Perspective is easily lost during political campaigns. Overlooked in this year's careening primary season has been the magnitude of Republican John McCain's comeback.
"Front-runner" may be the tag many now apply to the Arizona senator's political status, but barely more than six months ago, "Dead Man Walking" was in vogue.
In early 2007, McCain's outspoken support for the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq was seen as a significant minus. His identification with immigration legislation despised by conservatives posed an even bigger problem. And his campaign was raising too little money while spending too much.
It all came to a head with a massive staff shake-up July 10 -- gone were top advisors; cut were ground troops in Iowa and New Hampshire. And an avalanche of negative press nearly buried McCain.
A day after the staff firings, a story on the ABC News website was headlined: "Death Watch. McCain watches in vain as his dream evaporates."
A RealClearPolitics.com piece began: "It may take weeks, or perhaps even a few months, but the odds are John McCain will drop out of the presidential race . . . before the first vote is cast in Iowa in January"
Charlie Cook, one of Washington's most esteemed nonpartisan pundits, told the New York Times that McCain's campaign was "effectively over. The physicians have left the hospital room, and it's the executors of the estate that are taking over."
And a Los Angeles Times story gauged that McCain's White House bid was "in a state of near-collapse."
McCain is not home free yet. The television advertising blitz Mitt Romney plans for California and other states voting on Tuesday underscores the financial advantage he enjoys -- an edge that could again reshape the race.
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-- Don Frederick
Frederick is one of the writers of The Times' political blog, Top of the Ticket, at latimes.com/topoftheticket.
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SOME WORDS FOR HIS CRITICS
Hitting back, hand on heart
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Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has gotten tired of what he describes as the people who "want to hoodwink you, to bamboozle you . . . to run the okey-doke on you."
So recently the Democratic presidential candidate has been fighting back against e-mails flying through cyberspace that question his Christianity and his patriotism. In South Carolina he started having young women with shaky voices sing "The Star-Spangled Banner."
