McCain confidant speaks out about McCain campaign woes

McCain confidant speaks out about McCain campaign woes



By Frank Camacho / 3TV reporter

His campaign may be battered, but Sen. John McCain said he is not quitting his quest to win the Republican presidential nomination.


And in spite of all of the problems, McCain's campaign is experiencing, a long-time confidant said it's far too early to count the senator out.


It's money and people which fuel a successful political campaign, especially one as huge as the presidential campaign. Right now, McCain is running short on both, which long-time McCain confidant Chuck Coughlin thinks is a good thing.


"John is John. He's a very edgy personality," said Coughlin.


It's an edgy personality which can be difficult to package according to Coughlin, a political consultant who came to Arizona more than 20 years ago to work for McCain.


Coughlin thinks the original McCain campaign brain trust made some fundamental mistakes.


"They built an organizational model that required a tremendous amount of fundraising with a guy that hates fundraising, which is just ridiculous. I was John's fundraiser for John's first campaign. I know how much the man hates fundraising."


Coughlin was to morph McCain into the all things to all people candidate. An example of which is McCain's speech at Moral Majority Founder Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. It was a gesture meant to appease the religious right which has a mutual history of mistrust with McCain.



"I mean to everyone here in Arizona who knew John from way back, when you were like asking what's he doing, why would he be doing that," he said.


Coughlin is encouraged by the steps McCain has taken in the
past 10 days, streamlining the campaign and getting back
to the philosophy which served the senator so well eight years ago.


Coughlin thinks McCain should drop out of Iowa and instead
focus his resources and time on New Hampshire, South Carolina
and Florida.


McCain must win one of those three states in order to remain viable.


"You know, it's a healthy thing. It's a healthy thing. It'll be a
certainly be a healthy thing for the Republican ticket to have
John McCain back on the campaign trail speaking from the gospel
of John McCain. I think that'll be great. From Channel 2,
from the gun, back to Channel 1, from the gut," he said.


Coughlin thinks the McCain campaign may receive a boost in
September. He believes the administration will give the
Iraqi government a deadline.

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