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McCain Touts Military Roots, Fiscal Conservatism

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Bianca
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« on: January 24, 2008, 09:06:03 am »








                                    McCain touts military roots, fiscal conservatism





BY LLOYD DUNKELBERGER
HERALD-TRIBUNE
CAPITAL BUREAU

PENSACOLA -- Standing in front of a giant American flag in a junior college gym filled with veterans, John McCain was ready to rally his troops.

"I love it here -- some great memories," he said, joking that he had spent considerable time in the local "cultural establishments" while he was a young officer.

The Republican senator from Arizona was at ease. His military roots run deep in the state. He trained as a pilot at the Pensacola Naval Air Station -- like his grandfather did before him. His family waited for him in Orange Park while he was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years.

But now the state that helped shape McCain's decorated military career is in a position to define his political destiny.

At the rally Tuesday at the Pensacola Junior College gymnasium, McCain was clearly relying on his military past to boost his presidential prospects. It is a message he hopes will resonate in a state with 1.7 million veterans.

"You look across the state of Florida, by any measurement, you look at veterans, you look at active duty personnel, you look at military bases, you look at defense establishments," he told the crowd. "From here to Key West, Florida, it's one of the most patriotic states in America."

McCain also needs the veterans and other conservative voters in the Florida Panhandle in order to be successful in next Tuesday's presidential primary where he is facing a serious challenge from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Chesley Singleton is one of those voters, and the 69-year-old retiree who spent 20 years in the Navy said McCain impressed him.

"He knows more about the military than the rest of them," Singleton said. He said he liked McCain's forthrightness and his opposition to excessive government spending.

He scoffed at any suggestion that McCain is too old to lead the country.

"I'm 69," he said. "I still play golf, go fishing and tend to the grand young 'uns."

But McCain's vigor and military background may not be enough to offset questions from some Republican voters about his "conservative" credentials heading into a primary where only Republicans vote. Florida's closed primary, the first so far in the campaign, may undercut McCain's ability to reach out to independent voters as he has done in other states, including New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Some have questioned his opposition to President Bush's tax cuts -- which McCain said he opposed because they were not coupled with spending cuts. Some do not like his support for providing a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Some do not like the fact that McCain has allied himself with Democrats on key issues, including Sen. Ted Kennedy on immigration and Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold on campaign-financing reforms.

Even McCain's supporters sometimes have their doubts. C.S. Hall, who served with McCain at Cecil Field in Jacksonville during the mid-1970s, said he likes almost everything McCain has done, although he questions the senator's immigration stand. "I'm not too hot on that," he said.

But few doubt McCain's steadfast support for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And it was a theme he emphasized Tuesday, saying he has the experience to lead the country in what could be a long and difficult fight against "radical Islamic extremism." He peppered his 26-minute speech with tough promises such as if elected president he will get Osama bin Laden "even if I have to follow him to the gates of hell."

On a more compassionate note, McCain, who suffered serious injuries as prisoner of war, also promised to vastly improve health care for the veterans, saying they should have more "choice" in medical treatment rather than relying solely on the Veterans Administration system.

McCain also talked about the slumping economy.

He said he supports President Bush's economic stimulus plan, while outlining some of his own proposals including a cut in corporate taxes and more tax breaks aimed at encouraging new business investment and research and development efforts.

But he also said Washington needs to do a better job of cutting its spending, which he said is "completely out of control."

Virginia Sen. John Warner said McCain's record as a fiscal watchdog should offset any criticism that he is not conservative enough for mainstream Republicans.

"He couldn't win a personality contest in the Senate tomorrow because he's in there constantly cutting back wasteful government spending," Warner said. "That's the true heart of conservatism."

McCain has also earned admirers and detractors for what he calls his "straight talk." Warner called it "telling it like it is, whether it would damage him politically or otherwise.

"People are looking for that in this troubled world today," Warner said.

McCain's willingness to buck convention is exemplified by his opposition to a national catastrophe fund, which is supported by Gov. Charlie Crist and other Florida leaders as a way to reduce the skyrocketing cost of property insurance in the state. In contrast, Giuliani has made the catastrophe fund one of the centerpieces of his Florida campaign.

But McCain said the national fund would be too expensive, and he favors a different approach that would include improving the Federal Emergency Management Agency and bolstering the insurance market, such as letting consumers buy insurance policies across state lines.

Wearing the Army hat that he wore in Vietnam in 1968-69, Richard Vaughn, 69, said although he was "not too fond" of the McCain-Feingold bill, he heard "more than enough" from McCain on Tuesday, particularly his pledges to help take care of veterans and "building a strong military."

McCain said voters like Vaughn would "have a major role in deciding who the next president of the United State is."

He also made them a promise. "I won't let you down," he said.
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