McCain and South Carolina

An article published this morning talks about John McCain and the work needed to be done to secure the support in key state South Carolina. Also makes an interesting reference to the dirty tricks employed during his campaign here for the nomination in 2000.

But it does say that McCain has done a lot of work in stitching up the support of local Republicans and he does lead in the polls as preferred GOP nominee.

BY JIM MORRILL McClatchy Newspapers
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Vietnam veteran John McCain waded into an ambush the first time he campaigned in South Carolina.

Fresh off an upset win in the 2000 New Hampshire primary, the Arizona Republican came under withering fire.

George W. Bush's S.C. allies questioned not only McCain's conservatism, but his patriotism. E-mails and fliers accused him of fathering illegitimate children, and his wife of being a drug addict. The night he lost the primary, Cindy McCain broke down in loud sobs.

Now, seven years later, he's counting on many of those former adversaries as he mounts another presidential bid. No Republican has lost the S.C. primary and gone on to win the nomination.

A January poll showed McCain leading the field with support from 29 percent of likely primary voters. He's won endorsements from 40 of 73 Republican legislators and dozens of other officials, including Sen. Lindsey Graham. He's recruited most of Bush's top fundraisers.

"There's no doubt in my mind that John McCain will continue the Bush legacy," says Bob McAlister, a Columbia consultant who worked for Bush. "He's the conservative who can win."
Some have their doubts.

"He's emotional; I think he would act on impulse," says Katrina Shealy, treasurer of the Lexington County GOP. "I don't want to say 'button-pusher,' but that's the way I feel."
For others, there's almost an inevitability about McCain, 70. In their eyes, he's paid his dues. Neil Thigpen, a political scientist at Francis Marion University in Florence, calls it a "right of inheritance."

"That's why a lot of them have moved toward McCain," he says. "It's his turn."

McCain's challengers in the February 2008 primary include former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who campaigns in Columbia Wednesday. Many rivals tout themselves as the conservative alternative to the maverick McCain. His backers don't buy that.

"When I start lining up his conservative positions, they line up with South Carolina conservative positions," says House Speaker Bobby Harrell, a Bush supporter in 2000.