Arizona and the Siege of the Rangers

The Rangers feel that, so far, they've succeeded. The supreme compliment has registered on the Phoenix political rumor mill: McCain's people are getting worried. That means, more than anything, that this campaign is likely to get nasty.

Speaking of nasty, how's the press been to work with? Great! Ranger says. He did some bilingual interviews in Douglas, which was really fun.

But what about the media in Phoenix, home to the highest concentration of voters in the state? Did he see David Leibowitz's column the day after his announcement, headlined "Hopeful's candidacy is DOA"?

Yeah, he saw it. Ranger's voice is low. "That column really hurt my mother," he says. "You know, we all had such a good time that day."