McCain Campaign Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia, June 17th, 2007
John was sitting on a small couch. He hands were clasped together and he was rubbing his thumbs, looking at the floor. Across from him was Tim Pawlenty, John had taken to calling him Timmy. Tim was holding on to a clip board, flipping through papers and shaking his head.
“This is worse than I thought John. I don't know how Steve thinks we can dig out of this.” Tim said, nervously.
“I don't know either Timmy, but Steve never backs down. We could be running against Ronald Reagan and Steve would be certain we could beat him.” John tilted his head up and leaned back into the couch.
There was a few minutes of tense silence as Tim kept flipping pages. The door swung open. Steve Schmidt walked in, a serious look spun on his face. He looked at Tim first, who put down the clipboard.
“What's the plan Steve?” Tim asked.
“Plan?” Steve said in his usual, tough guy tone. “We don't need a plan. What's going on now is going to have no bearing on the rest of this campaign.”
John looked up towards Steve. “We're losing money quick Steve, we need to figure out how we're going to finance this. We can't run a campaign without campaign funds.”
There was another tense silence.
“If donations don't rebound by the end of next quarter, we're going to have to consider dropping out, the campaign debt will be too great if we keep going.” Tim said, point to a graph projecting the campaign debt.
Steve took a deep breath. “John, come with me. We need to make some phone calls. Tim, go talk to Tom. You've got a lot to talk about.”
The three men slowly walked out the door.
~~~
Nashville, Tennessee, August 4th, 2007
Al Gore spoke to a large audience in his home state.
“Hello Nashville. It's been too long since I've been back here. I have a very special announcement to make that Mayor “Purcell insisted I make here. I will be running for President in 2008.” The crowd burst into a loud cheer. I'm not going to let anyone stand in my way and this time, I'm going to win...again.”
The crowd was half cheering and half laughing. “Now is the time for us to take the White House back and restore the nation to the way it should be. Let's do this Nashville, and let's do this America!”
The crowd erupted into cheers as Mayor Purcell and Mayor-Elect Dean walked onto the stage to join Gore. The three men posed and waved at the crowd for quite some time before wishing them well and leaving the stage.
~~~
August 7th National Polling:
Democrats:
Al Gore 37%
Hilary Clinton 23%
Barack Obama 21%
John Edwards 7%
Bill Richardson 5%
Other 7%
Republicans:
Giuliani 39%
McCain 15%
Huckabee 13%
Romney 11%
Thompson 11%
Paul 8%
Other 3%
~~~
Ames Straw Poll, August 11th, 2007
Mitt Romney- 3012
Mike Huckabee- 2338
Sam Brownback- 2112
Tom Tancredo-2017
Ron Paul- 1888
Thommy Thompson- 1023
Rudy Giuliani- 437
Duncan Hunter- 301
Fred Thompson-235
John McCain- 99
John H Cox- 70
~~~
McCain Campaign Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia, August 22nd, 2007
The room was tense. It was just John and Steve.
“I don't think now is our time.” John said nervously.
“Then when will it be? You probably won't have this opportunity again. It's now or never for the White House.” Steve said, resting a clipboard on the table.
“Actually Steve, I've been thinking about it. Sure I keep falling in the polls, but no matter who the candidate is, sans Giuliani, they all are losing to the top three democrats.” John swallowed. “We might have another shot, in four years in they decide they don't want the guy they elect.”
“That's implying an awful lot John, but I can't help but see your point.” Steve paused for a second and picked up the clipboard again, staring at it but clearly not reading it. “So what are we going to do John. It's your campaign.”
“We're going to drop out of the race.” John looked up at Steve and looked back. “That doesn't mean this year isn't going to be interesting for us. I have another plan.”
“I can't wait to hear this one.” Steve smiled and opened the door.
Side by side, the two men walked out the door smiling, Steve patting a shaky John on the back.
~~~
Tuscon, Arizona, August 21st, 2007
John McCain walked down toward a podium, he appeared five minutes later than anticipated.
“After a long period of decision making and personal reflection, I have decided I am no longer running for President. My talents are better served else where. I know my supporters will be upset by my decision, but what I am doing is very important. There are many congressional and senate seats held by Republicans that if the liberal winds are strong enough, could go to the Democrats. I am making it my job not to limit the fallout but to come as close to eliminating it as possible. I am announcing the formation of Conservative Unity '08. We will hold on to our candidates against any winds of change.”
~~~
CNN.com, August 28th, 2007
Obama bows out, Endorses Gore
Senator Barack Obama says he will stay in Illinois and support Gore from Senate if he is elected.
BREAKING: Sanford endorses Giuliani
South Carolina governor Mark Sanford endorses Rudy Giuliani in a surprising move, this is expected to boost polling for Giuliani, who is now also courting McCain supporters after his drop from the race. McCain has yet to officially endorse a candidate.
~~~
Chicago, Illinois, August 28th, 2007
Barack Obama walked out to the podium
“After taking about a month to consider things, I have decided it is in my best interest to drop out of the race for President and stay in senate for now. After a major drop in the polls I've decided I will endorse former Vice President Al Gore. He can serve this country better than I can. To my supporters, my time will come, I assure you that. Thank you for taking me this far, but it's time for me to do what's right.”
~~~
August 30th National Polling
Democrats:
Gore- 48%
Clinton- 38%
Richardson-8%
Edwards-4%
Other- 2%
Republicans:
Giuliani- 39%
Huckabee- 24%
Romney- 17%
Brownback- 9%
Paul- 6%
Thompson- 4%
Other 1%
Do you think Obama was right in dropping out?
Yes-43%
No-37%
Unsure 15%
No Opinion 5%
~~~
CNN.com September 7th, 2007
Obama staff mass exodus to Gore
Axelrod, Plouffe, and rest of inner circle move to Gore Campaign
Pawlenty endorses Giuliani
Governor and Former McCain staffer backs America's Mayor
Mary Cheney to run for US Senate?
Vice President's daughter rumored to be meeting with McCain, Rove