In His Speech, McCain Needs to Reassemble the Nixon-Reagan Conservative Coalition

Earth to Straight Talk: The Republican majority began that night. Like Nixon, McCain can seem cold, even dour. Worse, he is, Michael Goodwin wrote, "a wooden speaker at best." McCain chants, not explains, tone weak and thin. He must learn the teleprompter; be scrappy, as in Rick Warren's recent faith-a-thon; and grasp that the candidate in sync with the middle class wins. McCain must speak for them, seeming one of them. It won't be easy, since he's not.

Born to privilege, McCain owns at least seven homes, is worth $110 million, and has a daughter, Meghan, who likes "bad boys with tattoos," "bisexual dating TV," and The Big Lebowski, saying "I f*****g love that movie." Meghan won't play in Mayberry. How can Dad? Even Republicans tell Gallup they want "something different" vs. "more of [W's] the same": e.g., mom and pop issues the GOP ignores.

Here's how McCain bridges the divide: Mime Mike Huckabee, lashing those for whom summer is a verb. Mock Obama, as at a recent motorcycle convention: "A couple hundred thousand Berliners made a lot of noise for my opponent. I'll take the roar of 50,000 Harleys." Then, talk straight on culture. Eight in 10 voters back voluntary prayer. "I want radical judges out of our schools—and the faith of our fathers back in." A like number opposes preferences: "More than affirmative action, we need affirmatives lives." Bilingualism scars McCain's "[one] country first." He should ask: "If we can't understand one another, how can we help one another?"

The Iraqi surge disrobed Democrats. He should paraphrase Churchill: "Seldom have so many been so wrong about so much." Seven in 10 Americans back offshore drilling: "Let us speak not of shortages but of supply." Illegal immigration is McCain's albatross. He should shuck it. "My opponent says he is a citizen of the world. I'm a citizen of the United States. We will uphold our laws, preserve our sovereignty, and keep our borders secure."

Lyndon Johnson brooked a credibility gap. This speech can close a fervency gap. According to Pew Research, 24 percent of voters "strongly" support Obama vs. McCain's 17. McCain must goad the left's bicoastal intelligentsia, billionaires, trial lawyers, rock stars, atheists, and double-latte snobs. If they hate the speech, it worked.

Unlike Nixon and Reagan, McCain often seems a stranger in Main Street's foreign land. The acceptance can sway its still-hung jury. Recall who brings Republicans to the dance—and how liberal groups preach "vocal Darwinism—the survival of the shrillest." McCain can treat Americans as prostitutes and lose—or voters as middle Americans, and win.

Curt Smith wrote more speeches than anyone else for President George H. W. Bush, including the "Just War" and Pearl Harbor anniversary speeches and 2004 eulogy to Ronald Reagan. The New York Times calls his work "the high point of Bush familial eloquence." He is the author of 12 books, a GateHouse Media columnist, and senior lecturer, English, the University of Rochester.