Denver - John McCain arrives in Denver today amid reports that his primary constituency-the national media-"has fallen out of love with" him, and that his high profile effort to re-launch his crumbling presidential campaign has been "a complete and utter bust." [NewYorkSunPolitics.com, 4/16/07] The fundraising visit also comes a day after McCain sang to a South Carolina audience, "changing the words to a popular Beach Boys song, 'Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran'...to the tune of Barbara Ann." [Georgetown Times, 4/19/07] The bizarre episode and the need to "retool" his campaign highlight the extent to which McCain's presidential ambitions have been hurt by his failed attempt to both distance himself from the Bush Administration but remain the biggest cheerleader for the President's failed strategy in Iraq and the Bush-McCain escalation plan. [The Politico, 4/5/07; The Politico, 4/11/07; Associated Press, 4/11/07]

Besides his Iraq imbroglio, McCain had a poor showing in first quarter fundraising, has been criticized for his flip flops and inconsistencies over his positions on everything from ethanol to the campaign finance and immigration reforms he once championed, and finds himself lagging behind in the polls for the Republican nomination. [The Politico, 4/5/07; Boston Globe, 3/22/07; Quad-City Times, 2/18/07; Fox News, 6/15/99; Houston Chronicle, 2/11/00; Washington Post, 2/12/07; Chicago Tribune, 4/11/07; The Politico, 4/10/07]

"John McCain's campaign is starting to show the wear and tear of his do-anything-to-win tactics, including all his flip-flops and bizarre outbursts," said Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak. "Given his stubborn support for the failed Bush-McCain strategy in Iraq, his persistent pattern of misrepresenting the facts on the ground there, and his decision to run from the campaign finance and immigration reforms he once championed, it's hardly surprising that the voters are rejecting McCain. Coloradoans want new leadership in the White House, not more of the same stubbornness and double talk we've already seen over the past six years."

"STRAIGHT-TALK EXPRESS" STUCK IN THE MUD

MCCAIN'S "STRAIGHT-TALK" EXPRESS DERAILED IN BAGHDAD MARKET

First, McCain Claimed He Could Safely Walk Around Certain Baghdad Neighborhoods. "McCain's latest problem began before he left for the region, when he told Bill Bennett on the radio that 'there are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk today.' After Michael Ware of CNN's Baghdad bureau accused the senator of living in 'Neverland,' McCain charged that it's reporters who are living in a 'time warp of three months ago.'" [Newsweek, Alter, 4/16/07 edition]

Then McCain Was Forced to Admit He "Misspoke" When He Failed to Mention His Massive Security During Baghdad Market Trip. "Wearing a bulletproof vest and surrounded by 100 soldiers in Baghdad's central market, McCain said: 'Never have I been able to go out into the city as I was today.' Headlines soon after called his statements 'propaganda' and a 'magic-carpet ride.' The Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon, declared: 'Brainwashed McCain is a straight-talker no more.'" An op-ed in the Rocky Mountain News called McCain's staged walk through a Baghdad market "a truly Orwellian publicity stunt," that was turned into a "desperate attempt to give some sliver of credence to claims that the dreaded 'liberal media' are failing to report on all the wonderful things happening in Iraq.Chastened, McCain issued a half-hearted apology a few days later, saying he 'misspoke' when he pointed to his little walk under the protection of several platoons from the world's most powerful military as evidence of Baghdad's excellent shopping opportunities." [Washington Post, 4/7/07; Rocky Mountain News, 4/10/07]

And Finally, McCain Said He Disagreed ith the General's Recommendation for Armed Escorts, but Did What Was "Asked" of Him. Senator McCain said he "would have taken his tour of an Iraqi market last week even if he had not been accompanied by heavily armed U.S. soldiers. McCain said he would have walked through a central Baghdad market without the military protection, but the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, had recommended the armed escort. 'I'm not notorious for being nervous about going anywhere,' said McCain. 'I'll gladly go almost anywhere in the world, under any circumstances, but I did respond and do what General Petraeus asked me to do.That place is being rebuilt today and is a functioning market.Of course it isn't entirely safe, but it certainly is a functioning market and progress is being made there.'" [AP, 4/10/07]

BUSH PLAN "FINALLY WORKING"? MCCAIN HAS LONG THOUGHT IRAQ IS "ON THE RIGHT TRACK," AND SUPPORTED "STAY THE COURSE"

McCain Speech Will Argue that Bush's Iraq Plan "Finally Getting on Track". Senator McCain insists "We are showing signs of success" in Iraq and "with the Virginia Military Institute as a backdrop, McCain plans to argue" that "President Bush's war machine is finally getting on track after four years." [Dallas Morning News, 3/27/07; Washington Post, 4/7/07]

"On the Right Track" .

2006: McCain Said That Iraq Was "On The Right Track" As The Country Moved Closer To Civil War. Speaking on the "Imus In The Morning" radio show on March 1, 2006, McCain played down the increasing civil violence in Iraq. When Imus remarked that Iraq "already looks like a civil war," McCain responded, saying, "I keep trying to look at the bright side of this because we have to because the consequences of failure are catastrophic. But the gathering of the seven most respected religious leaders the day before yesterday, calling for calm and calling for some kind of reconciliation, I think, was important. I think, at least we're on the right track here." [MSNBC, Imus in the Morning, 3/1/06]

McCain's Top Political Advisor Says McCain Support for the War is "Stay the Course, No Matter What." John McCain's top advisor explained McCain's support for the war and the impact it would have on McCain's future aspirations saying, "It is stay-the-course, no matter what. And if it dooms McCain, so be it." [Bloomberg News, 4/20/06]

2005: McCain Said That Another Year Will Prove "Stay the Course" Is Working. "McCain believes that the U.S., and the cause of Iraqi independence, are moving forward in Iraq, a little bit at a time. 'I think the situation on the ground is going to improve,' he says. 'Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course.'" [The Hill, 12/8/05]

OUT OF TOUCH, OUT OF SYNC, MCCAIN WON'T RETHINK

Newsweek: McCain Is "Out of Sync." "McCain's in trouble because he is out of sync with the country and with himself. The senator's timing seems off in a way that might be admirable if it weren't so politically clumsy. And promoting success in Iraq seems at odds with the facts on the ground: the 'significant progress' McCain said he saw came when the average daily death toll of Iraqis was higher in March than in February." [Newsweek, Alter, 4/16/07 edition]

McCain Was Caught Exaggerating That the Top U.S. Military Official Travels in "Unarmored Humvee Almost Everyday." Senator McCain recently asserted that "General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed Humvee." Taking questions from reporters, McCain later admitted "There is no unarmored Humvee, obviously that's the case. I'm trying to make the point over and over and over again that we are making progress. There are signs of progress. But it's long and it's hard and it's tough." [CNN, 3/27/07; CBSNews, 4/8/07]

McCain Apologized After Saying American Lives Were "Wasted" During Mismanagement of Iraq War. On February 28, during the "Late Show With David Letterman," Mr. McCain "criticized President Bush's management of the war, saying, 'We've wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives, over there.' He apologized the next day for the word 'wasted,' saying he should have said 'sacrificed.'" [New York Times, 4/7/07]

McCain Claimed That al-Sadr Forces Were "Not Contesting" U.S. Troops. Within a day of Senator McCain writing that Moqtada al-Sadr's followers "are not contesting American forces," Reuters reported that "Iraqi and U.S. forces clashed with Shi'ite militia loyal to the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr[.]" In addition, al-Sadr issued a statement that ordered "his militiamen to redouble their battle to oust American forces, and argued that Iraq's army and police should join him in defeating 'your archenemy.'" At the same time, tens of thousands of demonstrators "marched from Kufa to neighboring Najaf," in a rally ordered by al-Sadr, and shouting anti-American slogans. [Washington Post, McCain op-ed, 4/8/07; CBS/AP, 4/9/07; Reuters, 4/7/07]

FOR MCCAIN, IRAQ RHETORIC RUNS ON TWO DIFFERENT TRACKS

McCain Called Iraq the "Premier Issue" of Our Time, and Troop Surge a "Last Chance." According to accounts in the Washington Post, Senator McCain said: "Look, this is the issue. This is the premier issue of my time and the next generation. We're taking fire and we're taking heat, but this is the right thing to do." McCain's Communications Director echoed that sentiment, saying "Iraq is the most important issue facing the country." McCain even called the Iraq troop surge a "last chance." [Washington Post, 4/7/07; CBS, Face the Nation, 1/14/07]

But McCain Wants It Both Ways.

McCain Missed Iraq War Votes Because He Was Too Busy Campaigning. Senator McCain was campaigning while he missed each of the first three most crucial votes on the Iraq war this year. The first time, on February 5, "McCain admitted he was mending fences with conservatives in Texas when the Republicans in the Senate blocked a debate on the war." The second time, on February 17, McCain chose "to spend the day courting conservative voters for his presidential campaign in Iowa," and then immediately headed to Orlando, Florida for the National Religious Broadcasters convention. And finally, McCain missed the third Iraq war vote on March 15, because he was "campaigning in Iowa." [Dallas Morning News, 2/5/07; AP, 2/16/07; MSNBC.com, 2/14/07; Los Angeles Times, 3/16/07]

McCain Thought Third Vote Was Important Enough to Return to DC Before Dismissing It as "Procedural." "The senator's aides put out the word that he would probably be skipping his evening town hall in Mason City so that he could fly to DC for the vote. They assured reporters that he'd fly right back so he could continue his bus tour Friday morning. But things change quickly. So within a half-hour, the plans had changed. On the bus from the State Capitol to Ames, McCain informed reporters he would stay in Iowa, waving off the Senate votes as 'procedural.' It marks the third set of Iraq votes that McCain has missed while he's been on the campaign trail." [Washington Post Blog, 3/15/07]

McCain Said Iraq War Has "Diverted Attention" from Latin America and Canada. Senator McCain warned "against the spread of socialism in Latin America and pledged to give the region renewed U.S. attention if elected." McCain avoided direct criticism of the President, but said that the Iraq war "has diverted attention from our hemisphere and we have paid a penalty for that" with the resurgence of leftist leaders. The Arizona senator said that 'everyone should understand the connections' between Chavez, Morales and communist Cuban President Fidel Castro. 'They inspire each other. They assist each other. They get ideas from each other,' McCain said. 'It's very disturbing.'" [AP, 3/21/07]

McCain Said His First Trip in White House Would Be to Mexico, Canada and Latin America. "Senator McCain said his first trip if elected to the White House in 2008 would be to Mexico, Canada and Latin America 'to reaffirm my commitment to our hemisphere and the importance of relations within our hemisphere.'" [AP, 3/21/07]