Looking Presidential

Houston

On a sunny Texas day last week, two men discussed politics under the shade of a 14x22 foot concrete armadillo as they watched the chaos of John McCain's arrival at Goode's Armadillo Palace.

"I wonder if the New York Times is here?"

"I'd like to kick their ass!"

Leaving aside the question of how, exactly, this man would kick the ass of a newspaper, it's fair to say that this sentiment was representative. Inside, would-be cowboys at the bar sit on saddles fixed atop sturdy wooden posts. A mounted longhorn head fell off the wall and killed a piano player in the early 1930s, according to local legend. It's only noon, but it is dark inside, and the rowdy crowd gives the place a distinct Saturday night feel.

McCain takes the stage to enthusiastic applause and begins his remarks. He is bathed in bright light courtesy of local television crews, and he squints as he speaks. Soon, it's too much. He asks for the lights to be dimmed so that he can see the people in front of him. It's a natural request but a self-defeating one, too, as the chief purpose of such events is to help McCain carry his message beyond the 200 people packed into the restaurant to see him live.

Last week it didn't matter much. Less than 12 hours later, McCain won primary victories in Rhode Island, Vermont, Ohio, and Texas, and with those victories earned enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination. But those little things will matter more soon. As he sails toward a general election against an unknown opponent, many expect his campaign operation to undergo some dramatic changes--from the torn sails and marauding spirit of a pirate ship to the hulking engines and sleek lines of a cruise ship. They're half right.

At the risk of really killing the metaphor, he will be less dependent on the wind--on factors he cannot control--than he was in the primaries. The money and national political network that come with being a nominee will allow McCain to build the kind of operation his team had begun to put together last spring, when overspending left the campaign nearly broke. In that sense, his campaign will get an upgrade. Still, all signs point to a strong year for Democrats, and McCain will be outspent by the Democratic nominee, whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, next fall.

So while McCain's effort will begin to take on the qualities of a real general election campaign, he intends to preserve much of the insurgent character that helped him get this far. Either way, it will be unconventional and, at the beginning, nonideological.

After a quick "thank you" tour of New Hampshire, McCain plans to kick off the new phase of the campaign by not campaigning at all. At least not overtly. Later this month, he will spend more than a week overseas, with stops in Europe and the Middle East. His advisers say that while McCain is going chiefly to assess progress in these areas, he will also reinforce an important campaign message as the Obama-Clinton fight continues. "While those two are throwing deck chairs at each other, he'll look like the president," says a senior adviser to McCain.

When he returns, McCain will deliver what one adviser calls a "significant national security address," talking specifically about the future of the war in Iraq, the importance of a stable Iraq to U.S. policy in the region, and more broadly, how a McCain administration would win the struggle against radical Islamic extremism.

After that, McCain will begin a cross-country tour emphasizing his life story. His advisers believe that while most Americans have a vague sense that McCain served his country in the military and in political life, they don't actually know his story. This trip--the "Service to America" tour--is intended to fill out that narrative. It will feature stops in cities and towns that have somehow shaped his life. Among them: McCain Field in Mississippi; the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where McCain graduated fifth from the bottom of his class; Pensacola, Florida, where he trained at the Pensacola Naval Air Station; and Jacksonville, Florida, where he lived upon returning from his time as a POW in Vietnam. At each stop, the campaign will emphasize one aspect of McCain's character and talk about why it will be important in the White House.

In the months ahead, as he gives definition to his general election campaign, McCain will spend a good chunk of his time visiting places "where Republicans are not often seen," says an adviser. "Inner cities, poor rural communities, places left behind." He will speak to concerns about the economy and unveil an "empowerment" agenda designed to serve as a contrast to "the discredited policies of the 1960s and 1970s."