On the Other Hand(Welcome readers of Howard Kurtz's Media Notes Column! Please take a look around and if you enjoy what you read, bookmark
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The Arizona Daily Star (known to Tucson Republicans as the "Red Star") claims that
McCain's clout has grown.
May 23, 2005, will go down in the history of the U.S. Senate as the day John McCain announced a dramatic last-minute compromise over judicial nominations and filibusters.
It could also mark the unofficial beginning of the Arizona Republican's second campaign for the White House.
McCain emerged as a clear winner Wednesday as the dust settled on a bipartisan agreement that allowed a yes-or-no vote on some of President Bush's judicial nominees.
The leading role McCain played - as deal-broker, problem-solver and peacemaker - is fueling speculation in Arizona and the national media about what it could mean for the four-term lawmaker in 2008.Here's my speculation: McCain runs in 2008, and wins New Hampshire (where "independents" are allowed to vote in either primary), sending the media into swooning fits. And doesn't win anywhere else, allowing the media to concoct the narrative that his bid was derailed by dark forces in the GOP. A rerun of 2000, in other words.
