McCain In Romney’s Backyard
With 24 hours to go before Super Tuesday, John McCain decided to go big, taking his campaign to the one state he has almost no chance of winning tomorrow—Massachusetts. In downtown Boston this morning, McCain spoke to a crowd of some 250 people in an historic building that might have been filled to a little more than half its capacity.
Cindy McCain warmed up the crowd recounting the adoption in Bangladesh of their youngest daughter Bridget, and then mentioned McCain’s two sons, both in the service—the eldest an enlisted Marine serving in Iraq and the youngest a midshipman at the Naval Academy. “Duty, honor, country” are the themes of McCain’s campaign she said. McCain’s mother, Roberta, who will turn 96 next week, was also in attendance—she looks like she could be McCain’s sister.
Also on stage were former Massachusetts governors Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift, Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, and Phil Gramm, whose centrality to the McCain campaign can’t be overstated (McCain invokes Gramm constantly on the trail, and even mentioned him with bloggers in a recent discussion of possible running mates.) Lieberman did get a standing ovation from the audience.
… hy in Massachusetts, which isn’t a particularly tight race, instead of California, where some last minute stops might make a big difference?
One theory: McCain really doesn’t like Romney, and as it became clear last week that McCain would almost certainly secure the nomination on Tuesday, this was to be a parting slap in the face. Except today, while McCain is still a heavy favorite, the result in California looks far from certain and there’s a real possibility this race will continue past tomorrow’s contest. It’s hard to see how this was a smart move, but it was pure McCain—inspiring, audacious, and a bit reckless.