John S. McCain's crusade for the heart and soul of the Republican party faces a cross-roads today. Outside of New England, where he leads in nearly every state poll, he must prove to Republican voters that his centrist rhetoric does not diminish his conservative credentials.

His background is conducive to the electorate's desire for an honorable president is beyond question, even for his Republican opponents. But McCain has been criticized for the maverick status that has propelled him to early primary victories. His opponents have said he is too quick to compromise ideologically and has harmed the Republican party by making it appear more divided than it is.

But McCain enthusiasts say their candidate is leading a revolution to remove the GOP from its alliance with religious conservatives. The McCain movement, they say, is about broadening the conservative movement.

His voting record contradicts the support he has received from liberals and moderates. In 1998, the American Conservative Union said McCain voted along their ideological lines 68 percent of the time.

McCain supports abortion only in cases of rape, incest and where the life of the mother may be endangered. He

has voted against measures to extend non-discrimination rights to gays and lesbians.

McCain proposes to spend the Social Security surplus to shore up Social Security and Medicare. He wants to extend the 15 percent tax bracket to include 25 million more Americans.

On education, McCain favors a bottom-up approach. Instead of national standards, he wants to streamline both federal and state educational bureaucracies, allowing school systems and individual schools to decide how best to spend education dollars. He also supports school choice and voucher plans.

McCain's signature issue is campaign finance reform, though he has watered down the legislation he has introduced to Congress on the subject.

He proposes banning soft money contributions from individuals, which he has said exert a corrupt influence on the political process. McCain supports so-called "paycheck protection," which could require unions and corporations to obtain their employees' consent before using company money for political purposes.

Opponents of McCain's legislation have said it is frought with logical problems. They have said McCain proposes a ban on individual giving to political campaigns on the grounds that politicians (including himself) cannot be trusted to ward off the influence the money is purported to buy. This penalizes the wrong agent, they believe. If politicians are to blame, why punish the citizens? If politicians play favorites their contributors, citizens will vote them out of office on election day.

McCain responds that political donations provide incentives for good politicians to go bad--and creates the appearance of conflicts where none exist.