I won’t rehash too much of what Marc Ambinder and Chris Cillizza said, but Sen. John McCain’s pick-up today of Iowa GOP operative Marlys Popma is a significant “get.”

McCain is still trying to get right with many base conservatives in such early states as Iowa and South Carolina. Some will never get on board the Straight Talk Express — particularly those whose litmus tests extend beyond core issues into more arguably esoteric matters as campaign finance – but there are many who are still willing to keep an open mind. A figure with such unimpeachable credetenials on the right as Popma makes the sell a bit easier to those crucial activists who are already being wooed.