McCain en la portada de Weekly Standard

Estos últimos son días dulces para John McCain. Su recobrado protagonismo le ha llevado a la portada del Weekly Standard representado como un boxeador que vuelve a pegar fuerte. Los buenos resultados de la nueva estrategia en Iraq, defendida por McCain cuando nadie creía en ella a riesgo de enterrar sus ambiciones presidenciales, colocan ahora al Senador en una posición de visionario que no está al alcance de ninguno de sus rivales republicanos y demócratas. En disposición de convertir en argumento electoral -"demócratas derrotistas"- lo que parecía hace meses un punto débil a evitar para los republicanos. Con los demócratas desplazando Iraq cada vez más al saco de los asuntos secundarios, o matizando sus posturas ante la nueva realidad, McCain ha encontrado en su firme compromiso a prueba de veleidades electorales, el crédito que necesitaba para que los republicanos le den su confianza para representarlos en estas elecciones. Ha demostrado que su ambición por ser Presidente tiene unos límites. Y ha resurgido sin renunciar a sus principios para reconducir su campaña. Una conducta rara vez vista en la intrigante y calculadora clase política y, en consecuencia, atractiva. The Surge Effect

(...) The match is almost perfect. As the surge in Iraq has succeeded, the presidential campaign of John McCain has risen from the ashes. This is no coincidence, and the message is simple and unmistakable. The surge is now a powerful force in American politics. In the jargon of the 2008 presidential race, it's a game-changer.

(...) For obvious reasons, McCain is the chief beneficiary of the surge effect. He has relentlessly promoted increasing the number of troops in Iraq and adopting a counterinsurgency strategy that stresses the protection and safety of Iraqi citizens. And a year ago, Bush bucked tremendous antiwar pressure, much of it from Republicans, and announced the surge strategy. Like McCain, he emphatically rejected the notion that the war was lost.

(...) Last summer, when his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination was at a low point, McCain was urged by some of his advisers to downplay his support for the war. McCain rejected that advice. He knew how to evaluate a military plan, understood that the counterinsurgency strategy was different from what had been done before in Iraq, and knew what it could accomplish (and has).

Now other Republican candidates are jumping on the surge bandwagon. At last week's debate in South Carolina, Rudy Giuliani said he had endorsed the surge, just like McCain. "Not at the time," McCain responded, referring to the time before Bush's announcement. McCain said he had "called for the change in strategy. That's the difference." It's an important difference politically. (...)