One-term limit for McCain?

WASHINGTON

How bad is it for John McCain? Some of his supporters keep suggesting he would have a better shot at the White House if he promised to serve only one term.

Cue the old joke about the contest in which the first prize is a week in Philadelphia, and the second prize is two weeks.

But this is no joke. McCain has flirted with the idea of being a voluntary, one-term wonder.

In January, a woman at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire asked if he had the stamina for eight years in the White House. McCain, who at 72 would be the oldest president at the start of a first term,
replied, according to The Boston Globe, “If I said I was running for eight years, I’m not sure that would be a vote-getter.”

When reporters asked him later, he dismissed the one-term idea. But it turns out he had weighed making the pledge when he launched his White House bid last year.

Marc Ambinder, who blogs on politics at theatlantic.com, reported June 2 that an early draft of McCain’s announcement speech contained a one-term pledge. McCain decided against it after hearing the
reasons it wouldn’t work, among them that it diminishes presidential clout and instantly raises the curtains on the next presidential campaign.

Still, the idea keeps coming back. Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review has urged McCain to make the pledge, as have others.

At a gathering of rural advocates in Washington June 16, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, speaking as McCain’s surrogate, said, “He’s probably even considering announcing that he would serve only
one term, as a way of pushing the agenda on a bipartisan basis.”

Brownback seemed to distance himself from his own statement afterwards, though, saying he had heard McCain say it months ago. Brownback said this is not the right time anyway.

So, what if McCain took the pledge in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September? It would take age off the table once and for all.

It could even mollify those Republicans who think McCain is insufficiently conservative. They could hold their noses and vote for him as the lesser of two evils, knowing he was on his way out.

For McCain, saying he wanted only one term would free him from the endless tacking to the right. He could stop pandering on issues that matter to him — such as immigration and tax cuts. He could go
back to his maverick self, which appeals to independent voters.

McCain needs something to give his campaign a lift. Some polls show Barack Obama with a comfortable, double-digit lead nationally over McCain among registered voters.

In four-person matchups — with McCain, Independent Ralph Nader and Libertarian Bob Barr — Obama fares even better. The McCain campaign was reduced to disputing the methodology.

Four state polls conducted by Quinnipiac University with The Wall Street Journal and washingtopost.com and released Thursday found Obama ahead in battlegrounds of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota
and Wisconsin.

Obama has trounced McCain in fundraising, raking in $287.4 million to McCain’s $119.6 million. Obama is so flush he turned down about $85 million in federal matching funds, and he’s so golden that his
flip-flop from previously saying he would take matching funds was a non-issue.

One Republican senator — Gordon Smith of Oregon — is running a re-election campaign ad touting his ability to work with Obama.

Does this mean the presidential race is over? No. It means Obama had a good June.

As Peter A. Brown of the Quinnipiac poll said last week, “Senator Obama should not be picking out the drapes for the Oval Office just yet.

His lead nationally, and double digits in some states, is not hugely different from where Sen. John Kerry stood four years ago at this point in the campaign.”

We still have four months until Election Day.

If McCain were to take the one-term pledge, he could argue that he’s the candidate for change. It would be a way for the white male presidential candidate to make history.

Nobody has ever run for the White House promising to serve just one term.

What do you think? Share your comment at mgwashington.com or e-mail mmercer@mediageneral.com.