By Marc Pitzke in Nashua, New Hampshire
John McCain and his wife Cindy in New Hampshire: Can he spread New Hampshire's adrenaline across the country without money or the support of the Republican establishment?
John McCain is a superstitious man. He chose to stay in the same hotel here in New Hampshire as he did in 2000, when he last managed a comeback in a primary -- in the Crowne Plaza in Nashua, the town where he announced his first bid for the Republication nomination eight years ago. He has the same room as then. He's rented the same ballroom. During the day he even wears the same blue-green V-neck pullover he wore then.
Sometimes politics is more than strategy and cold calculation. Sometimes politics is simply about gritting your teeth and going for it.
That applies to John McCain. On this night in New Hampshire, he proved the old adage that, in politics, it's not over till it's over. It's the biggest lesson of the campaign so far, and one that some Democrats are having to digest.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," the 71-year-old McCain, dismissed as a tragic old-timer until recently, called out to his exhilarated supporters with a hint of sentimentality. "We showed them a comeback."
The hall turns into a sea of stars-and-stripes banners and the battle cry rings out: "Mac is back! Mac is back!" followed by patriotic chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" for the old Vietnam war hero.
Déjŕ vu: A lot about McCain's victory in the New Hampshire primary reminds one of 2000. Then, as now, his "Straight Talk Express" battle bus roamed the state -- reporters always welcome. At the time he embarrassed George W. Bush, consigning him to second place with a vote of 49 percent to 30 percent. This time he outclassed rival candidate Mitt Romney.
But, of course, much has changed in the last eight years. In 2000 it was a simple duel between McCain and Bush. McCain was eight years younger and Bush went on to win South Carolina, throwing him out of the race with such force that McCain didn't recover for a long time.
"Two Silvers and One Gold"
McCain has good reason to be delighted at his success, but it doesn't make the Republican bid to hold onto the presidency any easier. On the contrary, the Republican nomination is suddenly wide open, more open than ever.
Last week, Iowa handed victory to Mike Huckabee, the opponent of evolution with the social conscience and silken preacher's tongue. In New Hampshire it was turn of McCain, the maverick at odds with the Republican party leadership. Many overlooked the small Wyoming primary, where Mitt Romney -- the always-dapper millionaire who continues to see himself as the favorite despite his two defeats -- emerged victorious.
"There have been three races so far, and I've gotten two silvers and one gold," Romney said.
Michigan, South Carolina and Florida are the next stops for this traveling circus of election promises. And the candidates have departed before the confetti has even been swept up, with McCain heading to Michigan and Huckabee to South Carolina. On Thursday they'll all meet in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for yet another TV debate about taxes, immigration and what qualifies for leadership -- service in the military, in the boardroom or behind the pulpit.
McCain's comeback is quite an achievement. His funds had dried up, his strategists had either quit or been fired, and many pundits had predicted he would not recover from his gaffe during a visit to Baghdad last April, when he walked around Baghdad's Shorja market -- protected by 100 soldiers and a bulletproof vest -- and claimed "there are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today."
His support for Bush's Iraq policy had also appeared to herald his downfall, as did his backing of the failed immigration reform. In the end, however, McCain's "straight talk" won the day, at least in New Hampshire.
Short-lived Adrenaline Rush?
He has momentum. But he now faces Michigan, where Romney grew up. Then South Carolina, where the southerner Mike Huckabee is appealing to Christian voters. And then to Florida, where Rudy Giuliani, who ignored Iowa and New Hampshire, has built up a strong following among Latinos and former New Yorkers.
All the Republican candidates are starting to show wear and tear. Romney, who lost the first two big elections despite investing more than $20 million in campaigning, Huckabee, who is losing momentum despite his win in Iowa, Giuliani, whose electoral strategy looks increasingly risky, and the gnarled Fred Thomson.
McCain's advisers don't know how to spread New Hampshire's adrenaline rush across the country -- without Romney's millions and without the support of the party establishment.
That's the dilemma of the Republicans. So many candidates remain in the race, but none of them is really convincing, and they all seem rather gray as they parrot Obama's calls for "change."
No one is managing to address the whole party. No one seems capable of forging the kind of coalition that won Ronald Reagan the nomination. Instead, every candidate is appealing to his own clientele, his own wing of the party. "You have a bunch of candidates who can't win," complained former Republican Senator Rick Santorum.
"It's a war of attrition," said Dan Bartlett, a former top adviser to Bush. Seldom has the party of Lincoln been so divided.
For now though, McCain can still bask in his comeback. At his election party on Tuesday night the DJ played "Eye of the Tiger" by the band Survivor, the theme song from the movie "Rocky III." One lyric goes: "Just a man and his will to survive." Hearing this, John McCain beamed like a little child.
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