Lott and McCain

Yesterday's Roll Call (a newspaper in Washington DC that covers Capitol Hill) had an article discussing Trent Lott and John McCain's close connections.

To read it online, you have to subscribe, but here are some excerpts...

For Whip or 2008, It’s a Lott/McCain Ticket (March 7, 2007) By Erin P. Billings (Roll Call)

Following crushing setbacks that could have sidelined their respective careers, Republican Sens. Trent Lott (Miss.) and John McCain (Ariz.) have put aside long-standing differences and become leading architects of each other’s political resurrections. In the process, Lott and McCain have created an influential network of Senate Republican allies who by circumstance or design are loyal to them both. In fact, many of Lott’s strongest devotees also are backers of McCain’s 2008 presidential bid, and vice versa.

When Lott plotted a return to the GOP leadership as Minority Whip in the fall, McCain served as one of his most eager promoters and helped count votes in the Mississippian’s campaign. And it was Lott who more than a year ago became one of the first Senators to back McCain’s bid for the presidential nomination and has since become one of the Arizonan’s top Senate surrogates.

“They are sort of like ham and eggs,” observed Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

But it wasn’t always that way. Lott, the consummate leadership deal-maker, and McCain, long the meddlesome maverick, have engaged in bitter legislative battles over the years about high-profile issues such as campaign finance and earmark reform.

The two parted ways for a time after Lott successfully campaigned for GOP Whip in 1994 and moved for the first time into the Senate leadership. And in 2000, Lott opted to back then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush for the presidency over his Arizona Senate colleague.

“I didn’t think the time was right for John then,” Lott explained recently. “I thought that George W. Bush was the right man for the job at that time. But [McCain] has come back, better and stronger.”

McCain doesn’t dispute Lott’s assessment, admitting he may not have been the best candidate during his earlier White House run: “First, I certainly didn’t have the experience that I have now. And secondly, America was at peace in the 2000 campaign. [The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks] changed everything.”

Certainly, times have changed. Lott has spent months helping court Congressional and build national support for McCain’s 2008 White House bid. He has advised McCain, spoken on his behalf and helped him set his campaign priorities.

Similarly, it was McCain who helped persuade Lott to not only run for a fourth term in 2006, but to make another play for the Republican leadership by seeking the No. 2 Whip job. McCain was a key whip in that race for Lott, who eked out a one-vote win over Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)....

....McCain’s and Lott’s backgrounds have much in common. They share a Scottish heritage, and both families’ genealogy and political connections trace back to the 1800s in Carroll County, Miss.

They are both creatures of Congress — Lott began in the House in 1973 and moved to the Senate in 1989, while McCain started his brief House tenure in 1983 and was elected to the Senate in 1986.

“Even when we’ve fought like cats and dogs, we’ve always kept our relationship — and let me tell you, it was testy at times,” Lott said.

“We’ve had some of the best fights in the United States Senate,” McCain offered....

....“There’s something about people who were dealt a bad hand and overcome adversity and come back from that,” added Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). “It’s quite a bond that’s been built.”

Thune counts himself among those Senators in both the Lott and McCain political camps. The conservative South Dakotan is not only Lott’s chief deputy whip, he also is a newly announced backer of McCain for President.

McCain has yet to announce all of his Republican Senate endorsements, but among those already publicly in his camp are several GOP Members who aided Lott’s quest for the Minority Whip post. They include Thune, Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and Virginia Sen. John Warner.

More close Lott allies are expected to declare their support for McCain in the coming weeks....