraph confirmed today that on Tuesday the McCain campaign cut its weekly advertising on WMUR-TV of $100,000 in half for the final two weeks of the campaign.
(EVAN McMORRIS-SANTORO)
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