For McCain, Biography Is Not Enough
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Ask John McCain's campaign whom the presidential candidate consults for economic advice, and the first answer is, we'll get back to you. The second answer is Kevin Hassett, co-author of "Dow 36,000," a super-bullish stock-market tome.</br></br>But maybe the real answer is no one, since Mr. McCain recently fretted, during a GOP debate, that today's 11,000-point Dow is a stock-market "bubble."</br></br>Texas Gov. George W. Bush has platoons of economists who spent nine months assembling his tax cut. Sen. McCain has -- the top of his own head, which in a sense sums up the entire McCain candidacy. The medium is his message, and the medium is the man himself.</br></br>This explains both his recent surge and his vulnerability as he tries to steal the GOP nomination from Mr. Bush. His war record and blunt political style are perfect for a year when prosperity and Bill Clinton have made character count more than issues. Just as Democrats turned to Jimmy Carter as the purest anti-Nixon after Watergate, many Republicans view Mr. McCain as the ideal anti-Clinton.</br></br>Rightly offended by media adoration of Mr. McCain over campaign finance, some conservatives have missed this part of his grass-roots appeal. But the reality is as clear as Christmas in this key primary state, perhaps the most anti-Clinton in the country.