McCain's campaign manager sets course ahead

John McCain's campaign manager just issued a memo laying out his strategy as he transitions from winning the Republican nomination to preparing for the general election campaign.

McCain, who has been trying to burnish his foreign policy credentials on an extended trip this week to the Middle East and Europe, will return to the US focused on reintroducing himself to the broader electorate, campaign manager Rick Davis says.

"This re-introduction is important strategically. The transition to a general election campaign means two things: our geographic targets have greatly expanded beyond key primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, South Carolina and Florida AND we have expanded our target audience beyond our base coalition of Republican primary voters," the memo says.

McCain will discuss how his life experiences, including the Naval Academy and the Vietnam War, has shaped his values, which Davis said will resonate with independent and swing voters who will likely decide the next president.

The memo also mentions new polls that show McCain ahead of both Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, in hypothetical matchups and that show him competitive in key swing states such as Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. "In stark contrast to either potential Democratic opponent, his ideology has always traditionally tracked very close to the electorate. He is, in short, an ideological match with America," Davis writes.

And Davis argues that the continuing Democratic nomination battle helps McCain.

"The volatility of the Democratic race has given us a strategic window to organize our general election campaign structure, to raise money and to be prepared for what will be a dramatic general election cycle," he says in the memo.