McCain Resurgent

Paul noted here that John McCain is surging, or at least mini-surging, in the Republican Presidential race. This is due in part to his strong performance in the last Republican debate, and equally, I think, to the fact that the immigration issue, and the passions it generated, are starting to recede.
Front and center at the moment is national security, which is McCain’s strongest suit. This week, McCain will embark on a No Surrender Tour of a number of states. “No surrender” sums up pretty well our view of the conflict between civilization and Islamic radicalism.
On Friday, N.Z. Bear interviewed Orson Swindle, who served as a P.O.W. with McCain during the Vietnam conflict. You can listen to the interview on Blog Talk Radio. It’s an excellent conversation and well worth hearing in its entirety. The McCain campaign has started a thread in our Candidates’ Forum to talk about the Swindle interview. You can go here to link to the interview and post your comments in response. Here is an excerpt of N.Z. talking to Swindle:

The McCain Forum has been active in general; here, for example, our friend Tim Pawlenty makes the conservative case for McCain as a Presidential nominee.
Immigration is an important issue, but it is just one issue, on which Senator McCain has heard the voices of the party’s rank and file. More Republicans, I think, are taking a hard look at McCain as a nominee whose unquestionable strength and courage may be what we need at this moment in history. Some, too, are noting that Fred Thompson is not the only social conservative in the Republican race.
We haven’t endorsed a candidate, and may never do so; or maybe we will ultimately disagree. At the moment, though, McCain is mounting a comeback. And I would say, don’t make your choice without taking a good look at a candidate who has proved his mettle under conditions a heck of a lot tougher than the halls of the United States Senate.
UPDATE: Check out this video, too. It’s been posted at the Candidates’ Forum, and you can go here to comment on it.

PAUL adds: McCain will know he’s back in serious contention if conservative bloggers start attacking him again.