McCain: The last man standing in New Hampshire

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Added 1959 days ago in Opinion

salon.com — The theme from "Rocky" blared as John McCain walked into a roiling ballroom full of supporters Tuesday night. Just in case anyone didn't get the message, McCain opened his victory speech with a crack about being too old to be a kid, "but tonight, we sure showed them what a comeback looks like." He rolls out of New Hampshire once again the GOP front-runner - and what a way to get there.

By sending Mitt Romney to his second defeat since last Thursday, McCain completed a resurrection that might impress even Mike Huckabee's supporters. A year ago, McCain was trying to lock down the establishment early and make himself the inevitable nominee. 2008 turns out not to be the year for inevitability. McCain's campaign fell apart last summer, leaving him nearly broke and languishing in the polls. Without much choice, he gambled his political future on New Hampshire. And when the basic weaknesses of the GOP field left him an opening, he seized it.

Almost by default, that left McCain. He stuck to the "straight talk" that won him the state eight years ago, railing against federal spending and exhorting supporters to join "a cause greater than yourself."
In his victory speech, John McCain reminded all listening that he is, in fact, a Republican. Reading from a prepared text, McCain said he wanted to restore America's faith in government - and in the Republican Party.