McCain’s Personal Touch

I have to assume that Mitt Romney’s staff is huddled up this morning, trying to decide why their strategy didn’t work in New Hampshire. John McCain won with 37 percent, leaving Romney with 32 percent. What makes that win phenomenal are the prices that each candidate paid: According to the New York Times, just on television commercials, Romney outspent McCain 2 to 1 — Romney spent $8.7 million while McCain spent $4.3 million. I’m sure that New Hampshire’s advertising sales departments thank Romney for his effort, but this marks the second time in as many weeks that Romney has lost to an under-funded candidate.

McCain has been notoriously short of money since mid-2007, and has relied on going out and meeting voters. His style reminds me a story I heard in a college class: when Lyndon B. Johnson ran for the Senate, he spent his entire campaign driving around Texas. His plan was to shake the hand of every Texan. The night before the election, he was driving to the house of the last registered voter in the state. Now, this story is pure political mythology, as far as I know, but it perfectly illustrates the personal touch that earned Johnson the nickname “Landslide Lyndon.”