Subject: [big campaign] Tracking Update: McCain Town Hall Meeting Portsmouth, OH 07/09/08
From: "Cammie Croft" <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 17:13:02 -0400
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

Hello All,

Just off the phone with our tracker Sara who is on the ground today in
Portsmouth.  Below are the notes from our call.

*BIG HIGHLIGHTS:
*

   - Cindy McCain takes to the stump, says her husband is a man that can
   inspire young people
   - McCain said we need to stop accusing each other of a lack of patriotism
   (referring to Obama)
   - Woman who lost both her parents to cancer from the local nuclear
   factory in Piketon, OH asked McCain the first question about the safety of
   such a "toxic industry"
   - McCain asked about being a third term of Bush
   - MCain gives 'straight talk' to crying woman who is losing her job,
   saying it's 'in fact, unlikely' her job is coming back
   - During a question about No Child Left Behind, McCain said he his
   grateful he and Cindy had the 'money' to send his children to private
   schools; he quickly corrects the 'money' part
   - McCain calls 16 year old man "attractive"
   - McCain says he is afraid that if there's an outbreak of conflict with
   Iran that 'Americans will be drawn into it'

*Portsmouth, OH - McCain Town Hall Meeting 07/09/08
*(Disclaimer: The following are notes, not direct quotes. If you'd like a
quotable transcript or video of any part below, please email us.)
*
**Background Details:
*- 500+ people in attendance; venue filled to capacity, but no overflow
- Audience noticeably more enthusiastic and supportive of McCain than at
previous events
- Two large signs at venue reading "Southern Ohio Welcomes John McCain:
Reform, Prosperity, Peace"
- ONE and Divide We Fail in the audience
- One woman holding a 'No Nukes' sign; tracker did not see any other
demonstrators inside or outside event
- 8-10 local press people in attendance, plus pool camera and all the
national press
- Light security, tracker had no problem gaining entry
- Pre-event show included Rob Portman (former Ohio congressman) giving
remarks and warming up crowd, a local Reverend spoke, the American Legion
brought out flags, choir came on and sang patriotic songs (God Bless
America, etc.)
- Terry Johnson gave opening remarks
- Cindy McCain introduced McCain -- after saying he is a man that can
inspire young people.
*
FULL Remarks:
LINK: *
http://thepage.time.com/full-text-of-mccains-remarks-in-portsmouth-ohio/

Before I take your questions, I want to begin by talking about the issue in
this campaign that Americans worry the most about – the American economy.

All of us know what is happening to the economy. It is slowing. More than
400,000 people have lost their jobs since December, and the rate of new job
creation has fallen sharply. Americans are worried about the security of
their current job, and they're worried that they, their kids and their
neighbors may not find good jobs and new opportunities in the future. To
make matters worse, gas is over $4 a gallon and the price of oil has almost
doubled in the last year. The cost of everything from energy to food is
rising.

I have a plan to grow this economy, create more and better jobs, and get
America moving again. I have a plan to reform government, achieve energy
security, and ensure that healthcare is available and affordable for all. I
believe the role of government is to unleash the creativity, ingenuity and
hard work of the American people, and make it easier to create jobs.

At its core, the economy isn't the sum of an array of bewildering
statistics. It's about where Americans work, how they live, how they pay
their bills today and save for tomorrow. It's about small businesses opening
their doors, hiring employees and growing. It's about giving workers the
education and training to find a good job and prosper in it. It's about the
aspirations of the American people to build a better life for their
families; dreams that begin with a job.

There are many things the next president must do to get our economy running
at full strength again, and to create the good jobs Americans need. But no
economic challenge today is more urgent than strategic energy independence.

Our dangerous dependence on foreign oil has been thirty years in the making,
and was caused by the failure of politicians in Washington to think long
term about the future of the country. By 2030, America's demand for energy
will rise by nearly twenty percent. Our jobs, our way of life, and our
security depend on the next President beginning to solve this challenge.

Two weeks ago, I announced the Lexington Project. This project – named for a
place where Americans asserted our independence once before – will secure
our energy future, and it will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs for
Americans.

We have billions of barrels of oil available to us in the United States, and
vast reserves of natural gas as well. So we will begin by producing more of
both, to send a message to the market and result in lower prices for oil and
gas.

We will develop more clean energy. Nuclear power is the most dependable
source of zero-emission energy we have. We will build at least 45 nuclear
plants that will create over 700,000 good jobs to construct and operate
them.

The development of clean coal technology will create jobs in some of
America's most economically disadvantaged areas. Clean coal demonstration
projects alone will employ over 30,000 Americans. Ohioans get 86 percent of
all their electricity from coal. Your energy future and this economy require
us to find and deploy a clean coal technology.

My proposal to help automakers design and sell new generations of cars that
don't depend on gasoline will re-invigorate that struggling industry. In the
development and manufacture of hybrid, flex-fuel, and electric cars, jobs
will grow at auto plants, parts manufacturers, and in the communities that
support them.

My plan to develop wind and solar power and renewable technologies will
drive innovation and create high tech jobs. Ohio alone has more than 60
companies in the wind turbine supply chain, and wind and solar energy can
become a research mission for the state's universities, and a new focus for
Ohio's manufacturing base.

My opponent's answer to the Lexington Project is no; no to more drilling; no
to more nuclear power; no to research prizes that help solve the problem of
affordable electric cars. For a guy whose "official seal" carried the motto,
"Yes, we can," Senator Obama's agenda sure has a whole lot of "No, we
can't."

To achieve full economic recovery, we need to think as well about the
leading job creators in America. Small businesses have created 233,000 jobs
so far this year while other sectors are losing jobs. Small businesses are
the job engine of America, and I will make it easier for them to grow and
create more jobs. My opponent wants to make it harder by imposing a
healthcare mandate on small business that will add a crushing $12,000 to the
cost of employing anyone with a family. That means new jobs will not be
created, existing jobs will be cut, and small-business employees who keep
their jobs will likely have their wages cut to pay for this mandate. My plan
attacks the real problems of health care – cost, availability and
portability.

We also need to keep the IRS from taking more of your income and making life
harder for small business. If you believe you should pay more taxes, I am
the wrong candidate for you. Senator Obama is your man. The choice in this
election is stark and simple. Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won't,
because jobs are the most important thing our economy creates. And when you
raise taxes in a bad economy you eliminate jobs. I'm not going to let that
happen.

If you are one of the 23 million small business owners in America who files
as an individual rate payer, Senator Obama is willing to raise your tax
rates. If you have an investment for your child's education or own a mutual
fund or a stock in a retirement plan, your taxes could be higher. He will
raise estate taxes to 45 percent. I propose to cut them to 15 percent. And
for those of you with children, I will double the child deduction from
$3,500 to $7,000 for every dependent, in every family in America.

My opponent also believes America would be better off by foregoing
opportunities to sell in growing foreign markets. I disagree. Twenty-five
percent of all jobs in this country are linked to world trade. In just five
states – Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Colorado – over five
million jobs depend on open markets. To promote job creation, I will expand
foreign markets for our goods and services.

Because the vast benefits of a global marketplace come at a cost for many,
we have an obligation to help our workers receive the training they need
when plants close and jobs are lost. Under my reforms, we will use our
community colleges to help train workers for specific opportunities in their
hometowns. And for older workers who have lost a job that won't come back,
if they move rapidly to a new job we'll help make up the difference in wages
between their old job and the new one.

To promote job creation, we must also get government's fiscal house in
order. Government has grown by 60 percent in the last eight years, because
this Congress and this Administration have failed to meet their
responsibilities. When I'm president, I will order a stem to stern review of
government, modernize how it does business and save billions of dollars. I
will veto every single bill with wasteful spending. We aren't going to
continue mortgaging this country's future for things Americans don't want or
need.

My opponent has a very different record on this issue. He voted for an
energy bill stuffed with give-aways to oil companies at a time of record
profits. I voted against it. He supported the $300 billion pork-laden
agricultural subsidy bill. I opposed it. As for earmark spending, I have
never asked for a single earmark in my entire career. In his Senate career,
Senator Obama has requested some $930 million for earmark projects. That
comes to more than a million dollars in pork for every working day since he
became a United States Senator. There is never a good time to put your
parochial and political interests above those of the nation – and least of
right now, during an economic downturn.

For many, it is a very tough time. But my friends, we've been through worse,
and beaten longer odds. Even in these difficult days, we must believe in
ourselves. Nothing is inevitable in America. We've always been the captains
of our fate. All you've ever asked of government is that it stand on your
side, not in your way. I intend to do just that: to stand on your side; to
help business and not government create jobs; to fight for your future and
not the personal ambitions of politicians and bureaucrats.

We have much work to do if we are to end the self-interested partisanship
that prevents us from fixing problems that need to be fixed and changing
government to keep this country prosperous and at peace. I make you one
promise I will always keep, no matter what.

In war and peace, I have been an imperfect servant of my country. But I have
been her servant first, last and always. Whenever I faced an important
choice between my country's interests or my own interests, party politics or
any special interest, I chose my country. Nothing has ever mattered more to
me than the honor of serving America, and nothing ever will. If you elect me
President, I will always put our country first. I will put its greatness;
its prosperity and peace; and the hopes and concerns of the people who make
it great before any personal or partisan interest. I will keep that promise
every hour of every day I am in office. And I will ask you to help me
convince Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to keep that promise as well.
There is nothing beyond our ability to achieve. We are Americans, and we
don't hide from history. We make history. All we need is to believe in
ourselves as we always have, and to cherish the beautiful country we are so
blessed to call home.

*Question and Answer:*
1 Q) [holding a no nukes sign] My father worked at the Piketon plant and him
and my mother died of cancer.  I want to clean-up the area.  I don't want
other people to work in a very toxic industry.
MCCAIN: I believe that nuclear power is and can be safe.  As you know, I've
served in the Navy.  And we've sailed nuclear ships around the world for 60
years -- and there's no report of people getting sick.  I know about Three
Mile Island and Chernobyl.  I do believe nuclear power is safe.  I think
other energy sources aren't safe -- greenhouse gas emissions are also
harming us.  The evidence I have is that nuclear power is safe and nuclear
energy needs to be part of our solution.
FOLLOW-UP:  Workers going into the plant need to be protected.  I've
contacted the authorities on this matter and no one is getting back to me.
MCCAIN: One, I will take information from you and two, I will try to help
track down that information for you.  I'll be back in contact with you.  And
again, please accept my sympathy for the loss of your mother and father.  I
promise you I will learn and read the information you send me.

2 Q) [College Student] What's your stance on TRIO funding -- it's support
for the upper-bound programs for college.
MCCAIN: Yes.  I strongly support it.

MCCAIN: Thanks members of Divided We Fail.

3 Q) [Divided We Fail member] Health care is a major issue for every
American -- especially here in rural Appalachia.  Also the issue of
financial security for all of us in our older years -- but young people
too.  I like your bipartisan approach to things.  Can you talk about that?
MCCAIN: Americans are sick and tired of being sick and tired of the partisan
politics in Washington.  The approval rating of Congress is now in the
single digits -- 9%.  The last time Social Security was on the brink of
disaster, what happened?  There was a liberal Democrat, Tip O'Neil and
Ronald Reagan sat down at a table together and worked it out.  And the fixed
Social Security for awhile.  And that's what Americans want to happen.  I
will sit down with Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi.  It's time to put
partisanship behind and get things done.  We will sit down together and fix
that system.  I have a history of reaching across the aisle.

MCCAIN: One other organization here I'd like to highlight -- ONE.

4 Q) [ONE volunteer] Thank you Mr. McCain and your wife Cindy.  We have
60,000 members in OH dedicated to the issue of global poverty.  You played a
huge role in helping us pass legislation.  You spoke about malaria - what
will you do to make eradicating malaria a priority as president?
MCCAIN: I'd like to commend this administration for their work to eliminate
AIDS in Africa.  I would obviously support organizations like yours and
others.  Also, clean water -- that's important.  I believe when the
economy's of these nations are better, they will be able to solve their
problems better.  I commend ONE.

5 Q) Divorce rates are high and marriage rates are low.  How can we fix our
economy if we can't even fix our families?
MCCAIN: I think that families are the foundation and strength of our
nation.  The two-parent family organization, statistics show are better.
The president did a good job with his faith-based program.  But I also think
we need to protect the rights of the born and the unborn.  It's one of the
big differences between me and my opponent. Obama voted against a
partial-birth abortion ban.  Every life is precious and there's a family in
America for every child.  If we inspire Americans to serve a cause greater
than their self-interest, I think its obvious that families and America is
strengthened because of it.  I do think all the time how we can strengthen
our values and nation -- but I'll think more about it now because or your
question.

6 Q) We hear that you're not the third-term of Bush.  I know you're not.
When are you going to say, read my lips I am not the third term of Bush?
MCCAIN: I've agreed and disagreed with the president.  I respect him.  But I
believe we need change.  We have to stop the out of control spending --
pork-barrel spending.  It's your money, not our money.  I will veto all
those bills and make famous those sponsoring them.
When this war was conducted and we succeeding initially, I went over there
and said things aren't working.  We need a new strategy.  And that wasn't
popular.  And I said, I'd much rather lose a political campaign than a war.
[standing ovation]  We've got a strategy that is working, a great general
and the best men and women fighting.  If we set a date of withdrawal, we
could erase all of our success.  We should realize the benefits of winning.
Our troops should come home, but with victory and honor, not in defeat.
Senator Obama has said now after 900 days he is going to Iraq.  I'm glad
he's finally going and finally sitting down with the commander.  I offered
to go with him.  We do not want a situation where we have to send our
soldiers back again because we haven't seen this through.

7 Q) I never knew a farmer to ask for a handout.  Why don't we take the
restrictions off the farmers and not pay them subsidies not to grow?
MCCAIN: I'm with you.  Congress just passed a bill with tons of money for
asparagus subsidies and ethanol subsidies.  I voted against that, Obama
voted for it.  It's hard to vote against something called the Farm Bill
because we all love farmers.  But as president, I would veto that bill.
We need to repeal the death tax.  Farmers should be able to hand down their
farms.

8 Q) How can we speed up the process to get relief from gas prices?
MCCAIN: We need to lift the ban on offshore drilling.  Can we get it
immediately?  No.  Some say it could take 5-10 years, but imagine if we had
started it 5-10 years ago.  Clean coal we need to do.  And nuclear power,
the French are doing it and it's working for them.  We should not be sending
700 billion dollars a year overseas and sometimes to terrorist
organizations.  This is a national security issue.

9 Q) [hospice founder] DHL is closing that airpark -- we're losing 80,000
jobs.  [crying] Will you investigate this?  Will you come to Wilmington and
accept our petition with 10,000 signatures?
MCCAIN: This is a terrible blow. I believe it was 8,600 jobs.  If there are
anti-trust issues associated with this, I will have that investigated
fully.  We have to offer people the opportunity of job training programs
I gotta look you in the eye and give you some straight talk -- I don't know
if I can stop this, in fact it's unlikely.  But we have to give people
another opportunity and give them programs to retrain for other jobs.  We
need to retrain the workers that need it and deserve it.  My heart goes out
to you.

10 Q ) What is your feeling about No Child Left Behind?
MCCAIN: Cindy was in special education -- that honest line of work before I
took her out.  Thank you for being a teacher.  I think that NCLB needs to be
fixed.  However, I think it was the right beginning.  I think we need to be
able to test and measure performance across the board.  I think we need to
have goals and measure that.  But we also need to fund the things that
aren't being funding -- like special education.  I'm for choice and
competition.  We had the money to send our children to private school.  I
want every American to have a choice.  Charter schools are good.
Competition is good.

11 Q) Proud to be a navy guy like you.  Do you agree with the timetable it
takes for a veteran to get his benefits?
MCCAIN: Clarify please.
QUESTIONER: Details injuries from Iraq.  As of today, I get medically
disqualified for jobs now and I am only 40% qualified to get my benefits.
MCCAIN: Walter-Reid situation -- we passed legislation after that to fix the
problems there.  I believe it's going to take awhile to implement those
changes.  And we should be taking care of our soldiers for the sacrifices
that they've made for us.

12 Q) You are trying to inspire college students, young people.  I come from
a small school where the College Republican's have shrunk because they are
not happy with the direction of the party.  How can you address the concerns
of the people of my age?
MCCAIN: A lot of Republicans are upset because of the out of control
spending.  The first thing I need to do is go to the venues where the young
people are.  And then, use as effectively as possible -- we have a lot of
work to do -- use the internet effectively because that is where young
people are communicating.  There's nothing that convinces young people like
other young people.  I understand the challenge we face.  And this election
about your generation -- and I believe I have the inspiration that young
people are looking for.

13 Q) Thank you Senator for the opportunity.  PENAC - wrote a document.  Can
you tell us about your role in the organization related to PENAC and is this
... [9-11 conspiracy question] ...?
MCCAIN: Lieberman and I sponsored legislation to make a commission to assist
with the 9-11 aftermath.  I am proud of what the 9-11 commission did.  I
will stand by their recommendations and conclusions and I am proud to have
been one of those who established the 9-11 commission.

14 Q) I'm a school bus driver.  I paid into a pension plan.  My husband
worked and paid into Social Security.  He's passed and now I can't afford to
retire, because I'm not going to get social security.  Do you think that's
fair?
MCCAIN: No you should not have to be penalized because of the death of your
husband.  Please accept my sympathy for your husband's passing.

15 Q) Can we take Ahmadejinad seriously? Would you consider a 16 year old
running mate?
MCCAIN: If he is as attractive and articulate as you, then yes.  I worry
that the president of Iran's comments are not just crazy talk.  We all know
they just tested a missile.  I worry when any leader says they want to wipe
Israel off the map.  They are sending into Iraq the most explosive devices
to kill our young men and women.  We should enact sanctions against the
Iranians.  If there's an outbreak of conflict, I worry that Americans will
be drawn into it.  I'm all for diplomacy.  I'm not going to sit down with
the head of Iran until he adheres to certain conditions.  If anyone is
concerned that we don't have communications with Iran -- that is not a
problem.  We have an ambassador that speaks to them.

*Conclusion*
Ohio is a battleground state.  I gotta be hear a lot -- I need your help and
support.  We need to drive around this state and stop in every town.  You
can help me in that.  I will never let you down.  And I will always, always
put you first.

-- 
Cammie L. Croft
Tracking/Media Monitoring Director
Progressive Accountability Office
[email-masked]
202-609-7679 (office)
206-999-3064 (cell)

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