McCain's resilience resonates amid Democrats' uncertainty

— -- John McCain relied on grit, hard work and a whole lot of luck to win the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

He probably will require all that and more in what is expected to be a raucous ride toward the White House.

The senator from Arizona is trailing in the money chase, following an unpopular GOP president and promising to push to victory in an unpopular war. And, at age 71, McCain must convince the American public that he's not too old for the job.

But the protracted slugfest between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois may prompt a re-evaluation of conventional wisdom on the general election.

"From the perspective of March, McCain is fairly called the underdog despite the Democrats' continued brawl," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "Everything has to go right for him to win."

Eight months ago, McCain's political aspirations seemed at their end.

His once-impressive national organization collapsed in spectacular fashion. He couldn't raise enough cash to keep pace with his campaign's lavish spending. His campaign manager and his longtime political strategist left. Several other senior staffers followed.

Despite a grim diagnosis from political experts and ridicule from late-night comedians, McCain refused to quit.

Abandoned by much of the national media, he returned to New Hampshire, a state where he clobbered George W. Bush during his first presidential campaign in 2000. By Labor Day, McCain was ready to start his slow ascent to the front of what many viewed as a weak Republican pack.

"First of all, he was the best candidate, and he was the best campaigner," said Charlie Black, a senior McCain adviser whose campaign role expanded after the big exodus. "He had to have the willpower and the determination and had to believe that he could still win to keep working as hard as he did."

Other pieces began falling neatly into place.

The troop surge McCain championed reduced public anxiety about the Iraq war.