NORFOLK
Making his first local stop as presumptive Republican nominee for president, Sen. John McCain landed in Norfolk Friday morning to embrace old shipmates, cold warriors and a continued faith in an expanded military.
McCain also reached out to conservatives who have failed to take up his campaign. "The best way of succeeding is a united party," McCain told about 150 people at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center. "We need to re-energize our base."
The Arizona senator has been buoyed by primary victories in nine states on Tuesday and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's decision two days later to suspend his campaign for president.
McCain acknowledged his clear path to the Republican nomination, although he noted several times that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's campaign survives. He gave no hints about a possible vice presidential candidate.
The graying lineup of supporters on the auditorium dais read like a who's who of Navy cold warriors: Virginia Sen. John Warner and fellow former secretaries of the Navy John Lehman and William Ball.
Several have worked with the candidate for at least three decades, as McCain journeyed from Navy pilot to prisoner of war in Vietnam, congressional aide, and senator. "He's the only person who can be commander in chief on day one," Lehman said.
McCain said the country will have troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for years. He is concerned about NATO forces failing to prevent the Taliban from regaining strength. "It's going to be a long, hard pull," he said.
Growing the Army and Marine Corps is crucial to alleviating the stress of multiple deployments and 15-month tours for some Army units, he said. He advocated better benefits and an extension of GI Bill education benefits to spouses and children to attract more troops.
McCain, 71, joked that a "few old geezers in this room" understood the challenges faced by an overextended military and flagging recruitment.
Warner, a week shy of his 81st birthday, noted: "I'm happy to be among the old geezers here."
The senator acknowledged the need to heal old wounds, some created during a primary stop eight years ago at Cox High School in Virginia Beach.
"Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance," McCain told supporters then, "whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left, or Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell on the right."
This week, partisans booed McCain during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
Chuck Smith, chairman of the Virginia Beach GOP and a McCain supporter, said party politics needs to change. "We can't continue to divide, divide, divide," he said.
He looked to another candidate as a unifier for his party - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president. "Even on McCain's worst day, he's more conservative than Hillary," he said.
The pro-military themes of the rally played well to the crowd, amply populated with veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
After the rally, Vietnam veteran Johnny Johnson clutched a clear plastic bag with a newspaper autographed by McCain.
He said he feels a personal connection: Johnson fought on the ground as a Marine Corps grunt while McCain flew fighter missions over Vietnam. Both were wounded in combat.
"I'm a patriot and he's a patriot," said Johnson, now 60 and living in Virginia Beach.
A few steps away, Joe Costello carried a worn blue-and-white campaign pin from the 2000 election in his pocket. Costello, 78, joined the McCain bandwagon eight years ago and never left.
Costello, whose Navy career spanned 27 years, said he admires the candidate's energy and determination. "All he's been through," Costello said, "he could be enjoying life."
Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
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Navy Sheep?
I'm a Navy CT, stationed in Georgia, and I'm noticing a disproportionate number of military members voting for John McCain. Why is this? Just because he was in the Navy that means that the whole military ipso facto has to vote for him? Are we that dull? The military should be interested in protecting the country. How will the country be protected if illegal aliens and potential terrorists know they can get amnesty here like John McCain advocates? Mike Huckabee is the only one left with a serious plan to control the border. You think McCain is the only one who can beat the Democrat? I doubt it. He'll be seen as old and feeble next to the Democrat nominee and Mike Huckabee is the only one with the charisma and debating skills to debate either one of them. John McCain actually considered being John Kerry's running mate on the Democrat ticket in 2004, so he might as well BE a Democrat. John Kerry has repeatedly criticized troops and undermined the war on terror. If John McCain supports Kerry, can he really be serious about supporting the military or the country for that matter? Not a chance, and this is one sailor who is not fooled. Vote Huckabee.
Huckabee is Keeps Coming Back For More
Michael Dale Huckabee is the only conservative left in this race that is vehemently pro-Israel; believes Israel should arm and defend itself from the enemy all of the West is immanently faced with. McCain's intentions of making amends with conservatives isn't genuine. He still supports McCain-Kennedy, McCain-Feingold, his unrighteous stance on stem-cell research, his anti-rich message about tax cuts and the like from the aging maverick statesman who now wishes to tout himself as a foot-soldier in the Reagan Revolution. What a joke!
RON PAUL...the man that actually MAKES $en$e
Here's food for thought, "At law, LABOR is property. The U.S. Supreme Court has identified labor as man’s most precious property. Therefore the exchange of one’s LABOR for wages or salary (which are also property) is considered by law to be an EXCHANGE of properties of equal value in which there is NO gain or profit. Such a property exchange of equal value CAN’T be taxed because there’s no profit or gain. Also, one who works in an ordinary occupation is NOT a recipient of any government granted privilege because he is merely exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to work and earn a living. Courts have repeatedly ruled that no tax may be placed upon the exercise of rights. Their reasoning was sensible. If the exercise of rights could be taxed, Gov’t could destroy them because excessive rates of taxation.
Items that the law includes in “income” are described in sections of the Code listed under the title – Items specifically included in Gross Income which covers Section 61 through 86. NOWHERE in these Sections, or elsewhere in the IRS Code, is there ANY mention of wages, salaries, commissions, or tips as being “income”. Deceiving and intimi
McCain's value....ZERO!
Of all the speaches I've heard McCain say, "As a Vietnam VET and experienced with the Military...blah, blah, blah"....he's trying to get in on his Military experience. What does he actually KNOW about the budget? Sorry McCain....Your election campaign is not a "study" group or going back to school type election. You either know it...or you don't but PLEASE don't think you're going to get in office and use everything under the "Guinea Pig" rule as trial-and-error. We don't have time to elect a Homer Simpson in Office....DOH!!! RON PAUL is the sure bet. IRS Taxes? Unconstitutional and proven by every IRS Code and the U.S. Constitution. Take the unnecessary Taxes away and you'll have people actually making a living.
I don't know, but McCains
I don't know, but McCains platform sounds like a fairly good conservative platform for me. Sure, there are things that I, as a Libertarian, would change. For instance, not only would I block the expansion of entitlement programs, I would start a rollback. Making the Bush tax cuts permanent would not be enough .. there's the FairTax. And then there's my idea for a 10th Amendment Commission .. and I would like to see the systematic elimination of all government schools, beginning with transferring power to local governments and mandating voucher and school choice programs as a prerequisite for any school to get any federal government money at all.
But .. McCain is the guy. He's going to be the nominee unless something really bizarre happens. If you don't support his candidacy .. if you sit out the election .. just how much influence do you think you are going to have during his presidency? That is ...if your actions don't put Hideous Hillary in office.
John McCain, our next president??
John McCain quotes:
"The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," he said. "I've got Greenspan's book." 2006
Kind of scary...
"I'm going to be honest; I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated." 2005
At least he's honest...
"I just thought it was too tilted to the wealthy and I still do," he said of Bush tax cuts. "I want to cut the taxes on the middle class." 2003
Sounds like a Democrat...
more
McCain for President: 4 more years of the same, 100 more years in Iraq.
We get the security part...
McCain is experienced in security, experienced in gov't service and undestands the military. What about the rest; balance budget, unfair trade with China, getting rid of illegal aliens. This is what us moderates/independents want to know about, less gov't, but a more responsible gov't. Would rather not vote for McCain if he doesn't get rid of the illegal aleins in this country and plan on fixing the rest of this stuff.