Comeback McCain And Islam

Iraq and "Islamic extremism" were high in McCain's winning speech. (Reuters)

He was dropped out of almost all projections for the Republican White House nomination ticket.

But half-way through the race, Senator John McCain is officially the Republican nominee for the world's most coveted post.

For many, including McCain himself, such a sounding, early winning of the nomination was just unthinkable.

Weeks to the race kickoff, he had only half a million dollar of campaign funding, was flying commercial – as opposed to personal jets and planes use by rivals and Democratic contenders.

McCain, who lost nearly half of his campaign staff, some to rival Mitt Romney, had to drastically scale back his campaign before the first vote was cast.

But then came his unexpected triumph in the New Hampshire primaries in early January, and suddenly he was back in the game.

"We sure showed them what a comeback is," McCain told cheerful supporters.

Having successfully wrapped up the nomination so early on, he will now have plenty of time to raise funds, campaign and strategize for White House race while rivals Hilary Clinton and Barak Obama continue to scuffle for the Democratic nomination.

Islam

Incumbent President George Bush, who scuppered McCain's 2000 White House bid, will welcome him to the White House later Wednesday to give him his official endorsement.

"I think that if John is the nominee, he has got some convincing to do to convince people that he is a solid conservative, and I'll be glad to help him if he is the nominee," Bush told Fox news recently.

The meeting will not be ceremonial because Bush and McCain share a lot, most importantly on Iraq and the so-called war on terror.

While troops were limping in Iraq and Americans were becoming increasingly frustrated by the war, Senator McCain was lending support to Bush's unpopular stay-the-course strategy.

He vehemently supports the Iraq troops "surge" and has repeatedly and emphatically indicated that if elected he would not withdraw troops from Iraq, as opposed to almost all Republican and Democratic rivals.

McCain, who has been to Iraq more than once, famously said troops would remain in the oil-rich Arab country for as long as it takes to get the job done even if that means " a hundred year."

The Vietnam war hero has also made clear during his campaign that "Islamic terrorism" remains the number one threat to America's national security.

He made sure to send the same message loud and clear in his winning speech.

"America is at war in two countries, and involved in a long and difficult fight with violent extremists who despise us, our values and modernity itself," McCain said.

"The next president must lead an effort to restructure our military, our intelligence, our diplomacy and all relevant branches of government to combat Islamic extremism, encourage the vast majority of moderates to win the battle for the soul of Islam, and meet the many other rising challenges in this changing world."

A week ago, a pleased McCain won the endorsement of right-wing religious television personality John Hagee, infamous for his religious intolerance of Islam.

In 2006, Hagee claimed that all Muslims have a "mandate to kill Christians and Jews."

He is the leader of Christians United for Israel, which calls itself a Christian version of Jewish lobby group AIPAC.

McCain, who would be America's oldest ever president entering the White House at the age of 72 if elected, angered Muslims earlier in the campaign suggesting a Muslim would not qualify to run for the White House.

"I admire the Islam. There's a lot of good principles in it… (But) I just feel that my faith is probably a better spiritual guide.

"I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation."