03 November 2008
Road to the White House: John McCain
Republican candidate focuses on wooing battleground states’ voters
In the time remaining until Election Day, Republican John McCain is campaigning across the country, especially eager to win support from voters in key battleground states. Here is a summary of recent campaign activities:
November 3
Polls indicate John McCain is trailing his opponent, but he is not giving up. On the final day before the 2008 election, the Republican candidate planned campaign stops in seven states: Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona.
The McCain campaign has focused heavily on Pennsylvania, seeing its 21 electoral votes as key to a Republican victory. “We’re going to win Pennsylvania tomorrow and I’m going to be the president of the United States,” McCain told supporters in Moon Township.
“There's just one day left till we take America in a new direction. … We need to bring real change to Washington and we have to fight for it. I've been fighting for this country since I was 17 years old and I have the scars to prove it,” he said.
For the Republican candidate, the campaigning is not quite over — McCain plans to hold an Election Day rally in Colorado, another battleground state.
October 31
During the second day of his bus tour in Ohio, John McCain got some campaign help from prominent Republicans. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani joined him in Hanover and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was scheduled to appear at a rally in the Ohio capital, Columbus.
Giuliani said Americans should vote for McCain because the Republican candidate will lower taxes and secure the nation. “I believe that America needs a president that all of the young people in the U.S. can look up to,” he said.
Speaking about incidents of corruption in Washington, McCain said, “I will clean up this mess and make you proud again.”
McCain will take a break from his visits to swing states to make an appearance November 1 on the popular comedy show Saturday Night Live. The show has become almost an expected campaign stop for politicians looking to reach a wide audience this election.
October 30
John McCain embarked on a two-day bus tour of Ohio — a state that played a key role in deciding the 2004 presidential election and a battleground state in 2008 as well. He began his day at a rally outside a school in the town of Defiance. News media outlets noted the name of the town was appropriate because McCain is trying to defy polls that indicate he is trailing his opponent in the state.
“My friends, we are going to carry Ohio and we are going to win the presidency and we need you out there working every single moment for the next five days,” McCain told the thousands of supporters who braved the wintry temperatures.
McCain said he would invest in alternative energies not just because it would help the environment, but because it would bring new jobs to states like Ohio, which has lost many jobs in recent years.
“We're going to build nuclear power plants. We can create 700,000 new jobs by building 45 new nuclear power plants. ... We will use clean coal technology. Clean coal technology will restore the economy of this part of the country,” the Republican candidate said.
October 29
Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin spoke to a group of employees at a solar panel manufacturing plant in Toledo, Ohio, about the future of U.S. energy policy. Throughout the campaign, Palin has said that her experience leading Alaska — a major oil-producing state — has prepared her to handle energy-related challenges.
“It’s been 30 years’ worth of failed energy policies in Washington, 30 years where we’ve had opportunities to become less reliant on foreign sources, and 30 years of failure in that area,” Palin said. “We must steer far clear of the errors and false assumptions that have marked the energy policies of nearly 20 Congresses and seven presidents.”
Later that day, Palin held a rally in nearby Bowling Green, where Ohio’s now famous “Joe the Plumber” made a brief appearance. Joe Wurzelbacher has been mentioned at many recent McCain campaign events as a symbol of the small business owner the Republican ticket says it will help if elected.
October 28
John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin visited an arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Republican ticket has held campaign rallies throughout the state numerous times in recent days, because the campaign believes the mid-Atlantic state’s 21 Electoral College votes are crucial to a potential victory.
"It's wonderful to fool the pundits, because we're going to win Pennsylvania on November 4," McCain said. Current Pennsylvania polls indicate he is trailing in the state.
Speaking about the economy, McCain said he would cut wasteful government spending. “I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs, like defense, veterans’ care, Social Security and health care, until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren't working for the American people.”
October 24
Speaking at a children's hospital in Pittsburgh, John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, unveiled her ticket's proposed plan for improving educational opportunities for children with disabilities. Palin is the mother of an infant with Down syndrome.
“Too often, even in our own day, children with special needs have been set apart and excluded,” Palin said. “This attitude is a grave disservice to these beautiful children, to their families, and to our country, and I will work to change it.” The Republican vice presidential candidate said a McCain administration would provide federal funds to help parents of children with special needs send their children to the school they feel is best.
Palin said a McCain administration would strengthen the National Institutes of Health to enable better research on cures for long-term disorders. In the short term, Palin said, “We're going to work on giving these families better information” so that they can better care for children with disorders like autism.
The McCain campaign has called Pennsylvania a “must-win” state.
October 22
At a rally in Findlay, Ohio, John McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, highlighted the Republican ticket’s proposed policies. “John and I will help our families keep their homes and help our retirees keep their savings,” Palin said. “We will help all of us be able to afford good health care. We're going to help our students pay for college.”
Palin said the McCain administration would lower income and business taxes, place a spending freeze on nonessential government programs and create new jobs in alternative energy industries.
“You can count on us to fulfill our promises. We will follow through. We're the only candidates in this race with a track record that shows that we can reform,” the Alaska governor said.
October 21
Speaking in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, John McCain said his ticket’s proposed tax cut is “the real thing.”
“We're going to double the child deduction for every family. We will cut the capital gains tax. And we will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American businesses in America,” he said.
The Republican candidate told voters in the swing state that it is important to have a president who is prepared to handle national security crises. “The next president won't have time to get used to the office. We face many challenges here at home, and many enemies abroad in this dangerous world.”
Focusing on the future, McCain said “we cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: hoping for our luck to change at home and abroad. We have to act. We need a new direction, and we have to fight for it.”
October 19
In Ohio, home state of the now famous “Joe the plumber,” John McCain reiterated his campaign message of protecting small businesses. Ohio is an important battleground state that played a pivotal role in selecting the 2004 presidential election winner. Polls consistently show the race in that state as a toss-up.
“I will keep small-business taxes where they are, help them keep their costs low and let them spend their earnings to create more jobs,” McCain said at a rally in Toledo.
Recent polls suggest McCain is trailing Obama, but the gap is narrowing. “We never give up; we never quit. Let’s go win this election and get this country moving again,” he told the crowd.
October 16
A day after Ohio plumber Joe Wurzelbacher became the unexpected star of the presidential debate, he continued to play a role on the campaign trail.
Wurzelbacher, a potential small business owner, had previously met Obama on the campaign trail. During their debate, both presidential candidates repeatedly mentioned how their policies would affect small business owners like Wurzelbacher, nicknamed “Joe the plumber.” (See “Final McCain-Obama Debate Most Contentious of the Three.”)
Speaking over shouts of “Joe! Joe! Joe!” at a rally in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, McCain said “the real winner last night was Joe the plumber.”
Reiterating a common campaign theme, McCain said, “small businesses provide 16 million jobs in America, and Americans know that raising taxes on small businesses will kill those jobs at a time when [we] need to be creating more jobs.”
Speaking about the importance of having an experienced leader while the United States fights wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, McCain said “the next President won't have time to get used to the office. … He will have to act immediately.”
October 14
A day after his opponent unveiled new economic proposals, McCain did the same in a speech in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. His $52.5 billion plan would eliminate taxes on unemployment benefits and lower tax rates on retirement accounts. He also called for reducing the business tax rate, saying this would increase employment.
“If I am elected president, I will help to create jobs for Americans in the most effective way a president can do this — with tax cuts that are directed specifically to create jobs and protect your life savings,” McCain said. “I will lead reforms to help families keep their homes, and retirees to keep their savings, and college students to pay their tuition, and every citizen to afford health care and America to reclaim its energy independence.”
Briefly addressing noneconomic issues, McCain said he would “stand up to defend our country from its enemies.”
“America is worth fighting for,” the Republican candidate said.
October 10
John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin spent a second day holding rallies in Wisconsin, a state that seems to be favoring Democratic candidate Barack Obama but could swing Republican.
“We need the state of Wisconsin in order to win this election,” McCain told supporters in La Crosse. “We’re the underdogs and we’re going to come from behind like we have every time in the past.” He reiterated his proposals for a housing rescue plan that would allow the U.S. Treasury to buy people’s current mortgages and replace them with restructured loans.
Speaking about wasteful government spending, the Republican candidate said he would “review every agency of the federal government, improve those that need to be improved and eliminate those that aren’t working for the American people. … I will confront the $10 trillion debt that the federal government has run up, and balance the federal budget by the end of my term in office.”
McCain reminded voters of his long tenure in the Senate. “The American people know my record. They know I am going to change Washington, because I’ve done it before,” he said.
October 8
Appearing with running mate Sarah Palin at a rally in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, John McCain spoke of his plan to help Americans pay their mortgages. The Republican presidential candidate introduced this plan during his debate with opponent Barack Obama October 7. His plan would call on the secretary of the Treasury to purchase bad mortgages and replace them with more manageable mortgages.
“The dream of owning a home should not be crushed under the weight of a bad mortgage,” McCain said. “The moment requires that government act – and as president I intend to act, quickly and decisively.”
In his speech, McCain said he has the leadership experience necessary to bring change to Washington. “We need change and I know how to deliver it,” he said. As president, McCain told Pennsylvania voters he would cut wasteful government spending, help students pay for college and work to slow rising food prices.
October 5
Many were surprised when Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin held a campaign rally in Omaha, Nebraska. Nebraska has voted solidly Republican for decades, so it rarely gets visitors from presidential campaigns this late in the election season.
Palin said it was her decision to visit the state’s largest city. “I asked to come to the heartland of America,” she told the crowd of about 3,000. But political experts suggest this was a calculated decision. Nebraska, along with Maine, awards its Electoral College votes by district. In hopes of winning this predominately urban district, the Barack Obama campaign has opened two offices in Omaha. The Obama campaign does not expect to win the entire state, but it is hoping to earn one Electoral College vote from Nebraska. The McCain campaign might be hoping that Palin’s visit will rally supporters and encourage them to show up at the polls in large numbers.
At the rally, Palin talked about the importance of achieving energy independence, because “the cost of energy can make the difference between turning a profit and losing the farm.” Speaking about the economy, Palin said, “John McCain is the only man in this race who will solve our economic crisis and not exploit it, and he's the only man in this race with a plan that will actually help our working families and cut our taxes and get our economy back on track.”
October 2
Republican officials said the McCain campaign is pulling out of the battleground state of Michigan — indicating it believes Senator Obama will likely win that state.
The campaign will stop running television ads and remove staff from Michigan, sending them to states where the campaign believes the Arizona senator has a better chance of victory. Political analysts suggest some of these resources will be put into states including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The campaign also announced it will run ads in Maine — a state not usually considered to be a battleground. But Maine awards its Electoral College votes by district, meaning a candidate does not necessarily have to win the most votes statewide in order to pick up an Electoral College vote. The campaign thinks McCain has a chance at winning the state’s northern, predominately rural, district. McCain’s campaign also is opening 12 new offices in Virginia.
October 1
McCain spoke with voters in Independence, Missouri — hometown of Democratic President Harry S. Truman.
Not only is Missouri a swing state, it has a fairly reliable history of picking the winner. Only once in the past 100 years has the state not voted for the winning candidate.
McCain spoke about the legislative proposal in Congress to shore up the U.S. financial system. McCain and his opponent — both senators — will return to Washington this evening to vote on a bill that “marks a decisive step in the right direction,” he said.
The Arizona senator stressed his record of bipartisanship. “Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That's how I will govern as president. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it,” he said.
September 29
In his first public appearance since the presidential debate September 26, McCain focused on American’s top concern this election: the economy.
“Times are tough for our economy, but I am confident America and Americans will emerge stronger than before. I will do my part. My commitment to the American people is this: I will clean up the Wall Street mess, reform Washington, and focus the entire federal government on a pro-growth agenda that creates jobs and gets this country back to work and back on track,” he said in at a campaign rally before several thousand in Columbus, Ohio.
As McCain spoke, the House of Representatives prepared to vote on legislation to shore up the U.S. financial system; the bill failed later that day. McCain reiterated his campaign message of the importance of working on tough issues in a bipartisan manner. “Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country,” he said.
September 27
McCain postponed his trip to Ohio to stay in Washington to focus on the financial crisis, but he addressed members of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance in Columbus via satellite.
McCain stressed the importance of supporting a rescue package that would help shore up the U.S. financial system.
“… [I]f we don’t deal with [the crisis] right now, by working together for the common good, then this crisis could turn into a far-reaching disaster for workers, businesses, retirees, and the American middle class. This is a moment of great testing, when the future of our economy is on the line,” he said.
