The McCain campaign’s high command conducted a conference call this morning and communicated a strong, upbeat message. Campaign manager Rick Davis kicked things off by predicting we’ll see “the greatest comeback since John McCain won the New Hampshire primary.” Davis saw “gains in all the battleground states,” and “the best polling results since the convention.” Pollster Bill McInturf emphasized a closing gap in party identification. He said historically Republicans lag Democrats by 3%-5% in party ID in exit polls. Their polls now see the race closing to that range. McInturff added that “McCain’s pattern of running ahead of his party means this will be very tight race.” McInturff cautioned that any poll that shows a double digit Republican deficit on party ID is just wrong. He said the assumptions about underlying party ID spreads explains some of the variation we see in recent polling He also mentioned that all of his research reveals unprecedented levels of interest in the campaign – and not just among Obama supporters. He said 2008 might witness 130-135 million total votes. McInturff said the campaign is very comfortable with McCain supporters’ level on interest as measured by his surveys. Mike DuHame, the McCain’s political director ran through a number of voter contact metrics demonstrating the campaign’s success in that area as well. For example, he said the Bush campaign conducted 1.9 million voter contacts this week in 2004, while the McCain campaign made 5.3 million contacts during the same week in 2008. Deputy campaign manager Christian Ferry mentioned the campaign’s also meeting its objectives and targets on absentee ballots requested, returned and early voting. Davis indicated the campaign’s research indicates Obama’s Wednesday night infomercial didn’t have much impact on undecided voters. He also added McCain is doing well in some surprising places – like Iowa, where despite the public polling the campaign numbers show the race a dead heat. Finally, Davis wrapped up the call by announcing McCain would actually outspend Obama by $10 million in the last several days of the campaign – an impressive statistic given the Democrats’ much vaunted money advantage. He announced McCain would conclude the campaign with a stop in New Hampshire on Sunday night, followed by a seven state tour on Monday to wrap things up, arriving in Arizona late Monday night or early Tuesday morning. While many have written McCain’s obituary, the conference call participants and their message suggest the McCain and his campaign are still alive and kicking.
