Just a few months ago, the one-time front-runner for the GOP nomination had hit rock bottom, with financial, political and organizational problems so severe that many in the world of politics had written him off.
ABC:
Initially considered the clear front-runner for the GOP nomination, McCain is now behind in national polls, and trails in the early primary states as well.
I suppose it all depends on how we define "initially," "considered," "clear," and "front-runner" but the idea that McCain was ever the clear front-runner anywhere but in the NBC green room and the Georgetown cocktail weenie circuit is a bit of a stretch.
Looking at national polls one has to go all the way back to 2006 to find polls which show McCain in first place - and then we're basically talking about ties with Giuliani. You have to go all the way back to 2005 to get polls which really show him out in front of a hypothetical matchup which includes people like Condi Rice.
McCain's never done well in Iowa, which is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVAH except when it interferes with the script, and even in New Hampshire he'd been swapping spots with Rudy! until the Mittster took the lead.