And the Grown-Up Award Goes To …

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) bought himself the small but real potential for a resurrection at the Fox News debate in New Hampshire last week. I invite the pummeling I will receive from suggesting this, but I believe his unrivaled military experience in that field, combined with his commanding performance, gave him the Grown-Up award on that stage on that night. And let’s not forget he had the best Fred Thompson joke to boot. 

To call his comeback that evening a “surprise” is an understatement for the ages. But McCain remains a surprising figure in American politics. Having blown through more than $20 million, plummeted in the polls and lost key staffers — including his top adviser and friend of many years — McCain did what few of us could bear to: He asked for more. He declared his campaign alive and kicking, ignored a flurry of political obituaries, continued trying to raise funds without a sales pitch left and, no longer able to afford driving around in his famous bus, even drove himself to campaign appearances where he was sometimes heckled. The Straight Talk was over, yet McCain kept a straight face.

I am not the only one struck by McCain’s debate performance. The New Hampshire focus group hosted by Frank Luntz on Fox News immediately following the debate voted McCain the victor, and to a person almost all of its participants were turned off by what Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani said that night. Though they didn’t agree completely with what McCain said, they found themselves assured by the strength of his convictions.

McCain pumped the surge all night last week, chiding Romney for saying that “apparently” it has succeeded. But now that the assessment by Gen. David Petraeus is behind and no longer in front of us, McCain can only revive his candidacy by embracing the Iraq debate in the bipartisan manner he has become famous for. Because Romney and Giuliani and Thompson are not in the Congress, McCain has an opportunity to regain the spotlight in the presidential race by leading on this issue. But he cannot do so by continuing to embrace the president. Even Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) has said today that “we are facing extraordinarily narrow margins for achieving our goals.” McCain can be the bridge between the different factions, leading the majority of politicians who seek a middle ground. Should he continue to dismiss the real concerns about the future of Iraq and the depletion of the U.S. military, he will dismiss his candidacy once and for all.

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