Concern in G.O.P. Over Progress of McCain’s Bid (NYT)

[jefferson_dem]

May 25, 2008
Concern in G.O.P. Over Progress of McCain’s Bid
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign is in a troubled stretch, hindered by resignations of staff members, a lagging effort to build a national campaign organization and questions over whether he has taken full advantage of Democratic turmoil to present a case for his candidacy, Republicans said.

In interviews, some party leaders said they were worried about signs of disorder in his campaign, and whether the focus in the last several weeks on the prominent role of lobbyists in Mr. McCain’s inner circle might undercut the heart of his general election message: Presenting himself as a reformer taking on special interests in Washington.

“The core image of John McCain is as a reformer in Washington — and the more dominant the story is about the lobbying teams around him, the more you put that into question,” said Terry Nelson, who was Mr. McCain’s campaign manager until he was forced out last year. “If the Obama campaign can truly change him from being seen as a reformer to just being another Washington politician, it could be very damaging over the course of the campaign.”

Some state party leaders said they were apprehensive about the unusual organization that Mr. McCain had set up — the campaign has been broken into 10 semi-autonomous regions, with each having power over such things as buying television advertising and the candidate’s schedule, decisions normally left to headquarters.

More than that, they said, Mr. McCain organizationally still seems far behind where President Bush was in 2004. Several Republican party leaders said they were worried the campaign was losing an opportunity as they waited for approval to open offices and set up telephone banks.

“They finally assigned someone to West Virginia three weeks ago,” said Doug McKinney, the state Republican chairman there. “I had a couple of contacts with him and I e-mailed him twice and I never heard back. I finally called and they said that the guy had resigned.”

Mr. McCain’s campaign has transmitted conflicting messages in recent days about how he would present himself, as he has tried to reassure conservatives nervous about his ideological consistency even as he has tried to expand his appeal to moderates and liberals.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/us/politics/25mccain.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&hpx=&pagewanted=print

[librechik]

1. ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US n/t

[Forkboy]

2. McBush should get pummeled like a narc at a biker rally in November.