Redstate

(1) Stay above the fray and run a "rose garden" strategy. If one gets too far ahead of the other (eg Obama this week), send a few bombasts out to try to assist keeping it a close race. Otherwise, quietly amass resources.

(2) Hold off on this. The idea is not to get too visibly far ahead of the Democrats, which might give them a kick in the pants to get their act together.

(3) No.

(4) Yes. Staying in a Dem-dominated Senate is poison for McCain. If I was Harry Reid, I would make the next year a series of votes on immigration, waterboarding, and global warming. If McCain loses, he can run again in 2010, a la Goldwater and Humphrey.

http://www.Race42008.com

3). Aggressive campaigning in freshman Democrat Red House districts. Make 'em scream for help from the candidates. *Some* of them will guess wrong on who to scream for.

Either the frosh will run away from their candidates or run to them. Either way, the GOP could tie them to their candidates

1. Reinforce his current position with independents and emphasize his experience in positive advertisements. Do NOT attach Obama or Clinton for inexperience, except by implication.

2. In so-called "negative" advertising (e.g., telling the truth about liberals), rally conservatives and undermine Obama's support with independents by emphasizing how radically left Obama's positions are.

3. In the negative ads, focus on attacking Obama--he's likely to be the nominee, and if not, the Obamaniacs will be greatly demoralized, and their willingness to support Clinton will be somewhat diminished by the (probably false) conclusion that McCain helped get Clinton nominated--even favored her nomination. Plus, the negative advertising is much more likely to be effective against Obama, as he is still unknown. Most people already know that Cliton is a smart, talented Senator with solidly liberal positions. People still think Obama is a nice guy who embodies national unity.

4. One point, I believe under AZ law, the governor must choose someone from the same party as the Senator last occupying the vacant seat. Still, I don't think McCain

5. Lastly, pray for the following (1) our success continues in Iraq, (2) the economy doesn't tank, and (3) a Supreme Court seat opens before the summer--with the right (sympathetic) nominee) that nomination fight, win or lose, will starkly expose to the American people the extremism of Senate Democrats (including you-know-who).

"People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors." -Edmund Burke

1) Run against the unpopular demoncat congress, and heap Hillary and Obama in with them. Use the words "irresponsible" and "naive" to criticize boneheaded congressional actions, and then mention Hillary or Borat Obomba in the next breath for good measure.

2) Go to Florida and Michigan and sympathize. Campaign where they can't. Talk about inclusivity and voices being heard rather than some cadidates that just hear voices and do the same old stupid things, like not renewing FISA.

3)Go on as many foreign trips meeting foreign leaders as possible. When H and B are stuck in Podunkville talking about how they like mango ice cream, lead deligations to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan talking about the future of democracy and commerce.

4) Don't be afraid to show a little temper if the anger is a just anger. All the critiques about McCain's temper are designed to make him look old and bland. We want to see a few farts and darts.

"The most dangerous form in which oppression can overshadow a community is that of popular sway" -James Fenimore Cooper

#1. At this stage, Hillary can win only if she wins superdelegates by a wide enough margin to overcome her loss in pledged delegates. If she does prevail in this way, a huge number of African-American voters will stay home in November. A Clinton victory comes over the cold dead corpse of the Democratic Party.

So McCain can hit hard at both, but he should hit hardest at Obama. BTW, an ongoing Hillbama battle will keep the Dems way out on the left edge. For McCain that's a target-rich environment.

#2. Wait on the running mate. It's always a strategic choice and Veep speculation will be one of the few things attracting media coverage.

#3. Define, define and define. McCain has to fight on only one front. Clinton and Obama each must fight two front wars. Contrast a resolute conservative agenda with the doctrinaire appeasement/tax and spend policies of the Democrats. They won't have a lot of time to respond.

#4. Dole didn't lose because he resigned from the Senate. McCain should keep this option open and take it if it frees him to stake out an independent position. If he happens to lose, why would he want the grief he would get by returning to the Senate?

1.Senator McCain should attack both, generically, as liberal Democrats, but do so by positive example. This will underline the fact that there isn’t a dime’s bit of difference between them on the issues. Let the Demoratic primary voters get caught up in the stylistic differences between the two, but don’t encourage everyone else to get caught up in the mainstream media’s storyline. Enlist respected surrogates – Fred, Rudy, Mitt, Arnold, et al – to launch tageted attacks tailored to each prospective Democratic nominee on specific issues of contrast. Kind of like a preview of a possible McCain cabinet. McCain himself should use some of the time to appear regularly with Rush, Laura, Hannity, etc.

2.Hold the veep announcement until it’s tactically meaningful –either just before the summer news blackout, or just before the convention, depending on what else is going on. Do not use it to attempt to compete with the primary on the other side, it won’t work.

3.Use the time period as a tease for point two, if the decision is made to hold the veep announcment until summer’s end. Speak off the record with three to four prospective veep picks, explaining that they have an opportunity to “audition” for the slot, explain what you expect, and let them take their best shots. They could even help out with point number 1. Kind of like an “American Idol” for political junkies, and if leaked to the cable networks, might be worth a story or two. Also, until Huckabee drops out, use each opportunity to celebrate a victory leading up to 1191 as an opporunity to demonstrate likability. After all, the Dems are becoming more and more strained and/or sonorous. A good contrast would have McCain lighten up in the face of the absurdity of the pro forma race with Huckabee.

4.Absolutely no resignation before Nov 5. The Senate floor is a platform for free media if used effectively. No reason to remind everyone, Republicans especially, that you are even older than Dole was in 1996. No Viagara commercials either.

nytimer

1) Decide which candidate you prefer to run against and focus your fire on the other. There is a danger here that you might build up the candidate you don't want to face but I think, given the unique circumstances of this race it's a gamble McCain has no choice but to take and hope the combined fire of McCain and his preferred opponent would take the other candidate out. On the flip side, you might focus your fire on the one you hope to run against if you think your attacks might build him up. I'm thinking Hillary is the opponent best suited for McCain to run against because of her high negatives and the fact that I really believe the voters are sick of the Bush Clinton Bush dual family rule in America.

If I were supporting McCain I would be scared of Obama. He's a wild card, his lack of experience and lack of a record are, on the one hand, a liability to be exploited but on the other he has less specifics which McCain could contrast himself with. Those inclined to support him because of his Charisma can hang almost any hope related or policy related matter on him and as long as he never speaks specifics they'll never be swayed to vote against him. My main concern would be Charisma and likability. No matter your level of support for McCain you have to admit, there's little doubt who would win the beauty contest. The Ghosts of Nixon vs Kennedy in the 1960 debate rear its ugly head here. Those who listened to the debates on radio thought Nixon won by a large margin while those who saw it on TV went for the more charismatic Kennedy.

2) Work on it and send surrogates out to drop names and create a buzz at least until June. (I have a sense Rick Perry of Texas will be the guy based on his heavy involvement already for McCain and he’s increasing his profile lately getting himself in the news more and more working for McCain.). My final decision would be to watch the other side and time my move based on what they do. If Obama locks this up soon and Hillary concedes and if he announces his running mate early, ride the buzz about your pick to the convention because as time goes by and the closer the Conventions approach the more likely it is that McCain would suck up all the oxygen in the run up. Additionally, McCain should be working as soon as Obama locks it up creating rumors that his announcement is imminent…By doing so he will at least keep himself in the news and more importantly maybe make the Dems jump the gun and announce early.

Announcing early might help with Party Unity but the benefit would be short lived. Were I in a tactical decision making position in the McCain camp I would likely go with the calculation that the Media will continue to do as they did yesterday in the NYT. Each successive story attacking McCain in such a lopsided hit piece will do far more to unite the party than almost anything McCain could do by announcing a running mate early. If the Dems keep fighting then announce early to create buzz for yourself and stay in the news because the Press will be so focused on the horse race on the Dem side McCain is going to have to use everything he has to get attention. If this becomes necessary I agree with Academic Elephant. Announce him and send him out as a surrogate. Pick a candidate to balance McCain’s weaknesses who will unite the party behind him knowing those who are struggling with their opposition to McCain are looking at the fact that the nominee would be the heir apparent in 2012 or 2016. By doing so you could bring holdouts along and encourage them to work for you based on the future.

3) Focus on McCain’s position in the Senate.

To begin author and support legislation that would first answer questions of Republicans who have problems with him. Make sure these pieces of legislation are publicized as widely as possible in areas where it will talk to your doubters in the party. This might help pull in Talk Radio personalities who are still attacking you and keeping large segments of your own party stirred up against you. Try to keep your outreach to these talkers as quiet as possible to keep from spooking independents who are your real base.

Also work on legislation that would put your future opponent on the defensive. The fact that McCain and his Democrat opponents are all in the Senate presents a perfect opportunity to pound your opponents from a strong position because they are currently focused on each other. Anything they vote on that puts them in a negative light needs to be challenged in as loud a manner as possible. Talk radio is the best venue for this. Any legislation both your potential opponents fail to vote on because of their battles with each other should be called to everyone’s attention on talk radio and in the MSM. This would do two things, first you make yourself look more responsible because instead of campaigning, (which you are still doing anyway), you are back making the best use of the time remaining before the General Election attending to the work of the American People. Second it puts pressure on the Dem nominees and makes it more likely to create a major gaff either on the campaign trail, (by making them change their focus), or in the Senate (they may make a major mistake by voting the wrong way on a popular initiative or make a bad comment on it that won’t go over well with the public).

4) Wait to resign till after the Convention as close to the General election as possible based on the strategy outline above. In my opinion, he definitely needs to resign. I agree with those of you who believe that by resigning in 1996 it was bad for Dole but he was a Senator running against a President. In this situation you will have two Senators running against each other. One of the mistakes I think Kerry made in 2004 was not resigning because it made it look like he wasn’t serious about winning and it looked weak because it gives the impression that he didn’t think he could win. Besides, if McCain wins and his opponent is Hillary he will take her out of the Senate and the likelihood of her returning after being able to beat McCain would ruin the Clinton brand for good. That in and of itself would make McCain a Republican hero and redeem him in my eyes. I would also make a President McCain a little easier for me and many others to swallow.

Vote for your preferred candidate even if they've dropped out. Don't follow the herd in the stampede!

As someone who supported Romney, despite his endorsement of McCain, I'm not on board yet. And the race isn't over, given Huckabee's strong showings, and that he already milking the McCain scandal for all it's worth. This is the miracle Huckabee has been waiting for. And I am tending to agree with Bay Buchanan on this - she is pissed that Romney suspended his campaign and then this McCain story breaks.

Obama has "Change:"--who can be against change? Particularly if you're young and don't want to wait your turn on the status quo ladder. Obama is a brand. McCain isn't, not yet.

Ah, but he has Experience. Experience? Sorry. That's small-change thinking. You put that on a resume. Besides, right now being experienced means being part of the stagnation.

John Boy needs a Big Idea. Hope. That's a big idea. All men are created equal. That's a big idea. Workers arise, That's another. Allah says so. That's one too. But this one will have to be something a grumpy old white guy can plausibly stand for.

If Obama is soda pop McCain is castor oil. It's a hard sale but not impossible, not if you can articulate what so many of us are feeling. These are castor oil times. I feel it in my bones and I bet I'm not alone, that America has been partying too hard and living beyond her means for the last couple of generations. Don't you all feel that something's gone horribly wrong?

I called McCain castor oil. Given eloquence and the Madison Avenue make-over, how is it different from "blood, sweat and tears"?

Look. I'm not a McCain fan. A year ago I vowed that I'd cut my arm off before supporting McAmnesty, but never say never. I've seen the alternative. But maybe my distance gives a valuable perspective on what McCain needs to be.

Take it for what it's worth, but it's time for Doc McCain might be the insight that leads to the package.

He needs one bad. And fast.

On [1.] One thing where I think McCain has a solid advantage is on the courage front, not just personal but political. McCain has (to our endless frustration) gone against the base many, many times.

Hillary and Obama? Eh. They argue about who jumped the highest after their base said "jump". Is there a single issue where either of them isn't doctrinaire? (The war doesn't count; Hillary supported it when it was popular to do so, and presumably did so based on expediency rather than conviction, given how quickly she changed her tune once the public soured on the war).

Something along the lines of "these guys don't even have the courage to stand up against the moveon/code pink folks; can you trust them to defend America against its sworn enemies?"

He should also be able to win hearts by stressing his commitment to victory (bonus: he has real battle scars) and contrast that to his opponents' commitment to defeat. I think the D's are misreading the public's opposition to the war and believe that those opposed to the war agree with them. My own belief is that a significant portion of these opponents are expressing frustration with how it's been conducted by W, and would be receptive to McCain's clear commitment to victory, genuine and unreserved support for the troops etc.

Could you repeat that. I am not sure I am following you. n/t

"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill