John McCain

John McCain

Arizona Senator John McCain has long been a prominent member of the Republican Party, having held various positions of leadership in the military, the federal bureaucracy, and the United States Senate. Although well liked by enough of his comrades to be a contender for the 2000 Republican Presidential nomination, McCain fell short to now-President George Bush. Again in 2007, McCain is among those seeking his party’s nomination, but this time around, he has far more obstacles to overcome. Before discussing the challenges facing McCain Campaign, it is essential to recognize that it has many things going for it, as well.

Perhaps the most important element of any campaign is its staff. As any good politician knows, you should go with experience and proven results; and that is exactly what McCain has done. Fortunately for him, his operation has landed Terry Nelson, the national director for President Bush's 2004 reelection campaign (Goldfarb, 2007). Unfortunately for him, he has still only been able to raise just over seven million dollars; one-quarter of that of his rivals (OpenSecrets.org, 2007).

Many Christian conservatives are none too enthusiastic about the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, which has severely limited their ability to use Political Action Committees to push their political agendas. In addition, he has been married twice, unlike his opponent, Mitt Romney, which tends to instill distrust in older conservative voters. Equally displease is the fact that that the McCain’s adopted an orphaned native of Bangladesh, instead of one of the thousands of orphans in the United States (Davis, 2004).

The most problematic label applied to McCain throughout the years is that of a “Maverick” Senator; meaning that he is unpredictable and unlikely to fall in line with other party leaders. Now that the Presidency is on the line, however, McCain has found a renewed ability to adapt. For instance, once opposed to strict border enforcement and the President’s illegal immigrant plan, his position now is that they should be punished for depriving Americans of valued jobs (Pear, 2007). The lack of steadfastness to ones ideals is an unattractive quality for a candidate for the presidency to possess, and it is certain to cost him much needed votes in the primaries.

McCain’s support from the ‘right’ wavered when he openly criticized President Bush, and most of the Republican Party, on the Patriot Act provision allowing for enemy combatants to be confined in secrecy, often indefinitely and without any hearings or trials. The wavering support crumbled when any semblance of power McCain wielded was torn away, with what he called a ‘negotiation’ with the President. The President had not given an inch. McCain, however, had given in.

The spat between President Bush and the Presidential hopeful was short-lived, though, and possibly not for the best. Soon afterward the power-struggle and show-down