Now that McCain has secured the Republican nomination, much work has to be done to keep his name in the news while that other party decides how to actually produce a winner. So how does McCain’s campaign plan on doing that? To start, The Man himself is planning a national tour promoting his life story, an overseas trip to promote his foreign policy experience, and town hall meetings leading through the general election.
But he has managed to keep himself in the news in other ways. Since he officially earned enough delegates to become the nominee on March 4th, granted only 7 days ago, McCain has managed to remain in the news. Here’s how:
- March 5: Receives President Bush's endorsement in an odd White House Rose Garden press conference that Bush all but commandeers in an apparent effort to teach McCain how to handle the press corps
- March 6: Is commended by FoxNews for not losing his temper at a Florida event with Governor Charlie Crist where McCain went through three faulty microphones in the span of 20 minutes
- March 7: FoxNews airs a videotape of McCain losing his temper when a reporter asks him whether he was directly asked to be Democratic nominee Kerry's VP in 2004
- March 8-9: Stays out of the news by returning home to Arizona
- March 10: Has a full medical screening, adding that his dermatologist gave him a cancer screening a few weeks ago and that this is routine for him
OK, not the best news. But a) he dealt with Bush's affable mood well and didn't lose his temper, b) Florida always seems to have some technicality problems, c) come on, who wouldn't get mad at a question that undermines your identity AS A REPUBLICAN, and d) hopefully the results (to be released April 15) will reveal that his age hasn't betrayed his health so that all those age comments can be put to rest.For those of us with no control over McCain's schedule but who want to continue to support his campaign, McCain's official blog asks his supporters to stay involved in various ways, including blogging about, volunteering for, donating to, and talking about his campaign so his campaign's momentum can defeat a potentially impressive Obama campaign or a do-anything-at-all-costs Hillary campaign.Whether it's been McCain himself or his supporters, the efforts by McCain's camp to keep him in the news has been successful.
Photo via John McCain 2008
