Campaign 2008From The Trail
NBC/National Journal embed reporters file regular dispatches on their experiences from the trail.

Previously in this series:
• Signs Of Thaw Between Palin And Press (10/21/08)
• Obama Surrogates Bear Down On Palin (10/20/08)
• Biden Turns Another Page In His Open Book (10/20/08)

Read The Entire Series

BENSALEM, Pa. -- For much of this election John McCain has tried to double down on his image as an independent "maverick" in an effort to push back against Barack Obama's attempts to link him with President Bush.

After McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, both candidates started using the phrase "team of mavericks" to define their ticket. On the campaign trail, they often cite their records as "reformers" and their history of bucking the Republican establishment, promising to bring that same "country first, party second" attitude to Washington.

"I've stood up against my own party," McCain said at a town hall in Pueblo, Colo., earlier this month. "I've stood up against the special interests, and I am proud of that record. Senator Obama has never stood up against the leadership of his party on any major issue."

But despite his campaign's attempt to spin a narrative of a candidate who takes an unconventional approach to governance, McCain's messaging throughout the general election has been firmly rooted in the modern history of his party, full of GOP tropes that long predate Bush.

With two weeks to go until Election Day, McCain has been relying heavily on a new stump speech that focuses on a few key issues; among them are taxes, small business growth, job creation, government spending, health care, energy independence and free trade. The speech's thematic focus lies in its emotional conclusion, when McCain tells his supporters that "what America needs in this hour is a fighter," and then entreats them to "fight."

The appeal is strongly reminiscent of another GOP candidate and military veteran. During the 1992 presidential campaign, then-President George H.W. Bush ran a television commercial called "What I Am Fighting For," in which he outlined his campaign's view of the choice between himself and then-Governor Bill Clinton.

"Here's what I'm fighting for," Bush said in the ad. "Open markets for American products, tax relief, opportunities for small business, legal and health reform, job training and new schools built on competition ready for the 21st century."

In Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign against Walter Mondale, the Republican incumbent released an ad that showed what looked like a computer screen divided into two columns, one headlined "Reaganomics" and the other "Mondalenomics." By the end of the commercial, the phrase "raise taxes" was printed four times in Mondale's column, while Reagan's column contained the phrases "cut taxes," "cut spending," "create jobs" and "growth."

All four of the phrases that Reagan used to detail his economic policy were used by Gerald Ford before him, then Vice President Bush after him and are now being embraced by McCain.

Because McCain so often describes himself as a Reagan Republican and a "foot soldier" in the Reagan Revolution, it's not too surprising that he has embraced many of the former president's policies. But it is interesting that despite significant changes in the country over the last 30 years, the campaign messages of Republican candidates on the economy have been largely consistent.

On energy independence, McCain now promises to "lower the cost of energy within months," often pointing out how much money America spends each year on imported oil. Similarly, in Reagan's bid for re-election, soaring oil prices caused by the Iranian hostage crisis of 1980 had receded, but he nonetheless used them to link Mondale with the economic policies of Jimmy Carter in an ad called "Supermarket."

After claiming that the cost of living would increase in various ways under a President Mondale, an announcer added: "If that doesn't convince you to vote for President Reagan, stop off at the gas station and imagine paying $2.27 a gallon." The days of high gas prices had not been forgotten, so the president tried to capitalize on that memory to convince voters they couldn't trust a former member of the Carter administration.

Even the ongoing economic crisis has a corollary in past GOP campaigns. In his stump speech McCain often cites the collapse of the subprime mortgage bubble as the cause of the current crisis, and says that getting home values under control will be key to securing the economy and protecting "the American dream."

"We've got to realize the American dream and keep people in their homes," McCain said at a rally this week in Belton, Mo.

Reagan, too, keyed in on homeownership as a way of addressing economic uncertainty during hard times. In an ad called "Door Slam," released during the 1980 campaign, a camera moves along a walkway towards the open front door of a white house, but as Reagan's voice describes the negative effects of Carter's economic policies, the door slams shut.

"Once upon a time, four long years ago, most Americans could dream of owning a home," Reagan says in the ad. "But Jimmy Carter's runaway inflation, with record-high interest rates and a lack of mortgage money, has slammed the door on that dream."

Many Republicans are proud that their party has held onto these consistent values over the years, and one McCain adviser said that he could imagine elections 40 years from now where Republicans are still painting Democrats as big government tax-and-spenders. But for a candidate who has tried so hard to separate his public identity from the Republican Party, McCain's message is much more conventional than he lets on.