"We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight," McCain told a boisterous crowd of about 12,000 supporters in Virginia Beach. "The hour is late. Our troubles are getting worse. Our enemies watch. We have to act immediately. We have to change direction now."
McCain acknowledged his difficult position. Surveys show Obama holding a solid lead in national polls and ahead in enough states to easily capture the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, assuming nothing changes before Nov. 4. McCain, who has staged repeated comebacks in the presidential race, embraced the familiar role of underdog, saying he came from a long line of scrappers.
"Sen. Obama is measuring the drapes and planning with Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Sen. [Harry] Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections and concede defeat in Iraq," McCain said, offering his slant on the Illinois senator's positions. "But you know what they forgot? They forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them."
Many Republicans, however, seem less sanguine. "I don't want to be the first Republican out there to say it's a disaster, but it's a . . . disaster," said a GOP strategist in a key state both sides are targeting. He did not want to be identified criticizing the party's nominee. "I don't see the issue that's going to turn this race around, unless there's a scandal, a terrorist act -- almost an act of God."
Others were more optimistic. "Frankly, he's running a better campaign in this environment under difficult circumstances than we have any right to expect," said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who heads the GOP's congressional campaign committee. Cole suggested that there was plenty of time for McCain to turn the race around: "I think it's a mistake for our members to disconnect from McCain."
But even as they held out hope for a reversal of fortunes, Republicans differed over how best to make it happen, reflecting a dissonance within party ranks.
Todd Harris, a spokesman for McCain's 2000 presidential run, said there was nothing wrong with McCain talking about Ayers -- who took part in a domestic bombing campaign as co-founder of the Weather Underground -- and Wright, so long as he kept his main focus on the economy. "I think that the Ayers stuff is important in that it's illustrative of who Obama is," said Harris, adding that Wright's incendiary comments about race and other matters make him a legitimate topic.
