MINNEAPOLIS — Presumptive GOP nominee John McCain needs to use the rest of the Republican National Convention to reemphasize his maverick side and show how he'll govern differently from President Bush in order to appeal to independent and undecided voters, pollsters said.
That was the consensus among two pollsters and a polling analyst at this morning's discussion on the state of the campaign sponsored by National Journal and several other organizations, including CUNA.
"He can pull it off. There is a sense among Republicans that the old McCain should come back. He'll have to play to his strengths which show off that he is a different kind of Republican," said Brent McGoldrick, vice president of Financial Dynamics, a Washington-based research and polling firm.
Recommended For You
McCain, who has had a tense relationship with the party's conservative base, has some leeway in this area, said Ed Reilly, the company's president.
"Both candidates are in better shape with their bases than previous candidates were at this time," he noted.
But Amy Walter, the editor of The Hotline, contends that McCain is still at a disadvantage in light of the current political climate.
"The weight of Bush's negatives is so heavy that it's hard to break through that," said Walter, who moderated the discussion.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
