WASHINGTON — Republican presidential nominee John McCain returns to the trail today after a dramatic but rocky four-day detour that upended his campaign, upset supporters and gave new ammunition to critics who question his judgment.
McCain will appear at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, in hopes of regaining the momentum he lost when he abruptly canceled campaign events and returned here Thursday to try to broker a $700-billion bailout of the crippled financial industry.
The Arizona senator's unilateral cease-fire carried a clear cost, aides now concede, acknowledging that polls show Democratic nominee Barack Obama with a widening lead. Pulling most of McCain's TV ads off the air for several days also left him "naked" to Obama's broadsides, the aides said.
Some McCain supporters question why he made his own campaign hostage to a highly charged legislative process that he did not control. He does not sit on a Senate committee that is directly involved with the crisis, and he became inextricably linked to a Wall Street bailout that is unpopular with many voters.
Worse, McCain's campaign assumed an air of barely controlled chaos for four days as frustrated staffers tore up schedules, scrapped speeches and rallies, and scrambled to make contingency plans that seemed to change hour by hour.
"It was all very dramatic, but maybe the American public is tired of drama after the last eight years," said John Weaver, McCain's former campaign manager. "John needs to demonstrate he has a steady hand. He needs to be a bit more measured."
Supporters also criticized McCain's call last week to cancel the first presidential debate with Obama unless negotiators struck a bailout deal by Friday night. McCain backed down at the last minute and agreed to participate without a deal, but he departed Washington so suddenly Friday afternoon that he left most of his traveling press behind.
After arriving in Mississippi, he decided to return to the capital immediately after the debate. His late-night flight landed at 3:15 a.m. Saturday. Later that day, he made 17 phone calls from his campaign office to White House and congressional leaders, but did not take part in the late-night negotiations that finally hammered out the proposed accord.
McCain also did not head to the Senate floor Saturday to vote on a $634-billion bill to fund the government for the next five months. He had denounced the measure during the debate because it was packed with more than 2,000 "earmarks," pet projects sought by lawmakers for their home districts and states.
