From Bad to Worse to Worser

John McCain drops Manager and Strategist From Campaign

John McCain's campaign is an absolute disaster. It's the train wreck that all of Washington can't take their eyes off. Maybe they can't take their eyes off because they're enjoying it? I could be wrong, but the media actually seems to be reveling in McCain's misfortunes. I have a theory for why this could be. Back in 2000 McCain was a media darling because he was the outspoken maverick. But over the past seven years, McCain has tried to recreate himself as a more rank and file conservative, Republican. I think this transformation has made the media feel betrayed by the loss of their darling. This week though, they've got their sweet revenge.
Not only is McCain's campaign hemorrhaging staff, but it is also in $2 million debt. Oh, and Iraq, the issue McCain has attached himself too is not going too well either. These pressures on him likely caused his outburst against a fellow Republican Senator who had the nerve to say that the War was not going well. It's nothing short of incredible how John McCain has gone from the heir apparent to the Republican nomination to the brink of oblivion in just six months. Some pundits have already thrown in the towel for McCain saying there is no chance, while others expect him to withdraw from the race in the near future.
Of course, as many have pointed out, if John McCain can survive years in the Hanoi Hilton, then he can handle his campaign crises. They may well be right, I'm certainly not counting him yet. At the same time, there have been two issues that have wreaked havoc on his campaign. First, as previously mentioned, is Iraq. Yet, even as the country goes to hell in a hand basket, McCain still stands steadfastly behind it. In the GOP field, this isn't necessarily a disastrous strategy. Certainly Giuliani hasn't done much in the way of opposing Iraq. But surprisingly, if the McCain campaign never recovers, we'll remember his support for the Senate immigration bill as the nail in his coffin. It was an emotional issue for the GOP base on which McCain not only was on the wrong side, he was their leader.
I won't count McCain out yet, but to say things are grim is an understatement. Sure, at this point in 2004, John Kerry's campaign was in trouble. However, Kerry's campaign was hurt by the fact that nobody really cared about him that much. He wasn't exciting people, but they didn't have any real negative opinion on him. For McCain however, nearly every GOP voter knows who he is and he has built up some very strong negatives with many of them.
Right now, McCain is just being buried under this avalanche of bad news. He is once again restructuring his campaign. What he needs to do more than anything is keep a low profile until the August Senate recess. Then he just needs to take a week or two off from the campaign. Take a vacation with his family, no politics. He needs a timeout, because as evidenced by his row with Voinovich, the campaign is taking its toll on him. He needs time to think and get his bearings again. When he comes back to the campaign, he needs a clear head and new energy. But at this point, he's got to stop the bleeding before he's lost too much blood to survive.