McCain: 'Still the maverick... too old to change'

by Jill Zuckman

COLEBROOK, N.H. -- In the toasty warmth of Howard's Restaurant, Sen. John McCain stepped in from the snow to greet the breakfastgoers in this far north town and persuade them that he's got what it takes to win.

These days, he's making the case with sharper language that he's better equipped to be president than his Republican rivals, and that he's the best choice to defeat Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democrat that most Republicans believe will be their opponent in the general election.

He's also running into bigger and bigger crowds—some that are actually reminiscent of the standing-room-only town halls he held in New Hampshire eight years ago at the time of his smashing victory over then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. "You can start to feel the enthusiasm," said McCain.

But doubts have dogged McCain throughout this do-or-die state. His campaign's summer implosion and preceding money woes set him back with the voters, and he's working overtime with a slew of stops each day—even in the most remote reaches of the state—to find a way back into their hearts.

"What happened to the maverick?" Samuel Bird, an independent voter, pointedly asked McCain as the senator worked the pine-paneled diner. "It used to be Republican, Democrat and what John McCain said."

McCain, who once wowed New Hampshire with his "straight talk," assured the retired teacher that he's the same as always.

"I'm still the maverick," McCain said. "I'm too old to change."

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But Bird and his wife, Joan, are angry at the Bush administration and say they're planning on voting in the Democratic primary. While he's always liked McCain, Bird is looking at him differently this year.

"The feeling I get is he's a spokesman for Bush in a lot of ways," said Bird. "He was so much his own man a couple years ago."

McCain, of course, said he knows that his support for the war in Iraq and his advocacy of a broad-based immigration bill have hurt him, particularly with independents like Bird.

Now he's trying to make sure that voters understand that he was the only candidate running for president to recognize the disastrous war strategy early on and push for the counterinsurgency approach that's currently in place.

And he wants voters to know that he's been knee-deep in foreign policy and military affairs for more than two decades in Congress, unlike his Republican opponents. As if to underscore that point, McCain will spend Thanksgiving in Iraq with the troops.

"I think there is dramatic differences in experience and knowledge on the issues. I wonder if any of them have ever met Musharraf?" McCain said of the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf. "I bet I've met Musharraf 10 times. I've been to Waziristan, I've been to Afghanistan many times. I don't think they've been.

"I know the area, I know the players, I know what needs to be done," he continued. "As these crises unfold, and there will be others because the region has become very unstable, I hope I can display the fact that I'm ready to lead."

Regarding Clinton, a name that comes up at virtually every town hall meeting he holds and coffee shop he visits, McCain says he's got the best chance of beating her, and he would do it respectfully and on the issues.

"I can assure you there are significant differences between me and Sen. Clinton who I know well and respect," he told a large crowd at Dartmouth College.

"Sen. Clinton wants to cut off funding for the troops in Iraq. I don't," said McCain. "Sen. Clinton wants a government mandate for everybody to have health insurance. I want every American to have the ability to afford and have available health insurance. Sen. Clinton on many occasions wants to raise your taxes. I don't want to raise your taxes."

Steve Merrill, the former Republican governor of New Hampshire, said McCain's outsized victory eight years ago does not necessarily guarantee him a repeat.

"His campaign doesn't have the wildfire energy that you felt in 2000," Merrill said. "But he has a lot of goodwill and the people of New Hampshire try to give every candidate an opportunity each and every time. Unlike many states, you have to win their vote each and every time."

A recent University of New Hampshire survey put McCain in third place here at 17 percent, following former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 32 percent and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani at 20 percent.

"From the polling we've done, there really hasn't been that much of a change [for McCain]," said Andrew Smith, the UNH pollster. "You can see that his support is still not that great."

But McCain officials take solace from that very same poll, noting that 84 percent of voters have not made up their minds yet.

"Remember, that of the ONLY 16 percent committed in that survey, the race is 29-24-24," said an internal campaign memo of the portions claimed by Romney, Giuliani and McCain. "And in one month's time, we have increased our committeds from 10 to 24 and Mitt and Rudy only gained 3 and 2."

Steve Duprey, McCain's New Hampshire vice chair and a former state Republican chairman, said he's never seen so many undecided Republican voters this close to an election, giving McCain an opportunity for a comeback.

"If I were Gov. Romney and spent all that money, I would be nervous," Duprey said, referring to Romney's heavy television advertising. McCain, on the other hand, is on the rise despite his financial disadvantage, he said.

"We've got a real race going," said Duprey. "The crowds have been getting bigger. This is a Herculean battle."

David Carney, a veteran Republican strategist in the state, said McCain benefits from a loyal group of veterans, a loyal group of Republicans who first voted for him in 2000, and a campaign team that holds more organizational events than any other.

"There is an ability to put something together," he said. "It's going to be as close as it can humanly get."

In Howard's Restaurant, where folksy sayings adorn the walls, there are still diehards keeping their fingers crossed for McCain.

Fred King, a state representative, took a break from hunting to stop by the restaurant and say hello to McCain.

"I wouldn't have come down for the pope," said King, wearing a red and black flannel hunting jacket and hat. "Anything that interferes with deer hunting in this part of the world has to be pretty important."

King, who voted for McCain in 2000 and plans to do so again, said he appreciates McCain's military background and his prescience on Iraq.

"I'm a Korean War veteran, and I think it would be nice to have someone as president who's been shot at," he said.