McCain is Spinning New Polls

John McCain is having a little resurgence (dammit). Though he still lags far behind in the early primary states, he's moved up to second place in three recent national polls.

"We normally don't place a lot of emphasis on these polls, but it is impossible to ignore the documentation of trends that we are seeing in other areas of the campaign, as well - and that is the simple fact that John McCain is back and surging ahead of the competition," Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, wrote Tuesday in a fundraising e-mail to supporters.

"The evidence is clear from the polls - we just need to make sure the funds are there to keep the bus on the road and the straight talk flowing."

There are a few things to note about this. First, his "second place" spot is within the margin in all three polls. In other words, he's in a statistical tie with Fred Thompson. Second, Rudy Giuliani still has anywhere from a 13 to 16 point lead, making McCain's "resurgence" interesting, but not all that impressive. Third, as mentioned above, McCain is bombing in the early primary states.

And finally, though the campaign would never think of it, McCain's been out of the news for a few weeks, as everyone focuses on frontrunners Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Is it a coincidence that when he gets no coverage, people like him more?

posted by Gabriel Malor at 12:38 PM

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