WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain is coming back from a trip to Iraq with hopes of getting a handle on his presidential campaign.

Moving toward the official announcement April 25 in New Hampshire, McCain plans a series of addresses, the first of which will be before cadets at Virginia Military Institute.

Aides say it will help kick-start his presidential campaign. But it will also harden McCain's stance on Iraq. The Arizona senator will deliver the campaign speech Wednesday "talking about Iraq, the consequences of failure in Iraq, as well as laying out a vision for victory in Iraq," according to the campaign's communications director, Brian Jones.

Jones and a host of other McCain advisers are seasoned from work with George W. Bush's two presidential efforts. Their candidate has cemented his sometimes shaky relationship with Bush with strong support for the Iraq war, and calls to let the president's "surge" plan take effect.

But with polls showing a sizable majority of Americans not supporting the war, McCain's stance might be hurting him.

"You don't advise John McCain on the war in Iraq," Jones retorts. "He has very firm beliefs on the war in Iraq. He's someone who understands the consequences of failure. He has said in the past he'd rather lose the campaign than lose the war."

McCain will reaffirm those beliefs Wednesday.

-- CNN Radio's Bob Constantini