Let the Campaign Begin

Sen. John McCain’s victories in the Potomac primaries of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia all but end the Republican primary race. McCain will be the nominee and there is nothing Gov. Mike Huckabee, the last man standing in the struggle to be the conservative alternative to McCain, can do about it. McCain acknowledged as much in his remarks following his three-contest sweep on Tuesday, when he turned his sights on his potential Democratic opponents. “[W]e know where either of their candidates will lead this country, and we dare not let them,” he said. With those words, McCain embarked on a new campaign, not just against the eventual Democratic nominee, but for conservative voters in the Republican Party.

Last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the preeminent gathering of conservative activists from across the country, Sen. McCain tested the waters. He appeared at the conference on its opening day to speak directly to the leaders of suspicious conservatives who are wary of McCain’s history of finding common ground with Democrats against Republicans. It was a make or break moment for McCain’s campaign with respect to the direction it would take in the general election. McCain declined to appear at the conference last year, and was roundly booed by the attendees at every mention of his name. But this year, McCain decided to dip a rhetorical toe in conservative waters, and make his case.

McCain’s appearance was aided by a bit of good fortune, as his chief rival for conservative minded voters, Gov. Mitt Romney, used his speech earlier on the conference’s first day to unexpectedly drop out of the race. This left the Romney supporters dispirited and dejected, many of them leaving the conference hall rather than stay and listen to their man’s vanquisher. Had Romney decided to fight it out through the next round of primaries, the mood in the room might have been different when McCain took to the podium. As it was, though, the attendees greeted McCain warmly. There were smatterings of boos; but, except when he mentioned immigration as an area of disagreement, these were easily drowned out by McCain supporters.

After his speech, there was an air of reluctant acceptance for McCain at the conference, but there are indications that his remarks had their intended effect. In Maryland and Virginia’s primaries, McCain won among self identified Republicans and conservatives of every stripe, except those who labeled themselves “very conservative.” A plurality of Maryland voters said that McCain’s positions on issues were “about right,” and the more conservative Virginia electorate only handed McCain a five-percentage point loss on this question. It seems that McCain has begun to be rewarded for his willingness to face the fire of conservatives on their ground.

The timing of this turnaround, should it continue, could not be better for Republicans. The Democratic race looks to continue for at least another month and possibly more, while McCain has time to sell himself anew to the Republican Party’s conservative base. It remains a tough chore for McCain. His image as the mainstream media’s favorite Republican and the choice of independents and moderates as a principle-over-politics politician is carefully crafted. So McCain must look for ways to reassure conservatives that, at his core, he shares their beliefs, while not offending moderates and independents hungry for a less partisan political culture.

Whether or not McCain can win the support, if not the affection, of conservative voters could tell the story of the 2008 presidential election. It means the difference between a contested race in November and a landslide victory for Democrats. Democratic voters are energized by their candidates, as evidenced by the huge turnout in the Democratic primary contests. Republican voters have had less to cheer about. But as the primaries come to a close, the Republican nominee seems to be coming around to the realization that he must swallow a little pride and come calling on conservative voters, not as a savior, but as a champion. His appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference began that process and it looks to have had some tangible results. It was the proverbial first step in the journey of 1,000 miles. McCain seems willing to stop and pick up conservatives standing at the side of the road. Now it is up to conservatives to decide if they are going his way.

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Mark Impomeni is a contributing editor at RedState and covers the White House for AOL’s new political blog, The Political Machine. He writes a column with a conservative’s take on the state of the 2008 presidential race for Political-Buzz.com

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