Before Getting $3 Million Loan, McCain Had to Buy Life Insurance
Just how dire was John McCain's financial situation last year, before he vaulted back to frontrunner status? The Washington Post has some details on the $3 million loan that McCain took out in order to finance the campaign, including a rather macabre detail — because McCain pledged his fundraising list as collateral, and he would need to be alive to give the list its full value, he had to take out a special life insurance policy just in case he failed to survive the campaign.
As it turned out, the gamble appears to have paid off. McCain has won the crucial primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, and looks like he's on his way to the nomination. As for the debts — he was $500,000 in the hole even before this loan — he should have no problems raising the money now.
Haha, McCain is old. :P
February 1, 2008 10:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
He is so totally reminding me of Bob Dole in 96, the GOP nominee by default. Old, been kicking around since forever, lackluster everything, doesn't really even try very hard, campaign just radiates feebleness. I don't take him for granted but these are my impressions.
February 1, 2008 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes McCain is old, but other than that he is NOTHING like Dole. He has a compelling personal story, is a fairly good speaker and will have the credibility on National Defense issues which will be relevant once the Republicans get busy ramping up the fear of 'Islamofascism' again. Don't underestimate him.
February 1, 2008 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
The fact that he could even get life insurance at his age shows you that he is in great health!
February 1, 2008 2:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
McCain is a profoundly decent man, and his strengths in a general election should not be underestimated. The fact is, he has been a rock fighting the tide of the Republicans' non-issue du jour, Mexican immigration hysteria, and as such he should do far better among Latinos than any other Republican candidate. He would split the independent vote evenly with Obama, and would win it by 2-to-1 over Clinton. The Republican conservative base would vote for him grudgingly, but except in Ohio I believe grudging votes still count.
He's been consistently pro-war, but with enough visible opposition to Pollyannas like Rumsfeld to keep his credibility.
Yes, like Dole, he's old, and he looks old. But unlike Dole, he won't be running against an incumbent. He'll need to find a young running mate with centrist appeal -- NOT Huckabee, who is genial but scary. (And please, not Lieberman either!) If he does that, he is the only Republican who stands a real chance of winning in what should be the Democrats' year.
February 1, 2008 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would very much like to get a large wager about
McCain "would split the independent vote evenly with Obama, and would win it by 2-to-1 over Clinton."! Unfortunately the prognosticator or dreamer was not named.
Captain Dan
February 2, 2008 12:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
"[McCain] would split the independent vote evenly with Obama, and would win it by 2-to-1 over Clinton." That was me.
I don't think we have the makings of a bet here. All we will ever really know is how the eventual Democratic nominee does among independents; the comparative performance of the Democrat who *isn't* nominated will remain speculative.
My sense has been that Obama polls significantly higher among independents than Clinton does , and that her "negatives" are a good deal higher than his. If you have any evidence that these elements of the conventional wisdom are wrong, now would be a wonderful time to bring it out. Taken by itself, "Wanna bet?" has no evidentiary value.
February 3, 2008 12:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
"because McCain pledged his fundraising list as collateral"
...which should tell you all you need to know about McCain and his ideas on privacy of your data. These people were promised by the McCain campaign that their data would not be sold - another lie from a lying politician.
February 1, 2008 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I got the impression from what I've read that what McCain promised was the contributions that his fundraisers would raise, not selling any political connections or private information.
February 2, 2008 1:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
"I got the impression from what I've read that what McCain promised was the contributions that his fundraisers would raise, not selling any political connections or private information."
That was me, BTW. (Just got account.)
February 2, 2008 1:55 AM | Reply | Permalink