Tom Kean Endorsing John McCain
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James Joyner | Monday, November 19, 2007 |
Thomas H. Kean, who chaired the 9/11 Commission, will endorse Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president on Monday as part of a high-stakes new push by the campaign to focus voters on national security, campaign sources tell Politico.
Kean’s name became synonymous with national security issues during heavy news coverage of the commission’s report in 2004. Kean will help McCain make the case to voters in New Hampshire, his must-win state, that strength on national security encompasses a lot more than the divisive issue of Iraq, the sources said.
[...]
McCain’s dilemma has been that conservative voters have been peeved with him about his push for balanced immigration reform, and independents and moderates have been distrustful because of his support for President Bush on Iraq. Now, the campaign has a plan to try to transcend those polarizing issues. The adviser said Kean “underscores McCain’s greatest strength,” both because of the former governor’s national security credentials, and because Kean is “a Republican who wasn’t afraid to talk back to Bush.”
Kean’s endorsement is unlikely to sway a lot of votes, especially in New Hampshire, where voters feel entitled to have breakfast with their candidate of choice at least three or four times before making up their mind.
What this does seem to indicate, though, is that major political players think McCain still has a legitimate shot at winning the nomination. Politicians wouldn’t stick their necks out, risking alienating the other candidates, otherwise.
Two or three months ago, McCain’s doubling down on the Iraq War and national security policy in general would have seemed foolhardy. Those were obvious losing issues even with Republican voters. A recent spate of relatively good news on the security front in Iraq, though, has revived that as an issue.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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