Arizona Senator John McCain and his cohorts are planning to make the November 2008 Electoral Map look far different from 2000 or 2004.  So says crack Politico reporter Jonathan Martin:

Such a list starts here, in famously flinty New Hampshire, one of only three states to switch allegiance in presidential voting between 2000 and 2004. But it could also include Maine, which has elected an independent governor and which gave Ross Perot his highest vote share in 1992. Connecticut would be tougher but has also elected two third-party candidates to statewide office (Lowell Weicker and Joseph I. Lieberman).

With many Connecticut Republicans considering the impending McCain candidacy, there seems to be a growing belief that the maverick from Arizona could certainly make Connecticut a swing state in the general election. We look forward to it being so.

With Arizona Senator John McCain having wrapped up the Republican nomination, there is buzz coming out of his campaign that they intend to put Connecticut in play this fall.  So said McCain adviser Steve Schmidt recently as noted by the NY Times blog:  “He added that he thinks Mr. McCain could expand the map of states that Republicans can win and that he would be competitive in Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine”.

Can Senator McCain be competitive here?  Quinnipiac has not done any polling recently in Connecticut but in comparable New Jersey (comparable only for the sake of the poll, never as a state), the QU folks found that McCain showed signs of promise. 

Sen. Clinton beats McCain 47 - 41 percent, taking 80 percent of the Democratic vote and 52 percent of the women, while splitting independents. Obama wins 46 - 39 percent, bolstered by a 47 - 38 percent edge among independent voters, according to the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll.

With the dedicated effort of a national campaign, John McCain clearly has the ability to fundamentally change the playing field in 2008.  Using the nifty maps at 270towin.com, there are several scenarios that could play out for McCain, but winning even a few of those states could prove decisive against Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama this November. 

The “old maps” from 2000 and 2004 seem destined for the annals of history anyway, as changing demographics in Virginia, Nevada, and New Mexico appear ready to realign their political landscape.  A strong McCain effort could indeed redraw these maps - and bring a lot more Republican “red” to traditionally Democrat strongholds this November.

With the Republican primary process over, and Arizona Senator John McCain the presumptive nominee, the GOP Primary Map that you are familiar with is undergoing a makeover.  We’ve taken out the primary data and will begin tracking the general election polling as soon as the Democrats have a nominee. Until that time, we’ve filled in the number of Electoral Votes for each state. Enjoy.

Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for President, was the subject of a very poor New York Times piece today, suggesting that McCain had an inappropriate relationship with a female lobbyist.  The story is heavy on innuendo and “anonymous former aides”.  A sampling:

Mr. McCain, 71, and the lobbyist, Vicki Iseman, 40, both say they never had a romantic relationship. But to his advisers, even the appearance of a close bond with a lobbyist whose clients often had business before the Senate committee Mr. McCain led threatened the story of redemption and rectitude that defined his political identity.

It’s political smear designed to weaken the strength of John McCain’s candidacy for Barack Obama or Senator Clinton.  For McCain’s part, his campaign has vowed to “make war” on the NY Times for the piece.

“Americans are sick and tired of this kind of gutter politics, and there is nothing in this story to suggest that John McCain has ever violated the principles that have guided his career.”

And rightly so.

Update: RedState’s Erick, though not a huge McCain fan, is calling it “a hit job”.  Captain’s Quarters refers to the story at the “Slimes at the Times“.