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Much of the old presidential campaign gang has moved on. The governor he made famous -- Sarah Palin, his vice-presidential pick in 2008 -- is the one exciting crowds these days. He is facing the possibility of a primary challenge at home, one more reminder of his uneasy relationship with his own party.
Yet at the age of 73, one year after his defeat by President Obama, Senator John McCain of Arizona is trying to make the most of the platform where he has always been most comfortable, the United States Senate.
The Republican Party's leadership vacuum has given Mr. McCain an opening, and he is charging through it, tacking right on some issues and loudly embroiling himself in battles with the White House and Democratic leaders over health care, stimulus spending, foreign policy and the style of the Obama presidency.
He is more visible now than at any time since the end of his presidential campaign.
"Let's do what the president said last October a year ago," Mr. McCain said the other day at one of what has become a geyser of appearances on the Senate floor, in Capitol hallways and at news conferences. "Let's all sit down together, Republicans and Democrats, with C-Span in the room, and negotiate so that the American people can see what's going on here."
Mr. McCain has cut back his dealings with many of the people who were at his side while he was running for president. Steve Schmidt, his campaign manager, has returned to California, while Mike Murphy, a longtime adviser, has not talked to him since last summer, according to associates of both men. Mark Salter, his closest aide, alter ego and book collaborator, has left Mr. McCain's Senate staff and gone into private business, and now speaks to him about once a week.
Mr. McCain has even been a bit at odds with his closest friends on the campaign trail, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, attacking a global warming bill that they proposed along with Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, though Mr. Graham said he and Mr. McCain remained as close as ever.
"His presidential aspirations are over -- he knows he's never going to be president," Mr. Graham said. "Most people in that position have a hard time re-engaging, but he's really engaged. I've never seen him like this before. He's really going down there, he's really making it tough for them."
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