McCain's run seen faltering

The Baltimore Sun

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain's once formidable presidential campaign is in deep financial trouble, as senior officials announced yesterday that they will lay off staff in all departments and the campaign manager will work without pay.

Three months after promising to do a better job raising money, McCain, an Arizona Republican, posted another disappointing tally. He brought in $11.2 million in the second quarter of this year, down from the $12.5 million raised during the first quarter.

Altogether, McCain has just $2 million in cash on hand and is considering applying for federal matching funds, a move that would severely constrict his ability to compete by limiting the amount of money he can spend in individual states.

Once considered the front-runner for the Republican nomination, McCain put together a classic front-runner's operation with a large and expensive staff, a plethora of paid consultants and a vast grass-roots network of local officials publicly backing him.

But McCain has suffered nationally as he repeatedly made the case for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, siding with an unpopular president. Most damaging has been the debate over immigration: McCain advocated broad reforms that would beef up security at the borders and, more controversially, provide illegal immigrants with a path to citizenship.

As many as 50 staffers have been laid off, senior aides are taking pay cuts and campaign manager Terry Nelson said he will work on a volunteer basis.

Nelson and senior strategist John Weaver said the campaign would put renewed emphasis on having McCain talk directly to voters in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

"We believe good things happen when John is in front of the voters," Weaver said, adding that McCain still draws the largest crowds of any GOP candidate.

Campaign officials tried to put the best possible face on the grim news, asserting that McCain's principled stands on issues had hurt his ability to raise money.

For example, his long-standing push for campaign finance regulations has angered many groups eager to sway voters with television advertisements late in a race. And his constant objections to pork-barrel projects - "earmarks" - have infuriated his colleagues and special interest groups.

Still, McCain has been preparing to run for president again since he lost the 2000 nomination to then-Gov. George W. Bush of Texas. And the rockiness of his campaign this year has been a surprise.

The news prompted the Democratic National Committee to issue a statement mocking McCain for his transformation from the candidate known for straight talk who took on the religious right in 2000 to a candidate who tried to make peace with the religious right in advance of 2008.

"John McCain failed to win over right-wing conservative base voters even after pandering and compromising on his own principles ... ," said DNC spokesman Luis Miranda. "McCain has made himself unelectable."

Aides to McCain insist that they are not giving up hope.

"He's still the best retail candidate in the race, in the Republican field," Mark Salter said.

Jill Zuckman writes for the Chicago Tribune.

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