McCain's future, in large measure, will depend on whether the voters in Michigan see his words through the prism of Theodore Roosevelt -- the heroic victim of dirty pool -- or through the prism of Bob Dole -- the snappish temper tantrum of asoreloser.
Mr Fillon, who was prime minister under President Nicolas Sarkozy until his electoral defeat in May, has likened Mr Cope's allies to "a mafia" while his rival has described him as a"sore loser".