John McCain and the art of self-sabotage

Who's advising this guy, anyway? I ask because trying to tie your success to that of an unpopular, disastrous war is a stupid idea.

John McCain said Monday that to win the White House he must convince a war-weary country that U.S. policy in Iraq is succeeding. If he can't, "then I lose. I lose," the Republican said.

He quickly backed off that remark.

"Let me not put it that stark," the likely GOP nominee told reporters on his campaign bus. "Let me just put it this way: Americans will judge my candidacy first and foremost on how they believe I can lead the county both from our economy and for national security. Obviously, Iraq will play a role in their judgment of my ability to handle national security."

"If I may, I'd like to retract 'I'll lose.' But I don't think there's any doubt that how they judge Iraq will have a direct relation to their judgment of me, my support of the surge," McCain added. "Clearly, I am tied to it to a large degree."

Uh...Senator? You really should rethink that rhetoric. And get a decent PR team.

No, wait a minute. I want this guy to lose. Okay, Senator. Forget what I said.

WaPo has more:

Polls show that 70 percent of the American public thinks the war was a mistake, and yet in head-to-head matchups against Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, McCain does well, earning the support of many of those people.

I'm sure the Great Media McCain Tongue Bath has a lot to do with that. I suspect that as McCain stays on the campaign trail, Huckabee, rushing after him like a puppy dog, less people are going to like what they see. Especially if McCain keeps mentioning "I lose." Nobody likes that in a candidate.