McCain's stance on the war is "helping" him.

The NY Times, today:

“The war in Iraq and public opposition to it has put a pall on Republicans,” said John C. Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri.

Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York, said, “As long as the war appears not to be doing well, it’s going to hurt Republicans.”

Putz:

I liked McCain personally, but it's hard to forgive him for McCain-Feingold. That's hurting him with a lot of people. On the other hand, his stance on the war is helping him with a lot of people.

By "a lot of people" Putz means the 30-percenters who still support Bush. The rest of the country -- not so much.