Robert Novak, in his weekly email newsletter, has this item about Arizona Senator John McCain:
Much of Republican Washington turned out at the huge Christmas party Monday night hosted by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) at the Corcoran Art Gallery. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), the newly elected Senate minority whip, has emerged as a major McCain backer. McCain is not only the front-runner for the presidential nomination but is emerging as the establishment candidate.
This could help McCain considerably, in terms of money and establishment clout. Particularly if during the next two years Karl Rove manages to get the party’s conservative base back and in line.
The hitch may be: it is an increasingly different political world. McCain’s media appeal, and the excitement over him, came from his role as a different kind of politician who was tough to fit into a specific category and who had to endure foes (both inside the party and out) trying to shove him into one. And, as a result, there was a big “Stop McCain” movement by some Congressional Republicans in 2000. He couldn’t be relied upon to go along.
If he continues along the path of being the favored establishment candidate, he’ll likely lose some of the support that set him apart in 2000 — particularly if the next two years are tempestous ones and the administration’s popularity further plummets.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, writes a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.