It's a remarkable story on so many levels. C'mon. Be honest. After McCain's campaign problems over the summer, did you really think he would be viable again, let alone being this close to winning the nomination?
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John McCain is Rocky Balboa. He's "flying high now". I have been on the campaign trail with John McCain. I have talked to voters about him. What is resonating with people is his love of country, patriotism, leadership ability and authenticity. Folks, that's it in a nutshell. Does McCain have his critics? You betcha. Just turn on Rush Limbaugh for 10 minutes. McCain has some mending to do with some influential conservative groups and I'm sure you'll see him reach out to them and extend the proverbial "olive branch". But there's something bigger going on here.
You see, The Brody File predicted six months ago that this primary would turn on authenticity. I think we're seeing that. John McCain is not one from shying away from the truth. Even if the truth hurts. It has made him some enemies along the way but voters like the straight talk. They like the feisty McCain. They like his spunk. Now the Romney campaign will say he's being just plain dishonest in some cases when he criticizes Romney on certain issues but hey, overall, voters sense that they are getting the straight up truth with McCain.
Remember how we talked about how voters must feel an emotional connection to a candidate? Well, McCain taps into that. Huckabee has that too but doesn't have the foreign policy depth of knowledge that McCain has. Romney has never been great at wearing his emotions on his sleeves and thus leaves some voters with a cold feeling.
Look, let's understand that this is the perfect storm for McCain. Why? Look at all that went right for McCain. Shall I list it?
- Huckabee beat Romney in Iowa which prevented Romney from gaining steam.
- Giuliani decided not to play in New Hampshire, opening the way for McCain
- Thompson took votes away from Huckabee in South Carolina opening the way for McCain
- And now, on February 5th, Huckabee is going to take votes away from Romney in the south and other places which helps McCain.
- The Iraq surge went well.
- Romney's having authenticity problems
- You have a fractured Republican party electorate searching for a candidate.
Folks, there you have it. Of course, I guess we shouldn't get too carried away. The outcome in Florida may have been different if Gov. Crist and Senator Martinez hadn't endorsed McCain. But they did. And now McCain is on his way to a potentially big day on February 5th. He has the electability thing going for him too. You can make a case that this is one of the biggest, if not the biggest political comeback in recent political memory.