Opinion: Coach McCain: ‘Staubach, get in there!’
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John McCain has gone to the bench for a little Hall of Fame help in trying to finish the third reporting quarter with a rally instead of a sack. (Sorry, but the football theme’s hard to resist.)
The McCain campaign sent supporters an e-mail this morning from former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach -- like McCain, a U.S. Navy vet who served in Vietnam -- urging supporters to kick in contributions before the Sept. 30 reporting deadline.
‘The fourth quarter of this year is going to be the most important in this campaign. That’s why it’s important for us not to stand on the sidelines and watch -- it’s time to get in the game right now. We can’t do our job in the fourth quarter unless we play hard in the third. ‘The end of the third quarter of this year on Sept. 30 marks another important fundraising deadline, and it’s crucial that John McCain has the resources necessary to win heading into the final stretch of the campaign. Whether we like it or not, the national press uses these fundraising numbers as a benchmark on how well the campaign is doing.’
Well, yes, we do use the numbers -- as well as staffing fluctuations -- as an indicator of campaign health. A campaign that doesn’t draw enough interest to raise money isn’t likely to draw many votes, either. And a campaign that can’t raise money can’t spend money. ‘Whether we like it or not,’ you have to spend money to win a national nomination battle or election.
The political reality is McCain has been bouncing around in the polls nationally behind rivals Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and (less often) Fred Thompson, and in such crucial early states as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. But everywhere he remains in the second tier. The Arizona senator’s campaign isn’t quite ready for the Hail Mary play, but McCain definitely needs to start picking up some yardage.
-- Scott Martelle