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
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Fellow P.O.W. says he won't vote for John McCain
Know any vets who think John McCain would be the better President? Here's a link to a revealing essay about McCain -- from Dr. Phillip Butler, a decorated fighter-pilot who knew McCain at the Naval Academy and in Vietnam as a fellow P.O.W!
"WHY I WILL NOT VOTE FOR JOHN McCAIN"
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,164859_1,00.html.dk
McCain comes off as an arrogant hothead, excusable for a fighter-pilot, but terrifying to imagine as Commander-in-Chief! And he may have gotten into (and just barely graduated) the Naval Academy because his father and grandfather were USN Admirals. Butler says "....having been a POW is no special qualification for being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a presidential candidate."
Ira,
I didn't mention Daimler-Benz. 1 reason Daimler-Benz sold off Chrysler, (they didn't buy it 'til I was past 45 yrs old), was the poor quality of Chrysler products. The quality & reliability of Toyota products,(including Lexus), usually exceeds that of most other car-makers. BMW, still makes great cars. The proof it's not the cost of labor that killed the making of "American cars" in America is that the Toyota Camry & many other highly rated "Japanese cars" are (& have been for quite some time), made in the USA. The workers at these plants are compensated extremely well. The Big Three have long made whole car models, not just parts, in Mexico & Canada. 1 of my brothers-in-law worked in a Chrysler plant in Canada in the 60s, to save money to attend law school. Some of these cars were made for the US market. I still await your apologies for earlier incorrect comments you made about me & what I wrote.
false 2miler
"benefits didn't kill manufacturing in the USA. If anything, it was the greed of the CEOs & corporate America."
They are directly correlated. These mfg's are still making cars just not under the contracts involving organized labor. Dana rear ends in Mexico and so on. The free market damaged their poor designs and workmanship. So in that light al lare at fault. They became complacent about the competition offered in a global economy. To say the Koreans(Hyundai) and Germans(Daimler=VW & preciously associated w/ Chrysler) do a better job is simply not true. You discount the worst American MFG was Chrysler which was owned by Daimler until recently. Obama is preaching a form of isolationism. That's throwing in the towel. The problem is at home. Someone offered better for less in the form of the Japanese. Ask Daimler about their market share after the Lexus was introduced.
Ira
Basic business is not too expensive or complicated, just MORE expensive and complicated then China or Indonesia. Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, and many other large Asian and European manufacturers are flurishing here, and they have no shortage of people willing to take jobs at their plants. Why, exactly, can the American plants not operate the same way? Thats right, for the same reason the pencil factory went overseas. Theyd rather pay a sweatshopper in Indonesia 5 cents a day to work, then someone here $8 an hour, and pocket the rest of the profits, and filter them to their CEO. Some of these CEO's golden parachutes are 10's of millions of dollars, even when their company is failing.....how much of that could have went to hiring a few American workers? For 10 million bucks, you could hire 200 people at 50,000 a year in total costs. I dont care what you say Ira, it is corporate greed all the way around that has dug the US in this situation.
Union Salaries
& benefits didn't kill manufacturing in the USA. If anything, it was the greed of the CEOs & corporate America. After all, no union worker was making millions a yr in salary, millions a yr in bonuses & millions a yr in stock. That would be the CEOs. Contrary to what many seem to believe, union workers in Europe & many non union workers in Japan, make more money & have broader benefits than their American counterparts. American CEOs didn't invest in modernization of their plants & advancements in technology in their products fast enough to keep up with Japanese, German, Korean, etc, products. People will buy the better product, even if it costs more. For too long, in too many cases, that was foreign products. That wasn't the fault of the workers. It was the fault of management.
Straight answers
"Unions are not a bad thing at the root, the problem is theyve turned in to corrupted corporations themselves."
The results speak for themselves. We buy all of the cars and someone else makes them. Unions killed themselves. In the 70's -80's ski companies would make movies in France. You know why? Lawsuits. basic business is too expensive and complicated here. Do you find it odd that pencils are cheaper to ship than to make here?
"Why cant the US government cut the wasteful inefficient private insurance sector out of the middle?"
Because it is not all the ins co's fault. It is mostly regulation, taxes, and litigation. Ask you doctor, don't take my word for it. Go to protectpatientsnow.org Your suggestion only works in theory. Who will pay the lawyers who are our lawmakers?
Profit drives companies?
Of course it does. Companies leave the US because of taxes and the high cost to keep workers. The unions have done more harm than good. They helped people at the Ford plant make good money with great benefits. Turns out it was too much money.
Lowering corporate taxes is seen as bad by the liberal media and the masses. People don't realize they work for or shop at big corporations. I am sure someone will respond how they make their own clothes and fuel....
Ira
Unions are not a bad thing at the root, the problem is theyve turned in to corrupted corporations themselves. The auto unions may be one thing sinking the American car manufacturer, but what about ALL the other manufacturing that has gone over seas? I guess the local pencil makers 101 got a little too big for their britches huh? Yeah right.
My health insurance is voluntary? If I dont like paying for it why dont I drop it? Why should good health be a priveledge only for the rich? Why should the poor suffer and die from preventable illness? Does it not bother you that the US leads the industrialized world in deaths from preventable illness? Why should a person, especially a hard working one, EVER be faced with choosing food or medicine? Why cant the US government cut the wasteful inefficient private insurance sector out of the middle?
keep laughing
"As for someone knowing more about this then me, is that someone you perhaps? Dont make me laugh."
Your suggestion is false. The products would in fact be more expensive in the US. Your example of the US car industry is a perfect example of the problem. Most of their workers are being cared for under bargaining agreements made by their unions which make them less competetive. In fact, some of GM's largest losses are tied directly to employee benefits. The Unions support Obama for a reason. If Obama is elected and certain initiatives take root that he has proposed, I wil lbe letting go of at least two employees that will no longer be middle class. Your health insurance is voluntary so just drop it. We all know the real reason health ins. is unaffordable is due to trial lawyers(like Obama). See protectpatientsnow.com
Ira
The number one thing driving companies out of the US is corporate greed, an everlasting need for increased profits, and free trade agreements that support offshoring. Manufacturers refusing to drop their profit margins to give Americans work, retailers buying cheaper foreign goods, and marking them up many times over to fatten the profit margins. THAT is what is driving companies out my friend. A pair of jeans can be manufactured, and shipped in the US, and sold at retail for $20 and still leave Walmart a profit after overhead, instead, Walmart would rather sell the imported good for the same $20 and take more off the top.
Ill give you two pieces of legislation that will fix that. Huge import tariff and removing ourselves from all global free trade agreements.
As for someone knowing more about this then me, is that someone you perhaps? Dont make me laugh.
Pretty funny
"republicans are old and white."
I am pretty young, Cherokee too.
"republicans hate entitlement programs, except for Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare."
Both parties have contributed to these poorly managed programs.
"Democrats love to aid less fortunate"
Only when it secures votes.
"Americans, even the old, white ones, and hate corporate welfare and the idea of trickle down economics."
Apaprently you are not in the habit of reading bills. Did you see mrs. Pelosi's smile after the bailout?
"republicans send others to war and wave their flags from the comfort of an armchair."
There are Rep. parents whose kids are fighting that owuld like to have a word w/ you.
"Democrats send their children to war because they aren't born with a silver spoon"
Idiotic. You as usual offer nothing more than divisive and partisan comments.
It's easy to tell them apart
republicans are old and white.
Democrats are diverse and young.
republicans hate entitlement programs, except for Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.
Democrats love to aid less fortunate Americans, even the old, white ones, and hate corporate welfare and the idea of trickle down economics.
republicans send others to war and wave their flags from the comfort of an armchair. They believe they are the only patriots and have a flag in their lapel to prove it.
Democrats send their children to war because they aren't born with a silver spoon in their mouth. They believe a patriot sometimes tries to end a war - especially a war based on presidential lies.
McCain is a republican. Obama is a Democrat.
Let's vote.
McSame . . really?
I like how McCain is referred to as McSame for being the same old Washington political engine and Obama is all about change. Really?
How come Obama chose same old Biden (life long Washington insider) and McCain picked Palin a definite outsider.
Tell me - who is truly seeking change?
Clinton himself commented on
Clinton himself commented on Bin laden. Regardless, the man was a suspect long before we ever thought 9-11 could be possible. To blame any one president is not simply untrue, but irresponsible. If you want results you are going to have to snap out of your partisan haze TR. The involvement of Al Quaida in countries w/ weak goverments that were leaning towards religious rule is well documented through many presidencies. I guess Somalia and Afganistan were non issues for Clinton?
Now to a poster who has some substance. One thing justanotheruser failed to include is that Venezuala answered a call similiar to waht Obama is promising. It is not working for a large part ofthe poor there. Chavez takes from the workers and gives just enough to the poor to maintian their loyalty. The underlying economy is faltering. We do not have their oil to support their faltering program even for a short while .We have no cmparable export. Where will the money come from? Where will it go when the rest ofthe world offers better terms for business?
Ira
"On Jan 19, 2001, The U.S. Navy completed and released its Judge Advocate General Manual (JAGMAN) investigation of the incident,
The staff of the 9-11 Commission found that al-Qaeda's direction of the bombing was under investigation but "increasingly clear" on November 11, 2000. It was an "unproven assumption" in late Nov. By Dec 21 the CIA had made a "preliminary judgment" that "al Qaeda appeared to have supported the attack," with no "definitive conclusion."
Then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice told the Commission that when the admin took office on Jan 20, 2001, "We knew that there was speculation that the 2000 Cole attack was al Qaeda... We received, I think, on Jan 25th the same assessment [of al-Qaeda responsibility]. It was preliminary. It was not clear."
Newsweek reported that on the following day, "6 days after Bush took office," the FBI "believed they had clear evidence tying the bombers to Al Qaeda."[19] The WaPo reported that, on Feb 9, VP Dick Cheney was briefed on bin Laden's responsibility "without hedge."[20]
don't be confused!
It easy! Under Obama 'working man's jobs' won't be farmed out because private enterprises will be controlled by the govt. 'Affordable healthcare' will be easy because the govt will control the healthcare industry. Education for all, because the federal government will control who goes to college where and when and for how much. Those who can't or won't earn a living wage will simply have the wealth 'passed around' to them.
But - how much will an American flag cost when the govt requires Carolina Mills to hire only American workers? How much will the cost of your vehicle go up when GM pays extra taxes for using imported parts? When health insurance companies fold because govt wont allow them a profit, how many jobs will be lost? Will the magic tax cuts and redistribution of wealth be enough to compensate for our decreased purchasing power? Things to consider.
coolguy
Everything you just described is not possible under Obama's plan. It sounds good, but it will not happen. The number one thing driving companies out of the U.S. is the cost to maintain and support domestic labor. The corporate tax cuts are nothing compared w/ circumventing payroll and work comp costs. Nevermond paying a fraction of the pay scale. By legislating more costs on employers you will not create jobs. We have historical attempts across the globe offering schemes similiar to Obama's that have failed. In addition, you cannot bend mathematics.
You should at least consider that you may be wrong. That someone may know more about this subject than you and is in fact looking out for their fellow man by pointing the gun away from your own foot.
Confused
Because you arent average Joe, and nobody who identifies with the Republican party is "average Joe". If you arent wealthy, you are either racist, a religious zealot, or highly confused. Period. In all cases, you are looking out for yourself and your ilk, not the country on a whole.
We need to stop with the "me first" politics of the right wing. How can a party use the mantra "country first", when they support farming out the working man's jobs, preventing the working man from getting affordable health care, cutting funding for education which harms the working man infinatley more then the wealthy man, and preventing the working man from receiving a living wage, and continuously hosing veterans.
The USS Cole
Was bombed October 12, 2000, so do some math and figure out how long Billary was in office after that without even a single missile being fired, or even a strongly worded letter being sent.
TR
That contradicts Clinton's own statements on the Cole. Your also ignoring the embassy and barracks bombings. You also left out the fact that Clinton did indeed aim at Al Quaida by bombing Afganistan. Should I bring up the "black hawk down" incident?