What's Next For McCain?

Once competitors, President-elect Barack Obama and Arizona Sen. John McCain will meet today in Chicago. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The scheduled meeting today between President-elect Barack Obama and his vanquished Republican rival John McCain is more about symbolism than substance, but it raises an intriguing question about what the future holds for the Arizona senator.

Prior to running for president this year, McCain was generally regarded as one of a handful of senators -- of either partisan stripe -- willing to work across the aisle to broker compromises on major issues of the day. Campaign finance reform is the most lasting example, but others -- including his leadership role in the "Gang of 14" -- also cropped up regularly over McCain's past decade of work in the Senate. (Worth noting: At the start of their meeting today, McCain was asked whether he would help Obama with his Administration and responded: "Obviously.")

During his bid for the presidency, however, McCain became much more willing to echo party orthodoxy -- an absolute necessity for him if he wanted to win over the skeptical conservative voters who make up the party's base and carry an outsized role in picking the Republican presidential nominee.

With the presidential race behind him, it remains to be seen how -- and how long -- McCain will serve in the Senate.

He seems to have three options: return to his deal-brokering ways with the added stature of having been his party's most recent presidential nominee, serve the role of the loyal opposition to the Obama presidency or simply play out the string for the next two years and retire in 2010.

Which path will McCain take? Those who know him best believe the first road laid out above is the most likely one for McCain to head down.

Fred Davis, the ad man who served as McCain's lead media consultant during the presidential bid, said the Arizona Senator would win up as a "dealmaker" and "peacemaker" during the Obama presidency.

"I never felt he was comfortable in the customary presidential candidate roll of attacker, and think he'll find personal honor bringing both sides together to accomplish great things," Davis added.

It is clear from a re-examination of the campaign that McCain was often visibly uncomfortable -- in a way that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin never was -- in the role of partisan attack dog; he barred his campaign from ever discussing Obama's ties to Rev. Jeremiah Wright publicly and half-heartedly (and not very effectively) tried to raise the issue of Bill Ayers during the race.

That's not to say McCain didn't hit Obama and hit him hard. He did. But, it as long been clear to those who closely watch the Arizona Senator that the brass knuckles element of politics doesn't come all that naturally to him.

Witness his apology following the 2000 campaign for not speaking out against flying the confederate flag over the South Carolina statehouse.

At that time, McCain called his failure to speak out a "sacrifice of principle for personal ambition" -- a statement that provides a window into the Arizona Senator's political soul.

In his mind's eye, McCain sees himself as a cut above most politicians; he believes that he bases his actions on honor and merit, not political expediency. Therefore, anything that McCain sees as rankly political or overly partisan tends to rankle him personally as it conflicts with his own vision of his political career.

Take McCain's recent appearance on behalf of Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R). While McCain was heavily criticized from the left for stumping on behalf of a man whose ads he had condemned just six years ago, it's important to note that nowhere in his speech for Chambliss did McCain mention Obama negatively or take a partisan jab at him, a punch that would have undoubtedly been well-received by the red meat partisan audience.

In many ways, McCain is in uncharted territory. The last time a Republican senator ran and lost a presidential bid was back in 1996 when Bob Dole (R-Kans.) was defeated by President Bill Clinton. Dole, however, had already resigned his Senate seat to focus full time on the campaign, so there was no question that any impact he would have on politics would come from outside the Senate.

The more apt example for McCain may well be that of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry who returned to the Senate after his defeat at the hands of President George W. Bush in 2004. While the comparison is imperfect (Kerry was weighing another presidential bid in four years time while it is almost certain McCain is not), it does speak to the struggles -- and opportunities -- that will present themselves to McCain over the next few years. (McCain and Kerry have a long and complicated relationship that makes this comparison even more intriguing.)

Kerry stumbled occasionally in his first few years but between 2006 and 2008 emerged as an ardent and effective voice on foreign policy matters -- particularly Iraq -- for the Democratic party. That advocacy has made him a leading candidate for the Secretary of State posting in an Obama Administration.

How McCain handles his defeat could have major implications for the success or failure of Obama's call for a postpartisan political climate. McCain has the influence and gravitas in the Senate to help push or torpedo Obama's agenda items. Today's meeting will provide an early indication of which direction the Arizona Republican is headed over the next few years.