Five Lessons from McCain's Run in the 2008 Republican Primaries

Lesson #1 from McCain's run in the 2008 Republican primaries - don't fight on your enemy's terms

McCain's primaries campaign ran into severe financial difficulties and couldn't compete with his opponents' millions. The political vultures started circling, and pundits were quick to announce the demise of McCain's run. John McCain, however, did not give up.

A frontal attack on a defended position is rarely easy. Lacking the resources to overcome the other candidates, McCain fell back on his strength. Face to face meetings with small groups of voters. Being the straight talker he is, that down to earth personal touch kept him in the primaries race while his opponents were busy bashing each other.

Lesson #2 from McCain's run in the 2008 Republican primaries - flying under the radar is safer

With other candidates getting most of the coverage of the Republican primaries, McCain was left out of the limelight. Common wisdom in politics would say that was a problem.

As pilots with combat experience know, it's safer to fly under the radar. Others flying high and taking fire makes it even safer. With McCain considered out of the running in the Republican primaries, very few shots were taken at him.

One by one, the main Republican primaries candidates had their Achilles heels exposed by the media. One by one they fell by the wayside. Meanwhile McCain quietly collected delegates without being attacked.

Lesson #3 from McCain's run in the 2008 Republican primaries - keep your principles but choose your battles carefully

McCain has very clear moral positions. He fought to reform political contributions, fought against the use of torture by the US, and to this day supports the US military in Iraq. Over the years such positions branded him a maverick, but a straight talking one.

McCain has worked with Democrats when his positions required it. At the same time, among the GOP primaries candidates he alone supported Bush on Iraq. While other primaries candidates calculated that the American people are sick of "Bush's Iraq war" and tried to distance themselves, McCain held his ground.

In the 2000 Republican primaries McCain lost to Bush, mainly due to the support Bush received from the GOP leadership. McCain did not help himself when he emphasized positions unpopular with the conservative wing of the GOP.

Had McCain not alienated them by publicly criticizing evangelical leaders, things might have turned out differently. We'll never know, but in the 2008 Republican primaries McCain made overtures to that important GOP constituency.

While many right-wingers didn't back McCain in the primaries against Huckabee, those overtures are likely to win their support in the upcoming general election. What helped McCain most in the 2008 Republican primaries was the GOP realization that the pendulum has swung against them. That they need a candidate who can win the independent vote.

Lesson #4 from McCain's run in the 2008 Republican primaries - negative ads are a dangerous weapon so use them only when inescapable and when your risk is minimal

Prolonged primaries are rarely healthy for the ultimate winner. McCain could have used negative ads against his last significant opponent, Huckabee. McCain chose not to do so, possibly because Huckabee was not damaging McCain. McCain must have also realized that the continued contest in the primaries won him free media coverage.

On the other hand, seeing that Obama had become the Democratic front-runner, McCain fired off several negative ads in that direction. Possibly the calculation here was that most Republican voters would not mind McCain attacking Democrats. Independents are unlikely to hold a grudge about those ads by the time the general election begins.

Lesson #5 from McCain's run in the 2008 Republican primaries - even long shots are worth taking if they're your only shots

An old fable relates how a man was sentenced to death by his king. He responded by promising the king that, given one year, he'd teach the king's dog to sing in French. The king agreed and suspended the execution for a year.

The fellow's friends were horrified. "You can't teach a dog how to speak, let alone sing!" they said. "Worse yet, you don't know any French and can't carry a tune in a bucket! How could you possibly do what you promised?"

"It's simple", he replied. "A year is a long time. In a year, the king might die, I might die, the dog might die, and who knows, maybe the dog will learn to sing." The moral of the story is that nobody knows what the future holds.

McCain could have given up when his campaign imploded early. Realizing that giving up would only guarantee his losing, and that continuing his run still gives him a chance, McCain slogged on like the old soldier he is.

The bottom line - strength of character and integrity win the day

The electorate is sick of politicians who allow expediency to dictate their choices. When the people clamor for change, it is very tempting to change your positions to match theirs. What many fail to realize is that the change voters want most is a return to strength of character and integrity. John McCain fits the bill on both.