What should McCain do with the time he has been given to strengthen his candidacy for the general election? We put that question to a number of strategists and operatives in both parties. Their top ten ideas -- coupled with a few of The Fix's own thoughts -- are below. A caveat: Not all of these suggestions -- or perhaps none of them -- will come to pass. We asked our sources to think outside the box.
10. Resign From the Senate: Running for president from the Senate is a bad idea. First, there's the history of it -- no sitting senator has been elected president since 1960. Second, the Democrats who control the chamber will do everything they can to complicate McCain's life, forcing him to vote on controversial measures. (Third, how great would another competitive Senate race be for political junkies? Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) versus Rep. John Shadegg (R), anyone?) Of course, resigning from the Senate to focus on the presidential race full time isn't full proof. See Dole, Bob.
9. Stop Criticizing Outside Groups: McCain may not like all of the outside money coursing through the system but in an election where he is likely to be badly outspent by the Democratic nominee and his (or her) allied groups, McCain needs some third party spending on his side as a counterweight. McCain has made his disdain for 527s and 501(c)(4)s clear over the past few years, and the donors who fund these groups know it. Republican strategists worry that if McCain is too tough on these conservative aligned groups the donors may take their money and walk away, a situation that many GOP operatives would equate to fighting the general election with one hand tied behind their backs.
8. Court Blue Collars: Even Obama's staunchest supporters privately acknowledge that he will have some work to do to win over blue collar white voters if he winds up as the Democratic nominee. McCain should make Obama's task more difficult by spending the next weeks (or months) making it clear to blue collar voters that he understands their concerns and will stand up for them if elected. McCain is already doing some of this with his "forgotten places" tour -- a trip that has taken him to Kentucky, Ohio and Arkansas.
7. Tell the Story: McCain's greatest strength in this contest is his long resume of service to the country. Of course, that same long resume means that McCain has been around a long time and, at 72, would be the oldest president ever inaugurated to a first term. With Obama and Clinton otherwise occupied, the Arizona senator's campaign should make sure that voters in swing states focus on McCain the war hero not McCain the septuagenarian. One suggestion from a GOP consultant: cut an extended biographical video (10-15 minutes long), put it on You Tube and try to drive young independents to it.
6. Pick the Playing Field: There's a huge amount of debate in the Democratic party about how different the electoral map would look depending on who they nominate. Exacerbate those concerns by starting to advertise on television in selected swing states. (McCain has already done some of that by running TV ads in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and southern Ohio.) Complement the ad campaign with appearances by the candidate in the state -- stops sure to draw scads of coverage on local television and in smaller newspapers. (Game out your own general election scenarios on our interactive electoral college map.)
| John McCain starts by inheriting Dubya's 2004 election map. The only state that Dubya won that he has to work at to win in 2008 is Ohio. The rest are pretty much assured of going Red unless the bottom falls out of the economy. Obama (and he's the nominee, folks) has to start by playing defense just to hold what Kerry won in 04. |
5. Research Thyself: Since Clinton and Obama seem perfectly content to air one another's dirty laundry, McCain should turn the full efforts of his research department on himself. Figure out every negative nook and cranny that Democrats will seek to exploit and decide how the candidate (and the campaign) will respond. Moreover, have television ads ready to go to respond to the four or five most likely attacks from either the Democratic nominee or other Democratic-affiliated groups. The 2000 and 2004 presidential campaign brought the phrase "rapid response" into the political lexicon; the 2008 general election will take the concept to new heights.
| The amazing thing about Kerry is that he knew that the Swift-Boat vets were going to come after him; he'd had confrontations with some of them for thirty years. And yet he still wasn't ready when they ran their ads. |
4. Control the Convention: The next time the average voter will pay close attention to McCain is at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota in early September. The Democrats' best case convention scenario is some low-level grumbling from the supporters of the candidate not picked; worst case is an all-out floor fight between backers of Clinton and Obama. McCain should make the GOP convention the model of unity and cohesion; not let any free agents steal the story with inflammatory speeches that will distract from the message the Arizona senator's campaign wants to convey to voters. Scrutinize every element of the convention -- from speech-givers to staging. Then go over it again.
3. Bash Bush: It's no secret that Democrats will paint McCain as the heir to the presidency of George W. Bush -- particularly when it comes to the war in Iraq. (Liberal groups are already hard at work tying Bush's unpopularity around McCain's ankles.) McCain needs badly to convince voters that while he may support the President on some issues, he is not a Bush Republican. While remaking the Republican brand before November may be too high a bar even for McCain, he must convince voters that the outgoing president doesn't define the party. McCain may have already gotten the message: His outspoken criticism of the President's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina drew massive press coverage on Thursday.
2. Pick Early: The vice presidential pick is usually not made (or at least made public) until days before the party convention. By picking his ticket mate early this summer, McCain would draw a stark contrast with Democrats; while Clinton and Obama continue to fight it out for the Democratic nomination, McCain and his vice presidential pick would present a united front to the American people. It could also have a number of positive practical implications. McCain and his running mate could double the amount of ground covered in a day of campaigning and having a vice presidential pick in place could also help McCain to raise money as the candidate chosen could tap his (or her) own dedicated donors.
| Counter-argument: pick your VP once you know who the other side is going to run. I think Obama has it won; McCain may disagree. |
1. Collect Cash: Even though McCain is apparently accepting public financing for the general election, that doesn't remove the onus of collecting cash. McCain has never relished raising money and his underfunded run to the Republican presidential nomination may have solidified the idea in his mind that he doesn't need to do it. But, he does. Badly. McCain needs to make sure that the Republican National Committee is as well funded as possible so that the voter identification, contact and turnout operations traditionally run by the party are taken care of. More RNC money can put more states in play -- the kind of flexibility McCain needs for an electoral map in flux.
| The only part of the map in flux are the blue states. I don't see Obama winning a single Bush state other than Ohio. |
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