McCain continues fighting

Sunday Telegraph:

In heated exchanges the Republican presidential candidate made clear that he will not tolerate the blame game that some of his aides have engaged in over the last week as Barack Obama retains a comfortable lead in national and swing state polls.

Mr McCain's aides have been labelled "incontinent" for leaks last week that revealed falling morale in his inner circle and mutual recriminations about his lacklustre campaign.

Mr McCain has now rolled out a defiant new stump speech in Colorado, where he roused a 5,000 strong crowd with a call to arms, making clear that if he is to go down, he will go down fighting.

He took the stage on Friday night to the theme from Rocky, a tale of a scrappy underdog, and then pounded Barack Obama as a tax raiser. But he saved the toughest words for those in his own party who do not think he can win the election.

"I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it," he said, echoing Hillary Clinton's closing argument during the primaries. "What America needs now is a fighter, someone who will put all his cards on the table and trusts the judgment of the American people. I have fought for you most of my life.

"I know you're worried. We're at a moment of national crisis. I am an American and I choose to fight. Do not give up hope. Be strong. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up."

Mr McCain, who was bursting with energy, delivered his "fighter" peroration with unusual verve, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet and shouting over the cheers of the crowd as he reached his rhetorical climax, a technique he seldom employs. Several supporters remarked afterwards that he appeared more bullish than they had seen him in a long time.

A friend told The Sunday Telegraph that the message of defiance was one he had already delivered in private to his senior staff. There have even been reports that more than one of his aides last week began making inquiries about private sector jobs after the election, a clear signal that they expect to lose and a dramatic breach of etiquette in the dying days of a campaign.

The friend, who often travels with Mr McCain, said the candidate lost his temper: "There were raised voices. John's whole life has been about the fight. He won't tolerate those who won't fight. He showed his irritation at some of the pessimism in typical John style."

...

It is what makes him a leader. It is what makes him a better choice for President than Obama. Obama has built his politics on retreat from Iraq and putting the US back on the strategic defensive. We should not surrender to the politics of surrender.

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