New York – John McCain argued Thursday that the United States would be safer with him as president than if his leading Republican rivals were commander in chief as he seized on newfound opportunities to revive his weakened candidacy.
Once left for dead politically, McCain is sharply drawing distinctions between himself and his top GOP opponents as he seeks to capitalize on polls showing an extremely fluid race and a campaign flush enough to run ads in early-voting New Hampshire.
“We don’t have time or opportunity for on-the-job training, and the other candidates for president I don’t believe have the qualifications that I do to hit the ground running and immediately address these serious challenges,” the four-term Arizona senator and Vietnam veteran told reporters after a speech on the military.
“The country would be safer with me as its leader,” McCain added.
He said that while he respects his opponents, “this is all about who is best equipped to take on the challenge of radical Islamic extremism.”
McCain, his party’s presumptive front-runner late last year, underwent enormous political, financial and organizational upheaval this summer and now is looking for a comeback.
Among recent positive developments is a new survey in New Hampshire that found he has gained ground since July and is giving chase to Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. Actor-politician Fred Thompson trails. Broke just three months ago, McCain also now has enough money to run a heavy level of TV and radio ads in that state. He is making New Hampshire – where he beat George W. Bush in 2000 – the focal point of his strategy and returns there this weekend to campaign.
Despite the signs of life, many challenges remain, not the least of which is fundraising. The third financial quarter ends Sunday, and McCain is expected to show that while he brought in some money, he raised several million dollars less than his top competitors.
Linked to Iraq and the troop-increase strategy, McCain spent September aggressively trying to sell support for the unpopular war – and his candidacy – in a push that spoke to the central argument of his White House bid. McCain’s contention: His depth of experience on foreign policy and the military makes him the most qualified of any hopeful, Republican or Democrat, to lead a country at war.
In that vein, he laid out his foreign-policy vision in a speech to the conservative Hudson Institute on Thursday as his campaign rolled out ads that highlight his war-hero biography and decades-long military experience.
In the speech, McCain renewed his call for boosting the ranks of the military without reinstituting the draft. He painted an optimistic picture of progress in Iraq but also warned of a long slog ahead.
GOP tops Dems in debate viewers Nearly 1.5 million people tuned in to a televised debate among Democratic presidential candidates Wednesday night in New Hampshire.
It was a better showing than the last Democratic debate in August, but less than the number tuning in for the most recent one involving Republican candidates, held just after Labor Day, according to Nielsen Media Research.
According to Nielsen:
Wednesday’s debate on MSNBC drew more than 1.4 million viewers.
A Sept. 5 Republican debate on Fox News Channel was seen by 3.2 million.
An Aug. 8 AFL-CIO forum with Democratic candidates and broadcast by MSNBC drew just 939,000 viewers.
Debate viewership has been about
2 million, but Wednesday night the debate was up against season premieres on the major networks.
The novel CNN-YouTube Democratic debate in July attracted 2.6 million television viewers, a slight drop from the numbers who tuned in for a more traditional exchange in June involving the Democrats. That attracted 2.8 million viewers. In April, an MSNBC televised debate drew 2.3 million.
