There was a terrific piece in Newsweek recently laying out the long story of the 2008 presidential campaign. In chapter two, they look at McCain’s primary troubles that ended with his success in South Carolina … oh, and there’s the part where McCain’s mother flirts with Lindsey Graham.
In South Carolina on Jan. 19, McCain was on edge and his wife, Cindy, even more so. This was the place where the dirty tricksters had slimed the McCains in 2000, and Cindy could not shake off a sense of dread. The weather in Charleston was awful—sleeting rain—and McCain seemed caged, cooped up with his friend Lindsey Graham, who was annoying him by trying to “visualize” victory. By 7 p.m., Cindy and Graham were ready to “jump out the window,” Graham later recalled. McCain’s 95-year-old mother, Roberta, tried to lighten the mood by cracking jokes about how she wanted to marry Lindsey. The phone rang. It was Liz Sidoti of the Associated Press, telling Schmidt that the AP was about to call the race for McCain. Excited relief spread through the room; some aides began to cry and hug each other. All eyes turned to the TV set, waiting for the cable networks to bring the news. Two minutes passed, then five, then 10 minutes. The phone rang again. It was Sidoti saying the AP had decided to hold back. The projections from its computer model weren’t satisfying the analysts—it looked as if Huckabee was closing the gap. “See, Lindsey? This is because of you,” McCain said, only half joking.
The excruciating vigil resumed. “We’re up, boy, we’re up,” Graham murmured softly when the numbers turned. “Boy, we’re down,” McCain replied moments later. (McCain and Graham often call each other “boy,” another obscure McCain bonding ritual.) The agony finally ended at 9:20 p.m., when Sidoti called back to say the AP was about to officially declare McCain the winner.
Mark Salter would recall that he had never seen McCain so happy as that night. The 71-year-old torture victim bounded onstage, a little creakily, and Cindy was glowing and regal in a purple suit and pearls. Grinning mischievously, McCain couldn’t resist a reference to the 2000 debacle in South Carolina. “What’s eight years among friends?” he chortled to the crowd.
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