McCain at Clemson University

By Anna Simon, Greenville News
November 29, 2007

Article Excerpt

John McCain addressed the legacy -- or burden -- that today's college students will inherit during a town hall-style meeting Wednesday at Clemson University.

They will bear the burden of overloaded Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs and other big government mandates, said McCain, who wants to pare down federal government and promised to veto pork-barrel spending.

"We're going to stop mortgaging your future," McCain said, holding up his "veto pen" he said former President Ronald Reagan gave him.

An overflow crowd of about 400 people filled the 250-seat Self auditorium at Clemson's Strom Thurmond Institute. Stacks of extra chairs were wheeled in and quickly filled and some people stood in the foyer and listened through the open doors, as McCain discussed Iraq, education, health care, immigration and other concerns.
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"The war is not lost, and in fact, we're succeeding,"' McCain said of Iraq, pulling his coat sleeve back to show a KIA bracelet he wears for a soldier killed last year, but he expressed concern that wounded veterans "have not received the treatment they deserve from their government."

He said treatment facilities for those wounded in combat should be expanded and older veterans should have cards that let them choose their own doctors rather than stand in lines at VA facilities.

No Child Left Behind is "a good beginning" that should be improved, not scrapped, said McCain, a proponent of "choice and competition" in schools.

After McCain spoke, scores of students, faculty, staff and area residents lined up at microphones with questions.

Clemson student Felipe Fernandes asked about health care, saying he received medical attention for a few pesos while studying abroad in Argentina, yet his mother, a child-care provider in South Carolina, can't afford a mammogram.

Every American should have affordable, accessible health care, said McCain, who envisions community health centers and a $5,000 tax credit to make insurance affordable but opposes government intrusion on competition and choice.

Inflation in health care is "a crisis in America," McCain said, but the answer "is not going to be a government-run system."

On immigration, McCain said borders must be secure first -- "you have to stop the flow" -- before moving on to a temporary worker program. That prompted disagreement from a student who said his family stood in line for a green card to immigrate legally, and those who came illegally shouldn't be rewarded.

McCain Declared Debate Winner

John McCain Declared Debate Winner, "Most Presidential," "Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Fight On!"

Townhall's Matt Lewis: "The bottom line is that I think McCain got his message out tonight -- that he has the experience needed at this time in history. In short, he was Presidential.'" (Matt Lewis, Townhall Blog, 11/28/07)

· Lewis: "I'm reading David McCullough's excellent book on Truman, so a lot of what McCain said rang true tonight. McCain's comment to Ron Paul about WWII and the danger of isolationism rang particularly true. In addition, his comment about the importance of America taking the high-road when it comes to torture also reminded me of the book." (Matt Lewis, Townhall Blog, 11/28/07)

CNN's David Gergen: "I think that the most presidential tonight were John McCain, who's found his voice again ... especially I thought on the issues of Iraq and on torture ..." (CNN Post-Debate Coverage, 11/28/07)

Redstate's Erick Erickson: "McCain won on scalps. He got Mitt Romney and he got Ron Paul. McCain was the adult in the room all night. He was stable, composed, and mature." (Erick Erickson, Redstate Blog, 11/28/07)

· Erickson: "McCain kicks ass on taking out Ron Paul. Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Fight on!" (Erick Erickson, Redstate Blog, 11/28/07)

National Review's Jim Geraghty: "Is it just me, or is McCain dominating the debate tonight?" (Jim Geraghty, National Review's Campaign Spot Blog, 11/28/07)

CNN's Jamal Simmons: "I thought that John McCain clearly won this thing." (CNN Post-Debate Coverage, 11/28/07)

The Politico's Jonathan Martin: "McCain is really starting to look strong now that the conversation has moved onto national security. Beyond his answer to torture, his response about what really happened in Vietnam (contrary to what those blame-America-first types would have you believe) was red meat to every conservative in the crowd and at home who is over the age of 50." (Jonathan Martin, The Politico, 11/28/07)

Ankle Biting Pundit's Bull Dog Pundit: "The 'winner' tonight was John McCain with Mike Huckabee in second." (Bull Dog Pundit, Ankle Biting Pundit Blog, 11/28/07)

· Bull Dog Pundit: "McCain continues to impress the hell out of me with his assessment of Iraq and how it fits into the larger war on terrorism. I also wonder if he paid Ron Paul to make his usual stupid comments because McCain brilliantly played off of them to make his larger points on why the war in Iraq is necessary, and why it's necessary we win. His 'let us win' retort to Paul was brilliance, and is the 'sound bite' of the evening. It's hard to deny the man has so much credibility on the issue. He also seems to be the one who is trying to be 'above it all' in terms of playing 'gotcha' with his opponents and focusing on the big picture." (Bull Dog Pundit, Ankle Biting Pundit Blog, 11/28/07)

"God Bless John McCain" For "Stirring" Statement On Iraq War: "Let Us Win"

National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez: "'Let us win,' the troops say. God bless John McCain. Ron Paul should have let it alone. Absurd to say John McCain doesn't understand this war. He's communicated our effort in Iraq better than the White House for a very long time. We owe him a debt." (Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review's The Corner, 11/28/07)

The American Spectator's Philip Klein: "McCain's stirring on criticism of Ron Paul's opposition to Iraq and foreign policy views in general, delivered in a way that only he could, will play well with the base." (Philip Klein, The American Spectator Blog, 11/28/07)

Granite Grok's Skip Murphy: "McCain does a good job standing up for people like me who realize that we are in the fight of our lives with those that want us dead. McCain understands, better than anyone else, we have to actively fight these folks with everything we have -- and not just militarily. ... [Y]ou can tell that he is the real deal on this subject -- and I will stand with him on this issue to the gates of hell and to the Pearly Gates. He ripped Paul up and down -- good for him." (Skip Murphy, Granite Grok Blog, 11/28/07)

"McCain Shines" Tonight As He "Triumphed" On Experience, Torture And Spending Issues

Townhall's Mary Katharine Ham: "McCain shines, as always, on spending and the war. He's right, he's quick-witted, and he comes across as dead-sure ..." (Mary Katharine Ham, Townhall Blog, 11/28/07)

Townhall's Matt Lewis: "McCain's answer to the question about the Vice President was very good. He was able to seamlessly segue into his real message -- that he has the most foreign policy experience -- and thus, wouldn't need to rely on a VP to the same degree Bush did." (Matt Lewis, Townhall Blog, 11/28/07)

National Review's Jim Geraghty: "McCain said that Bush had to rely on Cheney for expertise on national security issues after 9/11. Says he himself would never need to rely on his veep in this area. Ooooh." (Jim Geraghty, National Review's Campaign Spot Blog, 11/28/07)

MSNBC's Mark Murray: "Did that just become the lead of tonight's debate? It sure looked like McCain triumphed in that exchange. But to fair, it was a question that McCain -- the former POW -- was going to win no matter what." (Mark Murray, MSNBC's First Read Blog, 11/28/07)

National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez: "You can't help but to respect and admire McCain." (Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review's The Corner, 11/28/07)

· Lopez: "The Unspoken Truth ... John McCain doesn't own a gun because he's put in more time protecting and defending freedom on the frontlines than most of us will mercifully ever know." (Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review's The Corner, 11/28/07)

The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan: "McCain came out of the exchange easily the most appealing and mature candidate." (Andrew Sullivan, The Atlantic Blog, 11/28/07)

Tampa Tribune: "'We let spending lurch completely out of control,' McCain says. Lays out a joke about spending money to study bear DNA in Montana. 'Not sure if it was paternity issue or a criminal issue.' Best laugh of the night." (Billy Townsend, Tampa Tribune Blog, 11/28/07)

National Review's Jonah Goldberg: "I think his immigration answer was grown-up and serious." (Jonah Goldberg, National Review's The Corner, 11/28/07)

The American Spectator's Jennifer Rubin: "McCain oozes credibility and seriousness on controlling spending." (Jennifer Rubin, The American Spectator Blog, 11/28/07)

McCain ready to return GOP to its base

By Dan Hoover, Greenville News
November 28, 2007

Article Excerpt

ANDERSON -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain told an audience here Tuesday that he's the candidate to return the GOP to its traditional tight-fisted guardianship of America's tax dollars.

The Arizona senator told a crowd of approximately 150 in the Anderson County Arts Center that his party's loss of its congressional majorities in 2006 occurred not because of Iraq but because "we betrayed our base" through big spending and corruption.

As president, McCain said he would halt the use of congressional earmarks for pork-barrel spending and would make ample use of a veto pen given him by President Ronald Reagan while naming names of those playing fast and loose with tax money.

McCain campaigned earlier in Seneca and this morning will hold another town hall meeting at the Strom Thurmond Institute on the Clemson University campus.

Fresh from a Thanksgiving trip to Iraq that he said renewed his confidence in ultimate victory, McCain challenged comments made by Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York in a morning appearance in Spartanburg.

Clinton told a crowd of 500 that a military solution is not possible, the Baghdad government has failed politically and the Bush administration failed diplomatically.

"She was the one who when Gen. Petraeus came in September that said she would have to suspend disbelief in order to believe that it's not working," McCain said of Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. "It is succeeding," he said of the Bush administration's troop surge and shift to a counterinsurgency strategy.

"Six, seven months ago, Sen. Clinton and the liberal Democrats were saying it would never work militarily... that it was lost. They now continue to want to withdraw, which if we had done six months ago what Sen. Clinton wanted, al-Qaida would be trumpeting to the world that they beat the United States of America," McCain said.

McCain returns from Iraq with confidence in military progress

LEXINGTON, South Carolina (CNN) – Buoyed by an apparent reduction in violence in Iraq, McCain hit the campaign trail Monday and tore into Democrats running for president and in Congress for "willfully ignoring the facts on the ground" in the country.

In his first campaign stop since returning from a trip to Iraq over Thanksgiving, McCain told an audience here that there is clear military progress on the ground and "a dramatic shift in the attitude of the Iraqi people."

"Today it is clear we have succeeded with this new strategy," said McCain, who has supported the so-called "troop surge" since its inception. "The Democrats refuse to acknowledge that, they refuse to acknowledge the progress. They are willfully ignoring the facts on the ground in my view."

McCain said the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki "has got a long way to go" and said that "winning" requires political progress in the country, but he criticized Democrats for continuing their calls to remove combat forces from the country.

"There's a lot at stake here," he said. "I understand my friends the politics of it. I understand it when the Democrats stand up and fall all over each other to decide who can get us out the quickest, but I am grateful that we Republicans have stood fast, I am grateful that this president has stood fast."

McCain took on Sen. Hillary Clinton for comments she made in September to Gen. David Petraeus during his testimony on Iraq progress before the Senate. At the time, Clinton said that Petraeus' progress report required "a willing suspension of disbelief."

"My friends, any objective observer today would have to suspend disbelief to know that it's not working," McCain said. "It is working and it's working successfully, and the people of Iraq are far better off now than when we began this."

9/11 Commissioner Endorses McCain

Yesterday Senator McCain received another important endorsement. This one came from Governor Tom Kean, the 9/11 Commission Chairman and former governor of New Jersey. Governor Kean is one of many national security experts endorsing Senator McCain. Governor Kean, along with Governor Tom Ridge will serve as Chairmen of the First Responders for McCain Coalition. Governor Kean credits Senator McCain with helping to produce the "most significant reform in the nation's intelligence gathering and defense capabilities since 1947."

This endorsement by Governor Kean and other national security experts (such as Henry Kissinger and Alexander Haig) supports the fact that Senator McCain is the most experienced and most qualified candidate to be president. No other candidate running has the foreign policy expertise, experience, and knowledge that Senator McCain holds to fight the terrorism facing the United States today.

McCain Outperforms Giuliani Against Clinton in Swing States

John McCain: The Candidiate with character

In the November 13 edition of The New York Times, David Brooks, an op-ed contributer to the Times wrote a pretty accurate description of Senator John McCain's unique character. In "The Character Factor" Brooks acknowledges a truth stated by his friend's assertion that "there’s really only one great man running for president this year, and that’s McCain.”

Brooks illuminates the reality today that "We tend to view them (presidential candidates) like products and base our verdicts on their market share at the moment. We don’t so much evaluate their character; we analyze how effectively they are manipulating their image to appeal to voters, and in this way we buy into the artificiality of modern campaigning." Brooks illustrates in this column that there is no one else out there with Senator McCain's character, and no one can deny his energy and capability.

I wanted to highlight some of bits and pieces from the article that speak to the Senator's true character.

for the full article click here

• "Prison in Vietnam gave him self-respect and a cause greater than himself, but it didn’t diminish his dynamism. His office in the Senate isn’t tucked away in a tranquil corner of his suite; it’s right in the vortex, and it’s always empty because he’s walking around. Campaigning last weekend in New Hampshire, he was his old restless self, never alone, craving contact, conversation and fun.

• The years and the Senate have smoothed some of his rebelliousness, but he still fights a daily battle against the soul-destroying forms of modern politics...He won’t tell you everything, but there will never be a moment as the hours stretch by when you feel that he is spinning you, lying to himself or insulting your intelligence.

• Telling the truth is a skill. Those who don’t do it habitually lose the ability, but McCain is well-practiced and has the capacity to face unpleasant truths. While other conservatives failed to see how corporations were insinuating themselves into their movement, McCain went after Boeing contracts. While others failed to see the rising tide of corruption around them, McCain led the charge against Jack Abramoff. While others ignored the spending binge, McCain was among the fiscal hawks.

• Other Republicans used to accuse him of kissing up to the news media. But when the Iraq war was at its worst, and other candidates were hiding in the grass waiting to see how things would turn out, McCain championed the surge, which the major Republican candidates now celebrate.

• He did it knowing that it would cost him his media-darling status and probably the presidency. But for years he had hated the way the war was being fought. And when the opportunity to change it came, the only honorable course was to try.

• ...character is destiny, and you will never persuade me that he is not among the finest of men.

That human point seemed worth remembering, even amid the layers of campaign pretense."

McCain's "Handling of the B Question"

Below is a video of Senator McCain responding to a woman asking: "How do we beat the b****?" Rick Sanchez and CNN unfairly attacked Sen. McCain, going as far as to say: "Is John McCain done?" Senator McCain clearly states he has respect for Senator Clinton and anyone who gets the nomination of the Democratic Party. The bottom line is that Senator McCain handled the question gracefully and dignified, just as he always does. Watch the video below for yourself and see Sanchez being factually incorrect.