At the beginning of the conference call, Davis claimed that the campaign has “effectively consolidated the base around John McCain.” He was asked what effect the selection of a pro-choice running mate might have on that. “I’ll let all of you speculate on the ups and downs of our vice-presidential pick,” he said.
But Davis did elaborate on the base question. “We opened up a front against the Obama campaign over the course of the last 60 days, and I think that’s gotten our base excited,” Davis said. “It’s reminded people that this election will have significant consequences.” As for values voters in particular, Davis said that once the McCain campaign shows them “the horrible track record that Obama has on life issues, on judges…they get more excited about the need to win in the general.”
Finally, Davis was asked whether fundraising improved during Obama’s trip to Europe and the Middle East. “We’ve had a pretty good uptick in Internet fundraising,” Davis said. “I don’t think it was so much the trip itself, [but] the way we managed the trip by making it a part of our advertising campaign….Whether it was the initial public looking at [the trip], or how we followed up on it…we definitely saw an uptick in Internet receipts, which continues to this day.”