A curious subplot in the 2004 presidential race was the "McCain Primary" -- the desperate competition among top contenders for the Democratic nomination to portray themselves as heirs to the political legacy of the charismatic Arizona Republican. One by one, they boasted of their personal friendships with McCain, touted their experiences
working with him in Congress, or drew attention to other similarities between them.
McCain himself joked that he was the victim of identity theft. But the competition was serious business. To a person, the leading Democratic candidates wanted to be seen as straight-talking, insurgent reformers willing to take on the Washington establishment and
special interests in their own party.
The competition was rich with irony, of course: McCain lost his own bid for the presidency in 2000, yet here were most of the other party's hopefuls trying to emulate him. Compounding that irony was the fact that their logic was actually sound. In an age of heated political polarization, McCain has a special appeal that transcends partisanship.
That's why he was able to win presidential primaries in states that allow independents to vote in the Republican race, such as New Hampshire. It's why, even though he lost the nomination, he emerged from the 2000 campaign with a broad national constituency. And it's why in his most recent Senate race in Arizona -- a once and future swing state -- he won the majority of Republican, independent, and Democratic voters.
In the end, no candidate managed to win the McCain Primary in 2004. But as Democrats plot their path back to power, they would be well-advised to keep studying the lessons of McCain's 2000 presidential campaign and his continuing role in American politics.
Particularly now that the nation is at war, there is a need for a politics that transcends narrow, self-interested partisanship. Many Americans believe they are not represented by either party. Both the Democrats and the Republicans sometimes seem more focused on
appeasing their respective bases than serving the overall interests of the nation. While we are burdened by the costs of war and an ever-growing national debt, Congress indulges in
parochial spending projects and tax cuts for the comfortable. There is a hunger for politicians who defy that pattern and stand up for big national causes instead.
Stipulating that it is impossible to clone McCain, whose biography and personal charisma are unique, how can other politicians, Democrats in particular, achieve the same popularity he has? Here are a few possible steps:
They can be reformers. Now that Democrats are in the minority, they need to view themselves as outsiders taking on the establishment. In 2000, much of the political class and the press were skeptical about whether campaign finance reform would resonate with voters. But McCain successfully argued that a corrupt campaign finance system was an obstacle to other reforms, such as overhauling the tax system. This issue had particular resonance among independents, who flocked to his candidacy in the vital New Hampshire primary. When he returned to the Senate, McCain harnessed that energy to pass campaign finance reform legislation.
Surely, with the DeLay-Rove Republicans controlling Washington, Democrats should have many opportunities to cast themselves as reformers against an entrenched establishment. Public funding of campaigns, nonpartisan redistricting, and open primaries are just a few of the reforms that Democrats can champion.
They can take on the special interests. A large part of McCain's appeal stems from his willingness to challenge Washington's sacred cows. For many
years, McCain has been a primary congressional foe of pork-barrel spending. At the risk of angering his colleagues, he makes lists of the wasteful parochial spending programs in their districts and states. He ridicules expenditures for absurd-sounding projects such as
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and protecting brown tree snakes.
And as a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, McCain has been unafraid to challenge the military-industrial complex. He has demonstrated that you do not have to compete for the title of Mr. Popularity among your colleagues or the Washington lobbying community to be immensely popular with the electorate.
They can play against type. McCain is willing to defy the conventional wisdom and the base of his party if he thinks it is the right thing to do. During his presidential campaign, he questioned the wisdom of huge tax cuts targeted to
the wealthy. In addition, McCain cosponsored legislation with Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) to address the issue of global warming even as the Bush administration has adamantly refused to recognize the problem.
McCain is not the first politician to run against type. In many ways, he is the living embodiment of Teddy Roosevelt, who, at the beginning of the last century, took on the special interests within his own party to advance progressive reforms. Similarly, Bill
Clinton ran in 1992 as a "different kind of Democrat," challenging party orthodoxy on crime and welfare. Clinton proved that it is possible to win a party's nomination by going against the grain.
They can allow access. Many observers wonder why McCain has been so popular with the press corps. During the 2000 campaign, one aide even jokingly referred to the Fourth Estate as "the base." The McCain campaign proved that it is not necessary to have a controlled media environment in a presidential campaign. The bus that carried McCain and his staff on the campaign trail earned the moniker "Straight Talk Express" because the press that rode along on it was allowed exhaustive -- and often
exhausting -- access to the candidate.
There was no elaborate media strategy behind this access. Rather, it was a spontaneous adaptation to the needs of the campaign. But the most important factors were that the candidate enjoyed the company of the press, he provided excellent copy, and he did not shy away from straight talk. Far too many politicians are constrained by formulaic talking
points and message discipline. Desperately needed are more candidates who offer unvarnished opinions and honest insights to the voters. The sound bite and smash mouth politics that is all too prevalent these days only breeds cynicism and polarization.
A breath of honest fresh air can elevate our politics while defusing partisan divisions.
Complementing the open door (or open bus) press strategy were scores of town hall meetings at which thousands of voters asked any questions they wished. Even some who came dressed in costumes got their turns at posing questions for the candidate --
the very opposite of choreographed affairs.
There is obviously no magic formula that a candidate can follow to become the next John McCain. After all, McCain is a unique politician with a rare background and unusual
skills. But the basic lessons of his success are clear enough that politicians of any stripe can apply them and come up with some magic of their own.
