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No, not because he had a record-breaking fundraising day. In fact, McCain sent an email to his supporters asking them to donate to his campaign within the next week in order to make his 1st quarter fundraising numbers look sexy (OK, he didn’t actually say he wanted them to look sexy but it's not a bad strategy as a way to compete with Obama). He did, though, pick up the endorsement of former First Lady Nancy Reagan while in California. The two have been friends since Reagan’s presidency and the endorsement is expected to help coax the Republican base back to McCain.
But even sexier than fundraising and Nancy Reagan is McCain talking economics. McCain today addressed his reputation for not understanding economics by giving a speech on the current financial climate at a roundtable of small business owners in Santa Ana; the speech was immediately posted on the front page of his website.
On a side note, McCain apparently dug himself into a hole with an honest comment about economics not being his strongest body of knowledge. But these campaigns are like job interviews: every (good) interviewer asks the candidate about his/her weaknesses. Those that answer honestly have to be commended; they may not get the job, but at least they are mature enough to know and acknowledge what they can and need to improve. Since McCain answered honestly, he must show his interviewers how he has worked to improve and how he will continue to improve his economic understanding so that he is prepared to lead one of the world's largest economies. And we as interviewers are responsible for judging him fairly based on past and future efforts on this matter.
That said, earlier this month, he announced Meg Whitman as the National Co-Chair for his campaign. In case you don't regularly follow the Fortune 500 world, Whitman is the outgoing CEO of eBay, where she grew the company from 30 employees in 1998 and $4 million revenue to the current level of 15,000 employees and $50 billion revenue. Suffice it to say, Whitman has some economic experience that should prove useful to McCain. And, as the L.A. Times reports, she may be gearing up for a run for Governor of California after Schwarzenegger. Call me crazy, but 'Whitman' has a ring to it kind of like 'Clinton'!
Photo by NathanF via Flickr
