McCain '00 Plus - "All In" in New Hampshire (And The Other Early Primary States)

We think that McCain campaign obituaries written by the Gang of 500 before February 5th of next year are premature.

And those obits are premature in the extreme if they are based on nothing more than early poll numbers and fundraising.

Johnny Mac didn't mail it in when he was locked in a box for the better part of six years. McCain didn't flinch when he stared down the GOP nut-cutters in 2000. So we don't see him folding up now just because some whipper-snapper Clacker declares him a "dead man walking".

Even if the situation turns into Clackers plural. Which it might when Team McCain releases 2Q fundraising numbers at the end of the month.

Noted: GreenMountainPolitics1 is reading and hearing the exact same things as every other Clacker. No more. No less.

And McCain's campaign does seem to have some problems. We'll admit that.

But the important thing to remember, we think, is that it's the campaign that has the problems. Not the candidate.

Which makes this a much simpler fix.

Yes, immigration hurts McCain in a Primary. Yes, the War in Iraq hurts McCain in a General. Yes, campaign finance reform and past fights with the GOP base hurts McCain in a Primary.

Duh.

But that's McCain. And he's the candidate. And he's not going to change from doing what he thinks is right for nothing and for nobody.

Which is why we love him more than any candidate who has run for President in 30 years.

And McCain's Straight Talk is why we think he's the only GOP candidate that can be elected in 2008.

But Team McCain must remember that successful campaigns compliment the candidate. Not the other way around.

Which is why we think the Bush '04 re-elect campaign that the McCain camp has been running for the last several months has not been successful.

Too much national staff. Too much "establishment thinking". Too much wishing that the candidate is someone (Bush) he's not. Too much worrying about what the GOP big donors (lots of assholes, no snark) think about McCain. Too much of a 50-State Strategy before the Primary is even won.

It's just doesn't seem to be working.

And so we think that it's time for a change. And we think that change starts in a big way in New Hampshire.

Think of it as "McCain '00 Plus".

Which we like to think of as a 80-20 split between McCain 2000 (80%) and Bush '04 (20%).

In other words, let the candidate do his thing in the early primary states, torpedoes be damned (McCain 2000) while making sure that he has a good nuts and bolts operation to back him up (Bush '04).

In other words, forget the 100 person national staff. Forget courting Bushies who will never like you and only end up muddling your message. Forget a 50-State Strategy 7 months before the first Primary vote is case.

In other words, get into (move into!) the early primary states and kick some f*cking ass.

That's "McCain '00 Plus".

Noted: Yes, we fancy ourselves a blogger and a political strategist. Who doesn't?

But we think we're right.

And we're just saying.