Bush and McCain: A bitter rivalry



By Gordon Corera Senator John McCain has given his backing to his one-time bitter rival, George W Bush. Even though there were times when their battle for the Republican presidential nomination got particularly nasty, the two men are trying to put the bitterness of their hard fought primary campaign behind them.



Meeting for the first time since Bush won the party nomination, the two men have engaged in a careful and delicate courtship. Although both have much to gain from a rapprochement, there are also dangers. Bush needs McCain and his support in what looks like being a very tight and tough general election campaign against Al Gore, while McCain wants Bush to adopt some of his reform agenda - particularly on the role of money in politics. He also wants to heal some of the rifts that developed during the primary campaign between himself and the Republican party establishment. The McCain appeal Bush would dearly love to have McCain as his vice-president, but McCain does not seem interested - he is not the type to play second fiddle and the indications are that he would rather be Secretary of Defence.



And of course, if Bush were to lose, then McCain may well take another shot at the top job in 2004. What Bush really wants are the voters who backed McCain. The key to McCain's success in the primaries - but also ultimately his weak spot - was his ability to draw support from people who would not normally take part in a Republicans primary election. A Gallup poll during the primaries showed that McCain was remarkably successful at capturing the moderates, whether independent, Democrat or Republican. Some 39% of McCain voters identified themselves as independents while a nearly equal number said they were Democrats (38%), and slightly fewer called themselves Republicans (22%). Treading carefully Ultimately these voters were not enough to overcome the more traditional Republicans but the so-called 'McCain voters' now look like being this year's key swing group in the campaign. The campaign also generated a surprising degree of enthusiasm from young people that any candidate would love to have on board.



Since the primaries effectively ended on 7 March, Gore has been trying to claim McCain's mantle as the 'reformer' and has talked up the issue of campaign finance reform - Bush will be hoping to end that and use McCain to attack Gore's credibility. But while these votes are important, Bush does not want to look like he is chasing McCain and that he could not win without him as this could make him look weak and desperate. But if he does not put in any effort, as seemed to be happening straight after the primaries, then he risks alienating McCain and his support. And if McCain gets too close to Bush then he will lose the very aura of independence that makes him so attractive, undermining his credibility and the ability deliver the votes of his independent minded supporters. It is the beginning of a difficult, but important, courtship.