In heart of a battleground state, McCain vows to fight on

VIRGINIA BEACH

With Election Day just three weeks away, Sen. John McCain acknowledged Monday he is trailing in the polls but promised a cheering throng of the Republican faithful that he will keep fighting hard to vanquish his Democratic foe, Sen. Barack Obama.

"We have 22 days to go. We're 6 points down. The national media has written us off. Sen. Obama is measuring the drapes," McCain told the crowd in the Virginia Beach Convention Center. "My friends, we've got them just where we want them."

McCain's joint appearance with his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin - their first in Hampton Roads - underlined the region's status as a battleground section of a battleground state.

"It's pretty clear the road to victory is going to run right through Hampton Roads," Palin said.

When Palin asked how many in the crowd had military connections, a sea of hands went up. McCain said the visit to Virginia Beach was "almost like coming home," recalling his days as a young Navy flier when he was based at Oceana Naval Air Station in the early 1960s, before his 5-1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

McCain, of Arizona, and Palin will need strong support from the region's large military population to overcome Obama's strength in Northern Virginia in the battle for Virginia's 13 electoral votes. No Democratic presidential contender has carried Virginia since 1964, but polls show Illinois Sen. Obama in striking distance.

The nation's economic meltdown is widely believed to have bolstered the Democrat's chances, and McCain - even though he unveiled no new policy proposals Monday - was careful to address Americans' economic fears head-on.

"I know what fear feels like. It's a thief in the night who robs your strength," he said. "I know what hopelessness feels like. It's an enemy who defeats your will. I felt those things once before. I will never let them in again. I'm an American. And I choose to fight."

McCain also revisited the theme of his opponent's relative lack of experience in Washington.

"The next president won't have time to get used to the office," he said. "He won't have the luxury of studying up on the issues before he acts. He will have to act immediately. And to do that, he will need experience, courage, judgment, and a bold plan of action to take this country in a new direction."

In the next breath, he managed to put some distance between himself and President Bush. "We cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change."

Many of those at the rally were inclined to distrust the polls showing Obama leading.

"Polls are so fluid," said Eddy Hendricks of Virginia Beach, who was holding an armful of McCain stickers and placards. "They're a quick snapshot, not the whole picture."

"Around town, I see a lot more McCain/Palin stickers and yard signs," said private-school teacher Cindy Lindsey of Virginia Beach. "If Virginia goes for Obama, it would not be this part of Virginia."

Ruth Reiter and her husband, Charlie, drove two hours from the Eastern Shore for the event. She was holding a laminated newspaper article describing a 1965 episode in which the young naval aviator McCain ditched his plane and parachuted onto the Eastern Shore.

"If Obama can fill up his appearances, we wanted to do our part to support them," Reiter said. "I wish there were more fervor for the Republicans."

The GOP faithful endured backups on Interstate 264 East that stretched beyond First Colonial Road, and parking lots at the convention center were full.

As supporters awaited McCain's arrival, country star Hank Williams Jr., clad in a Washington Redskins jersey, entertained the crowd with several of his classics, including "All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down" and "A Country Boy Can Survive." If perhaps his greatest hit, "Family Tradition," seemed in absence, it was because he unveiled a reworked version - "McCain-Palin Tradition" - after the speeches.

Many in the crowd seized the chance to get an up-close glimpse or photo of Palin.

Shelby Lindsey, 17, snatched her mother's digital camera and sprinted across the convention center auditorium for a snapshot. Nearby, Sharon Zebro of Norfolk retreated, triumphant, from the crowd pressing toward Palin.

"I got some great snapshots of her," Zebro said. "I can't wait to print them out and share them with my friends."

Estimates of the crowd size varied wildly. The city police and fire marshal put it at 12,000; the McCain campaign said 25,000. When Obama spoke at the conference center in February, before winning his party's nomination, organizers estimated the crowd at 18,000.

Palin went on to Richmond, where she was greeted by about 20,000 supporters outside Richmond International Raceway. The campaign issued e-mails and automated phone calls over the weekend urging Republicans across the state to come.

In a 20-minute speech, Palin pledged that McCain would hold the line on taxes, cut federal spending, drill for domestic oil on the coasts and support gun rights and limited government.

Some in the crowd had difficulty hearing and started chanting "Louder, louder." Palin mistook them for protesters and admonished: "I would hope these protestors would at least have the courage and honor to thank our veterans for giving them the right to protest."

She spoke for a few minutes about her 6-month-old son, Trig, who has Down syndrome, and made a call for improving services to children with special needs.

"I believe the true measure of any society is how they treat those that are least able to help themselves, and who could be more vulnerable than a child?" she said.

With the crowd chanting, "USA, USA," Palin said, "Virginia, on Nov. 4 it's going to come down to what we believe in. John McCain and I believe in what Ronald Reagan believed in."

Pilot writer Warren Fiske contributed to this report.

Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com

John Warren, (757) 222-5114, john.warren@pilotonline.com