Watch Out for a Resurgent John McCain

This past summer, John McCain’s presidential campaign was given up for dead. Having relinquished his position as the early frontrunner (to Rudy Giuliani), McCain was dropping in the polls, having trouble raising funds, and was being forced to lay off some of his staff. Now McCain’s campaign has suddenly been resurrected as he is quickly picking up steam in the national polls as well as those in New Hampshire and even Iowa. He is now running a solid second in New Hampshire, where he scored a decisive victory over George W. Bush in 2000. Many of those independent voters who helped him win in 2000 might be willing to cast their votes for him this time around as well. He has even risen to third in some Iowa polls. A third-place finish in Iowa would be a real coup for him, since no one has expected him to do well there. Combine that with another win in New Hampshire and he could be off to the races.

McCain’s late surge, which has just materialized in the last week or so, is reminiscent of John Kerry’s late surge in 2004, just before the Iowa Caucuses took place. Like McCain, Kerry was written off a few months earlier by most of the pundits after his campaign began to stall. Will history repeat itself with McCain capturing the 2008 GOP presidential nomination in the same come-from-behind scenario in which Kerry won the 2004 Democratic nomination? I would be afraid to bet against it at this point.