John McCain: Can He Mend Fences with the Right?

Former Representative J.D. Hayworth, left, and Senator John McCain

From left: Scott Ferrell / Congressional Quarterly / Getty; CJ Gunther / EPA

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At a White House meeting Oct. 6, Senator John McCain of Arizona urged President Barack Obama to make a decision about additional troops in Afghanistan quickly and not make it a "leisurely process." Senator Carl Levin of Michigan noted that it had taken Obama's predecessor George W. Bush three months to order a surge in Iraq. Then Obama spoke. "John, I can assure you this won't be leisurely, as nobody feels more urgency to get this right than I do."

Is McCain about to re-enter the fray? If so, it is a journey that has been nearly a year in the making. Since his defeat by Obama 11 months ago, McCain has spent much of his time in a self-imposed exile. He returned to Washington without a long list of bills he was keen to pass. He could see that his Democratic friends felt no need to cut deals while they held a lopsided margin in the Senate. Several veteran aides who helped guide him in campaigns past have left town or consult from a greater distance. Longtime advisers and Senate colleagues report that he has struggled to regain his footing and voice. "He probably won't run [for President] again," says Senator Joe Lieberman, one of McCain's closest friends — which may be why he has found it difficult to move on. (See pictures of McCain's campaign farewell.)

Those who know him best say that if McCain has regrets about the race he ran or his choice of Sarah Palin to be his running mate, they do not show. He tells his staff over and over again, "Don't look back in anger." Several of his former advisers say he is still sore at many of his fellow Republicans who mocked his selection of Palin or who McCain believes did not work overtime to help him. His friends blame the media and the economy for McCain's loss, while former aides grumble about Palin and the general embarrassment she engendered for the GOP. By all accounts, McCain — who declined to include Palin on a list of potential 2012 candidates during a Tonight Show appearance in April — is dreading what Palin might say in Going Rogue, her book due out next month. "The part I'm looking forward to most is the part where it energized our campaign and her selection put us ahead in the polls," McCain told a crowd at a recent Washington conference. "The part I am looking forward to least is some of the disagreements that took place within the campaign." (See the top 10 Sarah Palin spoofs.)

McCain may soon face an even bigger challenge. Former Arizona Congressman J.D. Hayworth, a favorite of conservatives who has been critical of McCain's work on immigration reform, told TIME he is thinking of challenging McCain in next year's GOP Senate primary. "There's a great deal of respect for John as a historical figure," Hayworth said on Oct. 5. "But he's long been at odds with the conservative base of the Republican Party and more recently with Arizonans." Hayworth cites a recent poll that found 61% of Arizona Republicans think McCain has lost touch with his party. "It's not a visceral dislike. It's just, I think, a disappointment." If Hayworth runs, he would join two other conservatives trying to unseat McCain. In a sign of the incumbent's concern, he has already raised $4.7 million to defend himself, and he has more than $20 million left over from 2008. Prevailing in the primary would all but secure McCain a fifth term in the Senate: Democratic leaders in Washington say they aren't bothering to recruit a local Democrat to face him.

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