Apparently, there is still a John McCain presidential campaign going on in South Carolina, in spite of conventional wisdom. I’m not dismissing conventional wisdom, mind you — Mike Fitts’ assessment of his situation this morning was as follows: "He’s out." And I’m not arguing with Mike, on account of the fact that he finally came back from vacating in Colorado, and I don’t have to do the production work any more. I had to be physically restrained in the hallway this morning to keep me from hugging him.
That doesn’t mean I agree with him.
True, when I went by the McCain HQ this morning on a whim to see if it was still there (actually, I’d never been there before; I had to ask Bob McAlister where it was), I found one staff left. It was quiet — too quiet. But B.J Boling was putting a brave face on things, as the video will attest — talking about no more of this massive, Clausewitzian-army approach — back to the insurgency of 2000. Anyway, listen to the video to hear the sound of a campaign going to the mattresses.
B.J. isn’t the only guy on the staff, mind you — I ran into Buzz Jacobs in the parking lot on my way out of
the HQ (in Richard Quinn’s building at 1600 Gervais — that’s 1600, note). I said I wanted to get a mug shot, so he stood in front of an SUV with a McCain sticker on it. But he explained he isn’t a Clemson grad.
Anyway, B.J. and Buzz actually do have some good points when they say the campaign’s obits are greatly exaggerated. I tend to agree with them. Two of the better points:
- McCain still raised more money than any candidate of either party in South Carolina in the past quarter — in spite of, as Buzz put it, "getting our butts beat over immigration." So there.
- Who the heck else are Republicans going to go with in South Carolina? Seriously. Giuliani? I like Giuliani OK — he’s a stand-up guy — but I can’t see Repubs in this state seriously going with him. Mitt Romney? I don’t think so. Maybe, but I really don’t think so.
And oh yeah — where’s that Fred Thompson guy anyway?
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Brad is out of town and out of pocket until after 5 but wanted me to let you know: He knows the video isn’t working. He’ll get it fixed as soon as he can.
Two other data points:
Ron Paul got more donations from military members than McCain.
In an AP poll released today, “None of the above” was the leading vote getter for Republican candidates.
Yes, it is. Works fine for me.