Maverick McCain's Mediocre Numbers

NBC’s Andrea Mitchell claims it’s because of his staunch support of the Iraq War, Mark Finkelstein writes:

Would someone please let Andrea Mitchell know that John McCain is competing for the Republican presidential nomination? He’s not going up against Obama, Hillary et al. in a race to determine who can surrender fastest in Iraq.

Giving her expert analysis on this morning’s “Today” of John McCain’s lackluster fundraising results, Mitchell claimed that John McCain is “hurt by his support for the Iraq war.”

Could Andrea possibly be more wrong? [Depends on which topic–Ed] McCain’s support for President Bush’s Iraq policy is the only thing keeping him alive, if barely, in the GOP race. Opposition to the war would put McCain in Chuck Hagel territory — so unpopular among Republican voters that he dare not even throw his hat into the ring.

What’s really crippling McCain are repeated stories concerning his eagerness to jump ship if and when the political climate suits it, such as this and this.