PHOENIX - Senator John McCain will find out what the Republican presidential nomination is worth this week, setting out on a nationwide fund-raising drive aimed at restocking his campaign account.
Then he plans to buff his foreign policy credentials, remind the nation of his long military history, and try to frame the issues for the November election - in three separate tours while his two Democratic opponents continue to struggle for their party's nomination.
"Whenever you're the nominee of your party, I think people will want to re-examine the candidate," McCain said before leaving Arizona following a weekend at home. "I'd like to believe that all 300 million Americans know me, but unfortunately that's not the case. I'll have to work hard to attract their votes."
But first, the 71-year-old Arizona senator had a full medical screening yesterday. While McCain has previously been treated for skin cancer, he said there was nothing that precipitated his visit, which included a full medical workup. Results from all the exams will be released April 15, he said.
McCain's next step was fund-raising. Starting yesterday in St. Louis, and continuing today in New York, tomorrow in Boston, and other unannounced cities through Friday, McCain will reach out to the GOP faithful seeking their dollars and seeking to catch up to Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
An invitation to McCain's event tomorrow night at the Taj Boston hotel is fairly typical: $2,300 donations - the maximum allowable each primary and general election campaign - are required for a private reception with McCain. A half-hour later, the tab drops to $1,000 per person for a more widely accessible general reception.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
But even as he argues that Romney appears the best choice, conservative columnist Fred Barnes acknowledges there's one big hitch - McCain doesn't appear to like Romney very much.
Romney endorsed McCain following the former Massachusetts governor's withdrawal from the race after Super Tuesday, but they attacked each other aggressively during the primary campaign.
In an article posted on The Weekly Standard's website, Barnes said McCain's pool of possible VP candidates is not deep. Romney has the advantage of having run a vigorous campaign and of being vetted by the press. "Romney has three other add-ons," Barnes writes, ticking off that Romney is acceptable to social conservatives, does well in debates, and is well versed in economic issues. Romney also has allies in the Bush wing of the Republican Party, Barnes argues.
"Romney thus appears to have the best ratio of virtues to drawbacks," Barnes concludes. "But there's just one problem: McCain doesn't like him. Just how important compatibility is - that is something McCain will have to decide."
FOON RHEE
Only 22 percent of Republicans, 20 percent of Democrats, and 26 percent of independents responding to the poll said they read blogs regularly, meaning several times a month or more, according to the survey conducted by
Political blogs, in which writers, pundits, and other participants voice opinions in online forums, burst into the spotlight in the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Some of the most high-profile blogs are influential on campaign strategies, media coverage, and public perception of the candidates and issues.
Unlike traditional, mainstream media, blogs often adopt a specific point of view. Critics complain they can contain unchecked facts, are poorly edited, and use unreliable sources.
REUTERS
Obama, locked in a close battle with Clinton for the Democratic nomination, was the first to declare through a spokesman that he would support a one-year moratorium on so-called earmarks when it comes up for a vote later this week. Clinton followed shortly afterward through a spokesman.
Obama joined with other lawmakers last year to obtain almost $100 million worth of earmarks for Illinois, while Clinton worked with others to win $342 million in pet projects for New York.
McCain has fought - and lost - many battles over earmarks before, but his new status has longtime rivals in his own party rethinking their positions. The moves by Clinton and Obama have also put Senate majority leader Harry Reid and other Democrats in a quandary. Reid yesterday reiterated his support for Congress's right to direct money back home for roads and other projects.
McCain is among only six members of the Senate who do not ask for pet projects. A vote is coming this week as the Senate debates its annual budget plan. McCain is expected to give a floor speech to rally Republicans behind the idea and to halt his busy campaign schedule to cast a rare vote.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
