McCain set to go on a roll?

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina could be excused for irrational exuberance tonight as he basked in the glow of the hard-fought victory by his friend and ally, John McCain, in the Palmetto State's GOP presidential primary. Still, Graham's attempt at political analysis left something to be desired.

The Times' Maeve Reston was on the scene at McCain's victory party in Charleston when Graham, the campaign's co-chair in South Carolina, predicted his favored candidate now would have "unstoppable momentum" leading up to Florida's Jan. 29 primary.

If so, McCain would be the first -- in either the Republican or Democratic races -- to truly capture the "Big Mo" this year. His fortunes in Florida now should be improved, but it's hard to imagine GOP voters in the Sunshine State will now be swept off their feet by McCain-a-mania -- especially given that he won in South Carolina by all of three percentage points and garnered just a third of the total vote.

As we noted recently in print, this has been a surge-less campaign so far.

In the Republican race ...

Mike Huckabee's Iowa win made him a contender, but all it got him short-term were third-place finishes in New Hampshire and Michigan. Similarly, McCain rode out of New Hampshire with a crucial victory ... and promptly came in second to Mitt Romney in Michigan.

Romney, in turn, went from 1st in his native state Tuesday to 4th in South Carolina (he found solace in his triumph in Nevada's caucuses today, ignoring the fact that only he and Ron Paul tried hard in the state).

Similarly, among the Democrats, Barack Obama's win in Iowa -- and consequent jump in New Hampshire polls -- spurred predictions that he was on a roll that would sweep him to his party's nomination. Then, of course, New Hampshirites actually voted ... and the Obama coronation came to a halt.

But Hillary Clinton's upset victory in the Granite State can't be seen as sparking a groundswell for her in the Nevada caucus contest that she won today by 5.5 percentage points. The New Hampshire win kept her from being possibly swamped by Obama and restored an advantage in the Nevada she long had enjoyed -- an advantage stemming from strong support from Latino voters.

If Clinton parlays her Nevada showing into a victory over Obama in the South Carolina's Democratic primary next Saturday, we'll give a nod to the power of momentum. But not until then.

-- Don Frederick   

Comments

[Eddie James]

McCain set to go on a roll? Are you kidding? He got beat by Ron Paul in Nevada (right next to his home state). He may have some momentum, but the people who know him best don't even want him as President. (I'm from Arizona, believe me.)

[Rob]

Hi,

Thanks for talking about Ron Paul. Despite his good results today in Nevada, a lot of the mainstream media continue to ignore Ron Paul. Here is the results of the primaries according to the NY Times:

Everyone should continue to be aware that freedom of the press is one thing but when the press goes from the business of reporting the news to interpreting the news then there is a risk that everyone's liberty is curtailed.

(You know, no offense but take your NY Times complaint to the NY Times. We're delighted to have you here because of what we publish and the dialogue everyone shares in these comments. If some online publication doesn't give you what you want, take your valuable clicks somewhere else. We're glad to have you here again.)

[Jack Matheson]

It is a fact that McCain won this in a state where Karl Rove had 'swift-boated' him - slandered him - in 2000. It is a huge triumph, contrary to this ungenerous article. And oh, there is indeed momentum. He is supported by former Secretaries of State and National Security Advisors Eagleburger, Kissinger, Schlesinger, Schulz, McFarlane and well over 100 of the top Generals and Admirals of the Pentagon. Do you think they might like a less error-prone Commander-in-Chief this time around? Well, do ya? Count on it! McCain has a lifetime record few could ever match - Silver Star, DFC, POWed - like Churchill. He has cut earmarks and pork from bills and took the flack to show that Rumsfled's "too few troops" policy was a joke in securing the peace, order, and good government. He advocated the surge - and it worked. Honesty is an Annapolis matter of honor with him. Pro-Life but with compassion in the event of rape or incest. Securing the borders, but some compassion for the Latinos working here. "On the Issues" gave him a 88% consistent voting record of conservatism. A cutter of spending. A true American, who won the Eisenhower Prize 2005 for Integrity & Leadership.

[jsprev]

I don't see how being a POW makes one qualified for being a President, Jack. He seems more like the Manchurian Candidate. I guess you already forgot those dark times less than a year ago he tried desperately to sell this country down the river with his Amnesty plan! He is interested in DISSOLVING the border, not protecting it. Same as ALL CFR MEMBERS. That is the STATED GOAL of CFR. He is an unstable nutjob that told Cornyn "f____ you!" when challenged on his nutty globalist Amnesty bill.

McCain has been against free speech with the McCain-Feingold bill.

BTW, Ron Paul WON in Nye County Nevada - where Nellis AF base is. Ron Paul has received more contributions from military people than any other Republican candidate.

If McCain wins then for the first time in my life I will not be voting Republican. Same thing for a significant percent of the Republican base that has been abandoned by the globalist sell outs like Bush. You can have Hillary or Obama as President, I don't care. I'd rather leave the country than participate in this destruction of it by CFR candidates.