Allison O’Keefe from CBS News is reporting that Senator McCain’s crowds in New Hampshire are swelling to overflow in many places.  This is a major sign that support is really building for our candidate.

Something has shifted here in NH. As we got off the bus and headed into another town hall, we get word from McCain’s advance team that the room is packed.

“Good luck getting in there,” campaign staffer Justin Stevens yelled to the press as he ushered the Senator off the bus.

For the second time in a row today, McCain’s events were mobbed by voters and press. This morning he addressed about 500 people in a church basement - one of the largest crowds he’s had in a while.

This afternoon a VFW Hall in Merrimack was also packed to the gills for the McCain’s appearance. It was standing room only in this hall (capacity 400) with voters pouring down the stairs and out of both entrances to the building. Those left in the cold including some reporters and McCain staffers resorted to standing in the parking lot listening through open windows. Lately, after events end, people have been walking away with lawn signs and at this Merrimack event many stayed behind and watched his press conference.

Among the onlookers was the Spierer family who saw McCain in 2000 but brought their daughter for the first time.

Mrs. Spierer is a registered Democrat but wishes she could vote for McCain, “because he has the clarity, the consistency, the strength. Even if I don’t agree 100 percent with everything he has to say I can trust him.”

McCain responds to Romney’s absurd attacks in a Fox News interview recently…

 John McCain recieved the endorsement of the Nashua Telegraph today, wrapping up a clean sweep of newspaper endorsements that shames Mitt Romney by a margin of 26-0 in the Granite State. 

And the major national papers are taking notice of this renewed interest, see this story from the NY Times…

The string of newspaper endorsements just continued to role in for Senator John McCain, getting the nod on Sunday of the Nashua Telegraph, the 26th newspaper in the region to endorse his candidacy.

Normally, newspaper endorsements have only limited value, encouraging supporters and getting voters to perhaps give a candidate another look. But Mr. McCain’s sweep of the New Hampshire area newspapers is something altogether different.

Mitt Romney, leading in the most recent polls in the state, has scored zero endorsements.

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Everyone has expected Iowa to be battle between Romney and Huckabee… and that John McCain would be a factor starting in New Hampshire.  New polls, however, are showing that we have a real chance of a top-four finish in Iowa… and perhaps even a second or third place showing!

The numbers are showing a big surge in support for McCain among Iowa caucus-goers leading up to next week’s vote…

The poll indicates that Huckabee’s support among male voters in Iowa may be slipping. Last week, Huckabee had 31 percent support among Republican men; this week, he and Rudy Giuliani are tied at 20 percent. John McCain and Mitt Romney both have the support of 17 percent of the GOP’s likely male caucus goers.

The most recent ARG polls have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The polls were conducted over the phone, and had a sample size of 600 likely Democratic and 600 Republican caucus-goers living in Iowa, respectively.

Calling him “the man who should be president,” Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted threw his support behind underdog Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday.

Husted, a Dayton area Republican, said he has spent the past six months giving all the candidates for the GOP nomination a shot, but eventually came back to the judgment that McCain is best positioned to both win Ohio and to lead the country.

Read more about this development, click here.

In Iowa, Huckabee’s large lead has disappeared while McCain made the biggest positive move…

Huckabee 28 (-9 vs. last poll, Dec. 10)
Romney 27 (+4)
McCain 14 (+8)   
Giuliani 8 (even)
Thompson 8 (even)
Paul 6 (+1)

In New Hampshire Romney’s lead over McCain has dwindled…

Romney 31 (-2 vs. last poll, Dec. 11)
McCain 27 (+9)   
Giuliani 13 (-2)
Huckabee 11 (-3)
Paul 7 (-1)
Thompson 3 (+1)

The media is reporting on a touching exchange between Senator McCain and a disabled veteran who was questioning why he should continue to live.   This kind of compassionate response and interactive with his audience is why people love John McCain. 

Read the story here.

In sharp contrast, here’s Mitt Romney ignoring a man in a wheelchair who is trying to ask him a tough question about medical marijuana…

After Mitt Romney’s dud of a speech on Mormonism yesterday, a new poll now shows Mike Huckabee opening up a 2-1 lead in Iowa.  This, if it holds steady, may be a fatal blow to Romney.

Why is this good for John McCain?  Well, if Huckabee can deliver a knock-out punch against Romney in Iowa… it clears the way for McCain to win a big New Hampshire victory.

It also puts Fred Thompson squarely on the ropes now and he’s got to WIN in South Carolina or get out of the race.  And if he gets out, my guess is that he endorses McCain.

We’re in great shape folks… just keep the faith!

The big CNN/YouTube debate is scheduled for tonight and will include all of the major Republican candidates. 

If Senator McCain can keep up his high level of performance, I’m sure he’ll have no trouble winning this debate… and winning over some more voters! 

During the debate check out Azamatterofact for a live discussion about the event.  Then immediately following the debate, make sure you take part in any online polls or surveys about the winner.  Ron Paul supporters always flood them, but if we can finish second in those polls it’s as good as winning… and the results usually get reported on the news.

The following article from the Des Moines Register covers the McCain campaign and why the staff is still generally upbeat about the Senator’s chances for a good showing.  An interesting bit of information is that 200+ precinct captains from the Brownback campaign have joined the McCain team.  That’s great news and a big boost!

Reports suggesting that Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign in Iowa is about to sink out of sight are wrong, McCain’s top strategist says.

“Part of it is our fault for not educating some of our people who are telling folks we ought not to be wasting our money and time in Iowa,” Rick Davis, the Arizona Republican senator’s national campaign manager, said this week. “But to be honest, we also are not in the expectation-setting business. All I know that is we have our organization in place and we have continued to add people to it.” 

Davis responded to questions about McCain’s chances of success in the Jan. 3 Republican caucuses by discounting what polls show to be a continued slide in McCain’s popularity here down to single digits. He highlighted what those same polls also show - a volatile Republican electorate that could change minds in large numbers.

But Davis said his calculations show that McCain is as much in the race as anyone.

“In a caucus, it is all math and from what I can tell, we are still the math game,” he said. “When only 1,500 caucusgoers separate fifth (place) from third, you can’t cut John McCain out because we do have the ability to deliver votes.”

McCain was scheduled to leave Wednesday to visit troops in Iraq during the Thanksgiving holiday. He will arrive in Iraq at a time when there is strong evidence that the military surge he advocated last summer has reduced violence in many areas of the country, particularly Baghdad.

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