thedrifter
01-13-07, 08:18 AM
Defiant McCain back as maverick
But his endorsement of Bush's strategy could hurt '08 hopes
By Jill Zuckman
Washington Bureau
January 13, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain has never spent much time worrying about what other people think.
Five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the nightmarish Hanoi Hilton liberated the Arizona Republican to speak his mind--and not to worry about offending colleagues who might be angry about his campaign-finance proposals, objections to pork barrel projects or crackdown on gifts and meals from lobbyists.
In the latter part of his political life, he has made that trait an almost singular virtue. He propelled his presidential campaign in 2000 aboard "The Straight Talk Express," and he is a top-tier contender to succeed President Bush.
But now his unflinching insistence on boosting the number of troops in Iraq, and his position as one of the president's most vocal supporters of the war, could imperil his White House ambitions, even among the GOP faithful.
"George W. Bush may pay a price in the eyes of history, but John McCain may pay a practical, political price," said Byron Shafer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Bush's plan for a new start in Iraq has been greeted frostily this week on Capitol Hill by Democrats and a number of Republicans, including at least one, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who will compete with McCain for the nomination.
Undeterred, McCain--a former Navy fighter pilot, and son and grandson of admirals--won't back off his position to step up the war effort.
"We need troops in the numbers required to do the job, in place for as long as it takes to complete their mission," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It would be far better to have too many reinforcements in Iraq than to suffer, once again, the tragic results of insufficient force levels."
At odds with fellow vets
It is a view McCain has held for more than three years, and one he tried repeatedly to impress upon former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as well as the president. But it's also a view that puts him at odds with his fellow Vietnam veterans in the Senate--Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Jim Webb (D-Va.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.).
"I think John sees military force as a way toward a solution in a sense more than I do," said Webb, who has known McCain for 30 years and considers him a friend. "I think that there are limits to the use of military force, particularly in that part of the world."
If the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, the nation's frustration with the war could tarnish McCain much as it damaged Republicans at the polls during the midterm elections.
That's something McCain, known for taking controversial stands, refuses to entertain.
"I do not worry about that," he said during a break in the hearings. "I do not worry about it. I do not worry about it. This is too important an issue."
After Bush's address to the nation Wednesday, McCain was similarly emphatic about the intersection of the war and his presidential dreams: "I would much rather lose a campaign than lose a war," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live."
Friends take heart that McCain advocated a change of strategy well before others realized the plan wasn't working.
"Iraq could rub off on McCain in a negative way. But McCain's been right from the beginning saying we need more troops," said Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole's presidential campaign in 1996. "He supported the Powell doctrine . . . and McCain understands that pulling out and losing would be a disaster in the region and how we're viewed around the world."
Aides to McCain say that taking unpopular stands is nothing new for their boss, and managing the fallout is nothing new for them.
"All I can tell you is McCain is basing his position on what he thinks is in the best interest of this country," said Mark Salter, the senator's longtime chief of staff. "There's nothing we can do about it, either. It's his position, it's why we admire him, and that's that."
John Weaver, the architect of McCain's presidential operation, said the senator's position on the war has not slowed fundraising or deterred political activists or operatives from joining the campaign.
"We don't worry about it. Is it our job to deal with it? Yes," Weaver said. "At the early stage, it has not kept people from encouraging the senator to run or from signing up and taking leadership positions."
To some degree, McCain has a credibility that comes from enduring torture by his North Vietnamese captors and being kept in solitary confinement for three of his 5 1/2 years in the Hoa Lo prison camp.
"He probably has a level of insulation on this issue that nobody else does on the Republican side," said William Mayer, an expert on the presidential primary process at Northeastern University. "Nobody . . . is going to accuse him of not caring about what happens to American soldiers."
Indeed, McCain has an even more personal stake in how the war is conducted. One son just finished Marine Corps boot camp and is likely to be sent to Iraq. Another son attends the Naval Academy and could wind up in Iraq too.
Nevertheless, McCain remains defiant as he fights to bring in more troops and allow Lt. Gen. David Petraeus to lead a counterinsurgency campaign.
"Those who want us to withdraw within four to six months have an obligation to tell us what they'll do when chaos ensues," said McCain.
He acknowledged that the push in Congress for a non-binding resolution opposing the escalation in Iraq would be a setback for his position. But he offers his opponents a challenge he is certain they will not take.
"The legitimate question is if you feel that strongly that you want to disagree with the president's policy, Congress has a right to cut off funds--why not a resolution to cut off funds?" he suggested. "I think that's a more legitimate way of pursuing this issue, frankly."
jzuckman@tribune.com
Ellie
But his endorsement of Bush's strategy could hurt '08 hopes
By Jill Zuckman
Washington Bureau
January 13, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain has never spent much time worrying about what other people think.
Five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the nightmarish Hanoi Hilton liberated the Arizona Republican to speak his mind--and not to worry about offending colleagues who might be angry about his campaign-finance proposals, objections to pork barrel projects or crackdown on gifts and meals from lobbyists.
In the latter part of his political life, he has made that trait an almost singular virtue. He propelled his presidential campaign in 2000 aboard "The Straight Talk Express," and he is a top-tier contender to succeed President Bush.
But now his unflinching insistence on boosting the number of troops in Iraq, and his position as one of the president's most vocal supporters of the war, could imperil his White House ambitions, even among the GOP faithful.
"George W. Bush may pay a price in the eyes of history, but John McCain may pay a practical, political price," said Byron Shafer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Bush's plan for a new start in Iraq has been greeted frostily this week on Capitol Hill by Democrats and a number of Republicans, including at least one, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who will compete with McCain for the nomination.
Undeterred, McCain--a former Navy fighter pilot, and son and grandson of admirals--won't back off his position to step up the war effort.
"We need troops in the numbers required to do the job, in place for as long as it takes to complete their mission," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It would be far better to have too many reinforcements in Iraq than to suffer, once again, the tragic results of insufficient force levels."
At odds with fellow vets
It is a view McCain has held for more than three years, and one he tried repeatedly to impress upon former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as well as the president. But it's also a view that puts him at odds with his fellow Vietnam veterans in the Senate--Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Jim Webb (D-Va.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.).
"I think John sees military force as a way toward a solution in a sense more than I do," said Webb, who has known McCain for 30 years and considers him a friend. "I think that there are limits to the use of military force, particularly in that part of the world."
If the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate, the nation's frustration with the war could tarnish McCain much as it damaged Republicans at the polls during the midterm elections.
That's something McCain, known for taking controversial stands, refuses to entertain.
"I do not worry about that," he said during a break in the hearings. "I do not worry about it. I do not worry about it. This is too important an issue."
After Bush's address to the nation Wednesday, McCain was similarly emphatic about the intersection of the war and his presidential dreams: "I would much rather lose a campaign than lose a war," he said on CNN's "Larry King Live."
Friends take heart that McCain advocated a change of strategy well before others realized the plan wasn't working.
"Iraq could rub off on McCain in a negative way. But McCain's been right from the beginning saying we need more troops," said Scott Reed, who managed Bob Dole's presidential campaign in 1996. "He supported the Powell doctrine . . . and McCain understands that pulling out and losing would be a disaster in the region and how we're viewed around the world."
Aides to McCain say that taking unpopular stands is nothing new for their boss, and managing the fallout is nothing new for them.
"All I can tell you is McCain is basing his position on what he thinks is in the best interest of this country," said Mark Salter, the senator's longtime chief of staff. "There's nothing we can do about it, either. It's his position, it's why we admire him, and that's that."
John Weaver, the architect of McCain's presidential operation, said the senator's position on the war has not slowed fundraising or deterred political activists or operatives from joining the campaign.
"We don't worry about it. Is it our job to deal with it? Yes," Weaver said. "At the early stage, it has not kept people from encouraging the senator to run or from signing up and taking leadership positions."
To some degree, McCain has a credibility that comes from enduring torture by his North Vietnamese captors and being kept in solitary confinement for three of his 5 1/2 years in the Hoa Lo prison camp.
"He probably has a level of insulation on this issue that nobody else does on the Republican side," said William Mayer, an expert on the presidential primary process at Northeastern University. "Nobody . . . is going to accuse him of not caring about what happens to American soldiers."
Indeed, McCain has an even more personal stake in how the war is conducted. One son just finished Marine Corps boot camp and is likely to be sent to Iraq. Another son attends the Naval Academy and could wind up in Iraq too.
Nevertheless, McCain remains defiant as he fights to bring in more troops and allow Lt. Gen. David Petraeus to lead a counterinsurgency campaign.
"Those who want us to withdraw within four to six months have an obligation to tell us what they'll do when chaos ensues," said McCain.
He acknowledged that the push in Congress for a non-binding resolution opposing the escalation in Iraq would be a setback for his position. But he offers his opponents a challenge he is certain they will not take.
"The legitimate question is if you feel that strongly that you want to disagree with the president's policy, Congress has a right to cut off funds--why not a resolution to cut off funds?" he suggested. "I think that's a more legitimate way of pursuing this issue, frankly."
jzuckman@tribune.com
Ellie