My, My, How The Mighty Have Fallen

[JODO 2]

McCain's woes evident on campaign trail

DERRY, New Hampshire (AP) — John Mccain's slide in the 2008 presidential race shows up everywhere on the campaign trail.His staff drastically reduced and his organization nearly broke, McCain flies commercial instead of on private jets, carries his own luggage and relies on supporters to drive him to events, including one that pulled away from a Rotary meeting last week with a flat rear tire.

It's a far cry from the "Straight Talk Express" tour bus that once was packed with reporters, staff and hope.

When the Republican presidential hopeful made his first trip to New Hampshire earlier this year, the plush bus had boxes of doughnuts in the cabin and gallons of coffee for hangers-on and key supporters. His aides — and spare baked goods — traveled in a van behind.

At town halls, his U.S. flag backdrops were steamed clean of their wrinkles and a bevy of volunteers clamored to hand out stickers.

Now, the Arizona senator and Vietnam War hero travels without staff or with a single aide and rarely with national media crews. Last week, he arrived in Manchester, New Hampshire, on a commercial flight. He carried his own bags through the airport and his top two aides in the state drove him to his hotel. The entire event was captured for local television.

The current Republican frontrunners now appear to be former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson, who has not yet said whether he will run, is also considered a favorite.

Yet, for all of McCain's woes, rival campaigns are not holding a political death watch just yet. McCain has maintained a deep core of support and, with five months to the first voting, there is ample time to make up ground. Rivals know McCain's scrappy style and one-on-one skills have helped him before and he often is at his best when free of the cautions imposed on front-runners.

To try to regain momentum heading into the fall, McCain plans to spend a few days at a time in each of three early primary states — Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He will focus on town-hall style meetings — as many as several a day — that allow him to mix it up with voters and reach as many people as possible.

"I can out-campaign anyone," he says.

Still, McCain's loss of the trappings of a top-tier candidate come at a cost. On Monday, he missed a fundraising breakfast in Pittsburgh because his commercial flight was canceled. He called in by speakerphone to the 30 supporters in a hotel conference room.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/elec...es_N.htm?csp=34

[almaty 19]

a chopf##k ..1st class...go back to the desert..