Message from Senator McCain

Here is a message from Senator John McCain:

Cindy and I would like to take a moment to thank you for your loyal and steadfast support during the course of this campaign. Governor Palin, her husband Todd, our families, friends and campaign staff extend our deep appreciation for your tireless dedication, support and friendship.

It is the end of a long journey and your support through the ups and downs has meant more to us than you may ever know.

Although we were disappointed with the results, we must move beyond this campaign and work together to get our country moving again.

It is our sincere hope that you will join us in putting our country first and continue to work to keep our nation safe, free and prosperous.

We urge you to join us in not just congratulating Senator Obama, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together as a nation. Whatever our differences may be, we are all fellow Americans.

We are truly blessed to live in this great country and call ourselves Americans, and we will forever be her loyal servants.

Today, let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

With warm gratitude,
Cindy and John McCain

You can read Senator McCain's election night remarks here.

Mississippi For McCain

Mississippi went for McCain, but unfortunately, not enough of the rest of the country did.

Unofficial Mississippi Popular Vote
684,475 - McCain (57%)
517,899 - Obama (43%)

Unofficial National Popular Vote
63,507,799 - Obama (52%)
56,151,858 - McCain (46%)

Thank you Mississippi for doing your part!

I Am Joe

The Choice Is Clear

The Mac is Back!

Freedom

Obama Praising McCain

Campaign Manager Update

To: Interested Parties
From: Rick Davis, Campaign Manager
Date: October 31, 2008
RE: The Final Push

The State of the Campaign

If your television is tuned to cable news as frequently as ours are here at campaign headquarters, you have seen the pundits say John McCain and his campaign are done. And, if you've followed this race since the beginning, this is clearly a song you've heard before. I wanted to take some time today to give you some insight on the state of the race as we see it.

An AP poll released this morning revealed a very telling fact: ONE out of every SEVEN voters is undecided. That means, if 130 million voters turn out on Tuesday, 18.5 million of them have yet to make up their mind. With that many votes on the table and the tremendous movement we've seen in this race, I believe we are in a very competitive campaign.

Here's why:

All the major polls have shown a tightening in the race and a significant narrowing of the numbers. In John McCain's typical pattern, he is closing strong and surprising the pundits. We believe this race is winnable, and if the trajectory continues, we will surpass the 270 Electoral votes needed on Election Night.

National Polls: Major polls last week showed John McCain trailing by double-digit margins - but by the middle of this week, we were within the margin of error on four national tracking surveys. In fact, the Gallup national tracking survey showed the race in a virtual tie 2 days this week.

State Polls:

Iowa - Our numbers in Iowa have seen a tremendous surge in the past 10 days. We took Obama's lead from the double digits to a very close race. That is why you see Barack Obama visiting the state in the final days, trying to stem his losses. It is too little, too late. Like many other Midwestern states, Iowa is moving swiftly into McCain's column.

The Southwest - It is no secret that Republican candidates in the Southwest have to focus on winning over enough Latino and Hispanic voters in Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado to carry them to victory. John McCain has overcome challenges Republicans face, and has made up tremendous ground in these states with these voters. For these voters, the choice has become clear, and you have seen a big change in the numbers. John McCain is now winning enough voters to perform within the margin of error - putting these states within reach.

Colorado - Barack Obama tried to outspend our campaign in Colorado during the early weeks of October and finish off our candidate in Colorado. However, after our visit early this week, we saw a tremendous rebound in our poll position, and Colorado is back on the map.

Ohio and Pennsylvania - Everyone knows that vote rich Ohio and Pennsylvania will be key battlegrounds for this election. Between the two: 41 electoral votes and no candidate has gotten to the White House without Ohio. Senator McCain and Governor Palin have been campaigning non-stop in these key battleground states and tonight Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has pumped up our campaign at a rally in Columbus. Our position in these states is strong and undecided voters continue to have a very favorable impression of our candidate.
Obama campaign faces tremendous structural challenges in the final days of this campaign

Obama has a challenge hitting 50%: Barack Obama has not reached the 50% threshold in almost any the battleground state. He consistently is performing in the 45-48% range. When we look closely at the primary votes, we see a history of a candidate whose Election Day performance is often at or behind his final polling numbers. If this is true, our surge will leave Obama with even or under 50% of the vote on Election Day.

Early Vote:

The Obama campaign has promised that their early vote and absentee efforts will change the composition of the electorate. They have sold the press on a story that first time voters will turn out in droves this election cycle. Again, the facts undermine their argument. In our analysis of early voting and absentee votes to date: The composition of the electorate has not changed significantly and most folks who have voted early are high propensity voters who would have voted regardless of the high interest in this campaign.

Expanding the Field:

Obama is running out of states if you follow out a traditional model. Today, he expanded his buy into North Dakota, Georgia and Arizona in an attempt to widen the playing field and find his 270 Electoral Votes. This is a very tall order and trying to expand into new states in the final hours shows he doesn't have the votes to win.
The Final Barnstorm

On Monday, we will have a 14 state rally with our candidates crisscrossing the country trying to turn out our voters and sway the final undecided voters. Governor Palin will hit Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada and Alaska in the final day of campaigning, while Senator McCain will travel from Tampa, Florida, to Virginia, then Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico, Nevada and finish the night in Prescott, Arizona. The enthusiasm and excitement we generate on Monday will be the electricity that powers our "Get Out the Vote" efforts on Tuesday.
On the Ground

Our field organization has tremendous energy and is out-performing the Bush campaign at the same time in 2004. This week our field organization crossed a huge threshold and began reaching more than one million voters per day, and by week's end will have contacted more than 5 million voters. Our phone centers are full and our rate of voter contact is significantly out-pacing the Bush campaign in 2004. We have the resources to do the voter contact necessary to support the surge we are seeing in our polling with old fashioned grassroots outreach.

On the Airwaves:

In the final days of the campaign, our television presence will be bigger and broader than the Obama campaign's presence. The full Republican effort - the RNC's Independent Expenditure and the McCain campaign will out-buy Barack Obama and the Democrats by just about 10 million dollars.

In short:

The McCain campaign is surging in the final 72 hours. Our grassroots campaign is vibrant and communicating to voters in a very powerful way. Our television presence is strong. And, we have a secret ingredient - A candidate who will never quit and who will never stop fighting for you and for your families.

Joe The Plumber

Volunteer & Palin Conference Call

**Make Phone Calls To Battleground States From Home**

If you have twenty minutes to make twenty calls from home, you can make a difference. Go to this link www.johnmccain.com/PhoneBank and you can get the names, numbers, and script necessary to volunteer from home.

**Volunteers Needed for 72 Hour Operations**

The race for the White House is coming down to the wire. With less than a week until Election Day, the McCain-Palin ticket needs your immediate help to ensure victory. We are urging Mississippi supporters to come to the battleground states of Florida and North Carolina to volunteer. We need an army of grassroots volunteers in Florida and North Carolina during the final 72 hour Get Out the Vote effort.

Signup Today:

John McCain has fought for America his entire life; join his campaign in fighting for the future of our country over these final six days. If you have interest in going to Florida or North Carolina to volunteer, please send an email to either fldeployment@johnmccain.com or ncdeployment@johnmccain.com. We ask that you provide the following information in your email: Name, Town and County of Residence, Phone Number (Home, Work, Cell), Email Address, Dates You Are Interested in Volunteering.

**Join Super Saturday and Sarah Palin Conference Call**

Last week's McCain Nation Super Saturday house parties were a great success. Our supporters across the country made calls and knocked on doors to get-out-the-vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin. The mainstream media's polls are getting tight and we're encouraged at our momentum.

This Saturday, November 1st, join Governor Sarah Palin on the kick-off conference call at noon Central Time. Governor Palin will join us from the campaign trail and give us a quick update on the state of the campaign and take caller questions.

You can sign up to host or attend a Super Saturday event at www.johnmccain.com/mccainnation. Super Saturday participants will be able to jump on an exclusive conference call with Governor Sarah Palin.

The polls show our team gaining ground across the country and in critical swing states. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines, now is the time to re-double our efforts to win on Election Day.

McCain Leads Obama; Wicker Leads Musgrove

The Mobile Press Register reported a poll on Sunday that puts John McCain leading Barack Obama in Mississippi 46% to 33%; and Roger Wicker leading Ronnie Musgrove 45% to 32%. Now Rasmussen Reports, which encourages undecided respondents to make a choice, has released a poll showing McCain leading Obama 53% to 45% and Wicker leading Musgrove 54% to 43%.

Barbour Campaigns for McCain in Virginia

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is campaigning in Virginia for John McCain. Former Governor Ray Mabus is doing the same for Barack Obama. Can there be any better illustration?

Barbour connects with the gun shooting, pickup driving, whiskey drinking, church going, Southern voter. Mabus is the Mississippi Obama: elitist. He connects with the cheese eating, Lexus cruising, wine tasting, Ivy League, liberal types.

Please, Savus from Mabus again!

Former Sen. George Allen, R-Va., and Todd Palin, husband of McCain running mate Sarah Palin, have stumped along Virginia’s North Carolina and Tennessee state lines, including Sunday’s NASCAR race in Martinsville.

Mississippi’s Republican governor, Haley Barbour, joined Allen on Monday, and Barbour campaigned Tuesday in coal country with former Virginia Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore.

“My impression is there aren’t a whole lot of undecideds out here,” Barbour said in a telephone interview.

After weeks of bad news about the economy that had hurt McCain, Barbour said he didn’t expect crowds at McCain events in Virginia to be as large or loud as they were — “stronger than an acre of garlic,” as he put it in his deep drawl.

The area where Barbour campaigned, Virginia’s 9th Congressional District, blends pro-gun, Bible Belt social conservatism with defiant, United Mine Workers labor activism.

Phone Bank From Home

You want to do something that makes a difference in this race from Mississippi? You can phone bank from home into battleground states using campaign provided materials and targeted names and phone numbers. You can make a difference in this campaign, an hour a night, from your house.

Last month, our campaign launched a grassroots effort to put you in touch with voters all across the country through our online phone bank. As Senator Barack Obama spends millions of dollars bombarding voters with negative and misleading information about John McCain, we need your help to fight back and expose Barack Obama's tax and spend liberal record. Can you set aside a couple of hours each week to make calls for John McCain and Sarah Palin? You are the most effective surrogate we have in this campaign. By reaching out to undecided voters, one by one, you are taking a crucial step towards victory.

Follow this link today to make calls: www.JohnMcCain.com/PhoneBank

Volunteer for Florida, North Carolina

The McCain-Palin Campaign is looking for volunteers from Mississippi to deploy to Florida or North Carolina for the final days of the campaign.

Can you come to Florida or North Carolina for a day, a weekend, a week, or the final 72 hours of the campaign?

If you are interested in deploying to Florida or North Carolina at your own expense, please e-mail sedeployment@johnmccain.com and provide the following information in your email:

Name
Town and County of Residence
Phone Number (Home, Work, Cell)
Email Address
Dates You are Interested in Volunteering
Preferred Location in FL or NC

I deployed for Bush 2004 to south Florida and let me tell you, in addition to the excitement of working on a campaign, the day after the election it is still warm enough to get in the ocean. I imagine that the mountains of North Carolina would also be a beautiful place to go work.

From Neo-Con to Cruncy-Con

My column in the Madison County Journal this week discusses whether John McCain could be the second "crunchy-con" president. Here are some excerpts.

On the second day of the Republican National Convention in Minnesota, delegates watched a video tribute to Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. From charging with the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War, to hunting with Holt Collier in the Mississippi Delta, to his iconic graving onto Mount Rushmore, Roosevelt is one of America's more storied leaders. His biography speaks well to Republicans promoting John McCain and Sarah Palin: a war hero who fought against special interests; a former police commissioner who fired bad cops, he was elected governor before joining the Republican ticket as vice-president.

The Roosevelt video reminded me of conversations with Republican friends in canoes floating down rivers: fishing, swimming, and enjoying our country's natural resources. Roosevelt is considered by some the father of national park system because of his conservation vision. I consider him the first Crunchy Con President.

Dreher released the book, "Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party)."

Dreher writes this thumbnail of the Crunchy Con Manifesto: "We are conservatives who stand outside the conservative mainstream; therefore, we can see things that matter more clearly. Modern conservatism has become too focused on money, power, and the accumulation of stuff, and insufficiently concerned with the content of our individual and social character. Big business deserves as much skepticism as big government. Culture is more important than politics and economics. A conservatism that does not practice restraint, humility, and good stewardship - especially of the natural world - is not fundamentally conservative. Small, Local, Old, and Particular are almost always better than Big, Global, New, and Abstract. Beauty is more important than efficiency. The relentlessness of media-driven pop culture deadens our senses to authentic truth, beauty, and wisdom. We share Russell Kirk's conviction that 'the institution most essential to conserve is the family.'"

McCain often references Theodore Roosevelt as his favorite President and carries his campaign and ideology with a similar maverick sentiment and environmental commitment. But, many Crunchy Cons see themselves more at home with someone like Ron Paul (for whatever reason) or in third parties like the Constitution Party.

McCain's similarities to Roosevelt are not merely symbolic. It will be interesting to see if those Republican delegates from Minnesota and counter-culture conservatives will unite to elect a second Crunchy Con president.

Read the full column here: PERRY/A 'crunchy con' president?

Mississippi McCains

Luke Fowler wrote in Sunday's Clarion Ledger about Senator John McCain's family connections to Mississippi. Here are some excerpts.

Mother's Side:

His mother's side of the family first settled in northeast Mississippi in the late 18th century. Sometime around the year 1800, James Howard (Sen. McCain's maternal great-great-great-great grandfather) moved from South Carolina to Pontotoc County.

In 1851, Nancy Adeline Atkins (Sen. McCain's great grandmother) was born; she remained in Alcorn County her entire life, starting a family with her husband, Franklin Alexander Wright of Muscle Shoals, Ala. In 1875, Nancy Wright gave birth to Archibald (Sen. McCain's maternal grandfather) in the village of Kossuth.

Archibald was the first member of Sen. McCain's maternal family to leave Mississippi. In about 1900, Archibald made his way to Indian Territory near present day Oklahoma where he made a fortune in oil. While in Muskogee, Okla., Archibald's wife gave birth to twins in 1912, one of whom was Roberta (Sen. McCain's mother). Roberta later married John Sidney McCain Jr., the senator's future father who also had strong ties to Mississippi.

Father's Side:

On his father's side, the first generation of McCain's family to move to Mississippi arrived in the mid 1800s. Mary Scales of Rockingham County, N.C., married Joseph McCain of Scotland in 1807 (Sen. McCain's great-great-great grandparents). After 33 years of marriage, Joseph died in 1840; Mary moved with her children to Tallahatchie County.

Her son, William Alexander McCain (Sen. McCain's great-great grandfather), died fighting for the Confederate States of America in the 5th regiment of the Mississippi Cavalry in the Civil War in 1863.

In 1851, the first John Sidney McCain (Sen. McCain's great grandfather), known as J.S., was born on Teoc. He served as sheriff of Carroll County and later as president of the county's board of supervisors.

John Sidney McCain's brother, Henry Pickney McCain (Sen. McCain's great-great uncle), attended the U.S. Military Academy, retiring as a major general in the U. S. Army. Major General McCain is actually the "McCain" for whom Camp McCain, the Mississippi National Guard training site in Grenada County is named.

In 1884, in rural Carroll County, John Sidney McCain Sr. (Sen. McCain's grandfather) was born. McCain Sr., the first McCain to leave Mississippi, attended the University of Mississippi before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Camp McCain:

Camp McCain is a Mississippi National Guard training site. Covering more than 13,000 acres in Grenada County, it was named in honor of the "fighting" McCains of Carroll County, and principally Major Gen. Henry P. McCain. Opening in 1942 as a 42,000-acre site, the 87th and 94th Army Divisions trained there before being sent to combat in Europe. At its peak, Camp McCain trained as many as 50,000 men simultaneously.

In addition to training, Camp McCain served as a prisoner of war camp for German soldiers during World War II, one of four in Mississippi. At the height of its POW camp status, it held more than 7,500 German prisoners and administered the POW camp in addition to its training function.

After being deactivated in 1947, Camp McCain has found new life in the 1960s as an Army National Guard training site. By the 1970s, facilities for the housing of 1,200 troops were completed.

In 1984, an additional 4,500 acres were added to the existing perimeter, a road network was expanded and improved; in the late 1980s, 10 modern weapons ranges were constructed.

Camp McCain is not what Mississippians think about when they consider significant military installations in the state. But the state benefits significantly from appropriations directed specifically for the improvement of Camp McCain - more than $10 million in the 21st century alone.

Read the full article here: McCain in Mississippi: GOP nominee a descendent of Carroll County's 'Fighting McCains'

Volunteer Phone Calls from Home

You can make volunteer phone calls on behalf of the McCain-Palin Campaign from your own home. Reaching out to undecided voters is vital to spreading the word that John McCain and Governor Palin are the right choice for voters all across America. That's why the campaign is asking you to take a few minutes or even a free evening to make calls for John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. Visit www.JohnMcCain.com/PhoneBank to get started today.

Volunteer Deployment for McCain-Palin

For those who are ready, willing and able to pack a suitcase and hit the road for voter turnout in a target state, Volunteer Deployment is for you. The McCain-Palin Campaign is recruiting McCain Marshals and McCain Mavericks to deploy to states all over the country to assist existing McCain-Palin 2008 operations in their final days/weeks of voter contact.

Who should apply?

McCain Marshals

This program is for those who are comfortable working independently, managing a local office and recruiting new volunteers. Additionally, our McCain Marshals must be familiar with the new political technologies we are using in the field. Ideally, they will have campaign experience, or have participated in Deployment in recent years and be familiar with our turnout operations. The requirements are a minimum two-week commitment (October 22nd through November 5th).

McCain Mavericks

This program is for all of you that are able to give the last week or two before Election Day to make turnout phone calls and go door-to-door in one of our top battleground states. You'll work all day (and night) long with a group of friends (some new, some old) to turn out voters on Election Day. The departure day is anytime before November 1st, and you'll be able to return home on Wednesday, November 5.

Please apply online at www.johnmccain.com/deployment.

Seven Weeks To Go

DailyKos Mississippi Poll: McCain 52 - Obama 39

A poll conducted by Research 2000 for the liberal web site DailyKos has the McCain-Palin ticket thumping the Obama-Biden ticket in Mississippi. Likewise it has Roger Wicker beating Ronnie Musgrove.

GOP Unites Behind McCain-Palin; Dems still unsure

Original Mavericks



Remote Control

McCain: Gulf Coast over Convention Politics

I've been in St. Paul at the Republican National Convention this week and filed my column on how John McCain changed the convention as Gustav approached Mississippi and Louisiana. Here are some excerpts.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Sen. John McCain chose "Country First" as the theme for the Republican National Convention. As Hurricane Gustav crept toward the Gulf Coast, disrupting commemoration activities of the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, McCain showed his theme was more than just words.

As the convention opened, the invocation asked for God's protection for the people on the Gulf Coast. The opening address, by Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan, urged convention goers and those watching to pull out their cell phones and text the word "GIVE" to 24357 to donate $5 to the American Red Cross through a partnership with the Wireless Foundation.

Meanwhile an army of convention workers handed out printed cards that had the McCain "Country First" logo on one side and on the flip side a web address and phone number for relief and recovery agencies in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Delegates planned to assemble "country first" packages with emergency supplies to be sent to Americans needing basic necessities.

Later in the evening, Cindy McCain and First Lady Laura Bush addressed the convention and urged folks to visit www.causegreater.com to find ways to help those affected by Hurricane Gustav. The "cause greater" plays off a McCain campaign theme that Americans should seek to serve a cause greater than ourselves. McCain has written, "Love of country is another way of saying love of your fellow countrymen - a truth I learned a long time ago in a country very different from ours. Patriotism is another way of saying service to a cause greater than self-interest. "

Changing his vice-president announcement campaign swing through battle-ground states, McCain and Palin instead accepted an invitation by Gov. Barbour to attend a briefing at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Rankin County. McCain saw a state ready and prepared and spoke of reforms needed in the federal response.

It reminded me of a column U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering wrote for ABC News in February 2007 when he endorsed McCain during the Republican Primary. Pickering wrote, "McCain is a reformer. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the federal emergency response frustrated Mississippians. From debris removal contracts, to reimbursing our local towns and counties and providing the funding necessary to recover, federal bureaucracies were slow and often more concerned with procedure than people; more focused on corporate storm chasers than rebuilding our schools and hospitals and even bridges and roads. We need a leader in the White House who will fight the bureaucracies, take on the status quo and demand results and reforms. Americans know McCain is ready for that fight and won't back down despite entrenched interests who benefit from the current, broken system."

After the Iraq intelligence failures, early mission execution failures in Iraq, and the government's failed response to Hurricane Katrina, voters want a competent adult in the White House. This week McCain demonstrated he possesses the will to make big decisions of a serious nature. McCain might not have the iconic presence to be celebrity in chief, but he has experience and judgment to be commander in chief.

Read the full column here: Gustav alters GOP agenda

McCain & Palin at MEMA

Conventions are fun partisan parties, but when it somes to serious business, McCain puts country first. ClarionLedger.com is reporting: McCain, Palin briefed on Gustav preparations

The GOP’s likely presidential nominee John McCain and running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent just shy of two hours in Rankin County today.

Gov. Haley Barbour invited McCain, McCain’s wife, Cindy, and Palin to tour Mississippi Emergency Management’s Emergency Operations Center. The three were briefed on the preparations for Hurricane Gustav.

At the EOC, the group participated in a conference call with the National Weather Service and President Bush.

During a press conference after the briefing, McCain said some of the programs for the Republican National Convention would be changed because of the approaching storm.

The Republican Party plans to announce the schedule changes this afternoon.

McCain Chooses Palin

Senator John McCain has chosen Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate. She has a track record of challenging the establishment and bringing reform to government. A young mother of five, she is a former mayor and a supporter of expanded domestic drilling for our energy security.

Biden's role in Pickering ordeal

There have been stories and columns sharing connections of Senator Joe Biden (D-Del) to Mississippi. Now that he has been selected to run for Vice-President on the Democratic ticket, it is a good time to revisit his role in the confirmation battles over Mississippi Judge Charles Pickering. My column this week in the Neshoba Democrat discusses Biden's role as recounted in Pickering's two books. Here are some excerpts of the column:

Pickering needed a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote to send his nomination (with a positive, neutral, or even negative recommendation) to the full Senate. Later, Pickering needed Democrats to stand against unprecedented filibusters, even if they ultimately voted against him. Both times, Biden made overtures he would help Pickering; both times, Biden folded under political pressure.

A number of Mississippians were close to Biden, his staff, and his brother Jim. Former Governor William Winter and other supporters planned a trip to visit Biden in Washington DC to discuss the Pickering nomination. Biden sent word the trip was unnecessary. Pickering thought this a positive development, until the next shoe dropped: the Democratic offer of an unacceptable deal.

Judge Pickering's son, Congressman Chip Pickering, was in a redistricting fight which combined his district with that of Congressman Ronnie Shows. How the district was drawn would determine advantage in the election between the incumbents. Word came that Biden's vote could come more easily, if Chip would not oppose the Democrats' redistricting plan, and would guarantee Pickering's replacement on the federal district bench would be black.

Judge Pickering scoffed at the deal, "We quit child sacrifice a long time ago." He wrote, "There was no consideration of Chip caving on redistricting. There was no opposition to an African American as my replacement. I believe the Mississippi federal bench needs more diversity....There was a willingness for this to happen, but unwillingness to do a 'quid pro quo'."

Publically and privately, Biden did not believe Pickering a bad nomination. He rejected racial criticisms of Pickering as well as denying accusations of inequitable sentencing. In private, he told supporters he thought Pickering a good judge who deserved a vote. Biden even approached Senator Trent Lott and told him while he could not vote to confirm Pickering, he would vote to end a filibuster. Biden later confirmed this with the press.

When Republicans regained control of the Senate, Bush re-nominated Pickering, and his nomination went to the full Senate. Biden crawfished again.

Biden bent to political pressure rather than doing what he thought was right. He chose party over principle. In the grand scheme, Pickering's nomination was a minor battle. But in the character of Joe Biden, we see a failure to exhibit the courage necessary to honor a commitment to do the right thing.

You can read the full column here: Biden's role in Pickering ordeal

PUMA

There are a lot of Democrats in Denver who believe it is more important to have a good president than it is to have a Democratic President. We put America first; party second. And so there is an organization, Party Unity My Ass.In this time of global uncertainity, we need someone with experience and competence. I am voting for McCain. Other Democrats, might not vote rather than vote for someone with little experience into the most important elected job in the country.

Consider what Ann Price Mills has to say.

"I was elected to come here as a delegate for Clinton. I will vote for Clinton. But you ask me about my personal vote in November? Obama has two months. I won't for McCain. But he has to get me there. Experience speaks to me. I ask people all the time. Would you take someone straight out of Harvard, even if they had the education, and put them as the CEO of the company?...But for the first time since I was 18, I may be faced with something I don't want to have to deal with. I have never not voted...but for the first time...Experience counts, I don't care what anybody tells you. And his resume is just (sigh)." - Ann Price Mills, Clinton Delegate to the DNC

Hillary Clinton is doing what she should as a leader in the Democratic Party. But I'm going to have to go with Bill on this one.

Bill Clinton appeared to undermine Sen. Barack Obama again Tuesday.

The former president, speaking in Denver, posed a hypothetical question in which he seemed to suggest that that the Democratic Party was making a mistake in choosing Obama as its presidential nominee.

He said: "Suppose for example you're a voter. And you've got candidate X and candidate Y. Candidate X agrees with you on everything, but you don't think that person can deliver on anything. Candidate Y disagrees with you on half the issues, but you believe that on the other half, the candidate will be able to deliver. For whom would you vote?"

Then, perhaps mindful of how his off-the-cuff remarks might be taken, Clinton added after a pause: "This has nothing to do with what's going on now."

The comments are unlikely to be taken as an innocent mistake by those Democrats who continue to be angry with the former president for, they say, not supporting the Illinois senator wholeheartedly, if not implicitly undercutting him.

The controversial comments came just hours before Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), the former first lady and principal rival to Obama, was due to speak from the convention podium.

I believe Mississippi Democrats have a lot in common with our West Virginia cousins.

West Virginia's registered Democrats, like their cousins in western Pennsylvania and eastern and southern Ohio, are having a hard time fitting anywhere within Barack Obama's vision of the Democratic party. "Obama and his message just do not gel with me," said Mark Lamp as he climbed into his utility truck. Lamp, 47, from neighboring Weirton, is a registered Democrat who voted for Clinton in the May primary. "My first problem with him is taxes, the second is experience," he explained.

"I vote leadership. That is why I voted for Hillary and why I will vote McCain."

Once thought to be a battleground state, all indications are that West Virginia is off Obama's campaign map. Turn on the television today and you won't find any Obama ads running, and he has no trips to the state planned in the immediate future. (Sources within the campaign say they are keeping their eye on the state.)

West Virginia is still home to the Jacksonian Democrats, those descendants of Scots-Irish immigrants who vote God, country, and guns, and have a stronger than average distrust of government. They are white, lower middle-class union members who work hard, play by the rules, have faith in God and a hefty dose of patriotism.

But from the southern coalfields to the northern panhandle (which is really southwestern Pennsylvania, and Catholic Democrat country) you are entering the land that the national Democratic party forgot.

Clinton on McCain, Obama

Clinton Supporters: Its OK to vote for McCain

Obama Passes on Clinton


Former Clinton Delegate Chooses McCain

Citizens for McCain

Mississippi Democrats who put principle before party, and who know John McCain will be a better, more experienced President than Senator Obama, click here to join Citizens for McCain.

Rasmussen Poll - Mississippi: McCain 54% to Obama 41%

McCain has increased his lead over Obama in Mississippi, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll of voters.

McCain now leads his Democratic opponent by 13 points 54% to 41%. That’s a couple of points more for McCain than he enjoyed in July. Counting “leaners,” McCain leads 56% to 43%, also a bit better than last month for the Republican hopeful. McCain is now viewed favorably by 63%, Obama by 44%. The Republican leads 84% to 13% among white voters, while African-Americans favor the Democrat by a 97% to 2% margin. McCain is viewed favorably by 88% of white voters and 18% of black voters. For Obama, the numbers are reversed. He gets favorable reviews from 92% of black voters and only 18% of white voters.

Biden on Obama

Biden on Obama's Experience

“Right now I don’t believe he is (ready). The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the- job training. I stand by the statement.” - Joe Biden on Barack Obama

---

Biden on Obama's...hygiene?

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." - Joe Biden on Barack Obama

Obama's pay grade

In Reasonably Right this week I wrote about Obama and McCain at Rev. Rick Warren's Saddleback Church forum. Here are some excerpts:

Warren asked Obama, "At what point does a baby get human rights in your view?"

Obama responded, "Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade."

Obama tried to be cute; he tried to say those decisions are best left to God. But Warren was not asking Obama to proclaim, as God's representative on earth, the point at which babies get human rights. He was just asking Obama his view, his opinion.

All of God's decisions are above Obama's pay grade: murder is wrong; rape is wrong; helping your neighbor is good; feeding the hungry is good. Those are God's decisions, based on His perfect nature. Still, Obama can have an opinion about those actions.

Maybe Obama hasn't made up his mind. Obama is young man, lacking the experience to develop a consistent record of achievement.

Warren asked McCain the same question and McCain responded without hesitation, "At the moment of conception. I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate. And as President of the United States, I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies. That's my commitment, that's my commitment to you."

When you choose someone for President of the United States, you are voting for leadership. Leaders are not always right and they don't always have all the information. But leaders have a quality in their character that empowers them with the courage to make a decision. Obama demonstrated that leadership is above his pay grade.

You can read the full column in the Neshoba Democrat here: PERRY/Obama's pay grade

A Call for National Volunteers

The John McCain 2008 Presidential Campaign is looking for full-time volunteers for positions available immediately in its regional offices located throughout the nation. These positions provide an opportunity to participate in the McCain for President Campaign. Positions are unpaid and participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation and housing.

Participants will work with staff on various projects essential to the campaign and play a significant role in Senator McCain's campaign. Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter (with availability) to John Gossett, Deputy Director of Volunteers at Volunteer3@JohnMcCain.com.

McCain in 5-point national lead over Obama

A Reuters/Zogby poll released today shows a 5 point lead by John McCain over Barack Obama: Mccain 46 to Obama 41. Read the story here.

McCain at the Fair

In two commentaries for the Fair Times, the newspaper of the Neshoba County Fair, I wrote about John McCain's enthusiastic support there.

First in this piece about the speeches by Senator Roger Wicker and Ronnie Musgrove. (Read the full article here: Wednesday's main event: Wicker v. Musgrove)

The most energetic and authentic cheers of Wicker's speech came when he said he was supporting John McCain for President. Wicker said Obama was supporting and helping to elect Musgrove and that John Kerry supports Musgrove. Wicker said that people may wonder where Musgrove stands but "you won't have to wonder with Roger Wicker."

Next in this piece on Governor Haley Barbour's speech. (Read the full article here: Barbour speaks on Musgrove, McCain, Medicaid)

Barbour moved from Musgrove to other national politics. "I wish John McCain were here" he said to thunderous applause. McCain must be the most popular politician not at the Neshoba County Fair. Every speaker who invoked his name received a louder and more energetic response than to anything else. A new Rasmussen Reports poll released yesterday says McCain "has nearly doubled his lead over Barack Obama in Mississippi" and "now leads his Democratic opponent by 11 points 52% to 41%, after maintaining a 6-point lead for the previous two months."

Barbour continued, "Frankly I wish Senator Obama were here, too, because I believe the more people learn about Obama's record, the better McCain is going to do." Barbour praised Obama as a great performer saying, "He could sell Chevrolets to a Ford dealer." Barbour said Obama and his liberal Democrat colleagues have said no to drilling off-shore; no to drilling in ANWR; no to drilling on federal land in the Rockies; no to more refineries; no to more nuclear plants; no to increased domestic oil production and "out of that series of No's, Obama created the slogan, 'Yes, we can.'" Barbour later referred to the presumptive Democratic nominee as "Nobama."

The only name to rival the applause of John McCain at the Fair was when State Auditor Stacey Pickering invoked the name of his uncle Judge Charles Pickering, Sr. as an example of the type of good judges Roger Wicker would fight for in the Senate.

Mississippi: McCain 52%, Obama 41%

A new Rasmussen Reports poll says McCain has opened an 11-point lead over Obama in Mississippi.

McCain now leads his Democratic opponent by 11 points 52% to 41%, after maintaining a 6-point lead for the previous two months in a row. Counting “leaners,” McCain leads 54% to 42%.

The Republican candidate has gained slightly in terms of favorables. He is now viewed favorably by 64% of voters here, up from 58% in June. Obama has held roughly steady from last month, with 47% viewing him favorably and 51% unfavorably.

Rasmussen Markets data shows that McCain is given a 85.0% chance of carrying Mississippi in November. The state is classified as “Likely Republican” by the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator.

Half of Mississippi voters rate economic issues as their number one concern this election cycle, followed by 26% who rank national security at the top. Seventy percent (70%) of Mississippi voters say lowering the price of gas and oil is more important than protecting the environment, but 20% disagree. This is significantly higher than the national averages on this question.

There is a growing feeling among voters throughout the country that the U.S. and its allies are winning the war on terror, 59% of voters in Mississippi feel that way, while 19% say the terrorists are winning and 16% say it’s a draw.

Forty-one percent (41%) say President Bush is doing a good or an excellent job, while the identical number (41%) rate his performance as poor.

McCain Signs at Neshoba Fair

Volunteers made sure that John McCain's campaign was represented at this year's Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Signs dress the light poles inside the Fair and yard signs line the interstates coming into this, the annual epicenter of Mississippi politics.
Dozens of McCain signs; zero Obama signs.

Executed Criminal's Last Wish: Vote Obama

It seems here was a Mississippian who supported Barack Obama.

Before he died Wednesday evening, death row inmate Dale Leo Bishop apologized to his victim's family, thanked America and urged people to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. "For those who oppose the death penalty and want to see it end, our best bet is to vote for Barack Obama because his supporters have been working behind the scenes to end this practice," Bishop said.

(Read the full story at the Clarion Ledger: Bishop put to death: Apology precedes execution)

Media Hearts Obama

You saw John McCain's ad "Love" below, but now you can see another kind of love, the love that the media has for Barack Obama. Don't expect them to be fair or objective in covering this race. Take a look at these clips (and vote for your favorite love music to go along) at JohnMcCain.com of the media swooning for Obama.

Mississippi Democratic Party spins Obama

The Mississippi Democratic Party continues to spin that Barack Obama has a shot at winning Mississippi. They like to cite the historic turnout in the Democratic Primary earlier this year as evidence. 434,110 voters picked a candidate in the Democratic Primary; most of them (61.2%) picked Obama. But that leaves 168,608 Democrats who chose someone else. Now many of them will come around a tow the party line and back Obama. But a lot of them just couldn't wait until November to vote against Obama. And those Democrats - call them Clinton Democrats, call them Reagan Democrats, call them Fordice Democrats - will join with Republicans and independents to vote for John McCain. Does Obama have a shot at Mississippi? Sure. There are only two ways to run: scared or unopposed. If we run scared, work hard, contribute, and turn out our voters, then Mississippi will be well within John McCain's winning column.

Southeast Campaign HQ

To contact McCain's Southeast Campaign HQ - the region including Mississippi - see below:

Southeast Regional Headquarters
420 East Jefferson Street
3rd Floor
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Office number is 850-391-4219
Office fax is 850-681-2063
Email Mississippi staff at mississippi@johnmccain.com

John McCain Ad: Love

Meet the new Democrat, same as the old Democrat

Back in the Spring, I told people the best scenario for Republicans would be for the Clinton-Obama contest to continue all the way to the Democratic Convention with the Clintons using the super delegates to win and disenchanting all the young and progressive energy in the Democratic Party two months before the election.

I was wrong. That would have created a liberal martyr and made Obama that much more powerful in four years.

The best scenario now is playing out: Obama is discrediting himself with his base.

The hope for a new transformational politician has faded. The hope of an elevated debate on the issues became this threat by Obama regarding an ugly general election campaign, "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun." It is hard to be an idealist and a pragmatist at the same time.

Then came policy flip-flops.

Progressives love public financing to take "big money" out of politics. Obama pledged to run with public financing. Then he discovered the free market (as he calls it a "parallel public financing system" one in which the public decides...aka private financing) provides more resources and bailed on public financing. The left forgave him, after all, they want to win and it’s only the most wonkish intellectual liberals who want public financing anyway.

Then came the other shoes to drop. Moderating his position on abortion and guns; moving conservative on the issue of the death penalty; execution for bin Laden; he once opposed cracking down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants and now he is for it.

Liberals see all these as troubling, but they are pragmatic, they want to win.

The defining issue first distinguishing Obama and Clinton: the Iraq War. Obama was for full and immediate withdrawal within 16 months of taking office. MoveOn.org was dancing in the streets. Now Obama says he will listen to the military commanders, like President Bush is doing, and may "refine" his position.

Say it ain't so, O.

Obama was going to filibuster the FISA bill and stand up for all the liberal bloggers who didn't want the government spying on Americans and who were impassioned that big telecom companies not get immunity from lawsuits.

Instead he voted for the measure. Nobama, please, Nobama.

Markos Moulitsas, Grand High Pooba of liberal bloggers said before the vote, "He (Obama) spent the last two years telling us how he's going to be the leader of the free world ... not to mention the Democratic party and this nation.... I think there are people like us that are hoping to see some of that leadership.... I don't want to hear talk about leadership... I want to see him do it... If he does not, I think we may worry that he's just one of these spineless Democrats who are more afraid of controversy.. than doing the right thing."

Now Art Levine who has written for every major left wing publication since the Port Huron Statement (The New Republic, Mother Jones, Slate, Salon) posts "Will Netroots 'Hold their Noses' in Backing Obama?" He posted his comments at The Huffington Post. Et Tu Netrootae?

Some bloggers are willing to give Obama another shot and let his pick for vice president shore up his base. Let me get this straight, the nonpartisan National Journal rankings place Obama as the most liberal U.S. Senator and he needs a running mate to shore up his left wing? Who is he going to pick? Ralph Nader? Hugo Chavez?

The mainstream media is comparing Obama to McCain. The left wing is comparing Obama to Bush. If this keeps up, we'll all be comparing Obama to John Kerry when this is done with.

The New York Times: Obama supporters on the far left cry foul
The New Yorker: Obama's flip-flop flap
Midwest Voices: Obama's FISA flip-flop angers liberal bloggers

Polls: Mississippi Likes John McCain

Associated Content contends Mississippi will go for McCain.

Although the Mississippi primary showed Barack Obama ahead of Hillary Clinton 61 to 31 percent, recent research polls show John McCain has a strong lead over Obama in a state that is 39 percent African-American. Mississippi is the only state with this large an African-American percentage, according to the 2000 census.

Mississippi is considered a Republican state, as no Democrat has won the state since 1976 when Jimmy Carter ran for President.

Rasmussen shows McCain with an 80 percent chance of winning Mississippi's six votes in November.

Pollsters Rasmussen Reports (5/29/08) McCain over Obama 50 over 44.
Research 2000 (5/23/08) Research 2000 shows McCain is the favorite 54% to Obamas 39%.
Survey USA (3/6/08) gave McCain the lead over Obama 54% to 41%.

Read the full story here: Polls: Mississippi Likes John McCain (Hat Tip Y'all Politics)

Lott advising McCain on VP

The National Journal reports (It's Vetting Time!) that former Senator Trent Lott is one of the closest confidants of John McCain's search for his Vice President.

McCain's process is so secretive that his campaign won't even confirm Culvahouse's role. "We don't comment on the vice presidential search," said Steve Schmidt, a McCain campaign adviser. Another aide asked for "no comment" to be off the record. Internally, fewer than 10 senior staffers are permitted to advise McCain on the selection. Conversations about the process are limited to a circle of five key staff advisers and a few others, including former Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Campaign staffers who interact with the press are kept in the dark so that they have plausible deniability.

It is nice to know that a Mississippian is at the table for such an important selection.

Obama's Mississippi Challenge

This week in the Madison County Journal (Reasonably Right: The Obama challenge) I write about two anecdotes, that if a trend in other states, spells trouble in November for Barack Obama. First, while there has been a lot of talk about the Obama effect in voter turn out, it won't simply be a matter of Obama voters turning out in record numbers and anti-Obama voters responding. There are men and women across the country who believe in the person John McCain, like Jack McMillan in Leake County.

In that sliver of land between Edinburg and the Neshoba County line in East Mississippi sits an old country store with "Vote John McCain President" stencilled in black lettering inside a crudely painted American flag that adorns the west side of the simple, block structure.

There's a portable flashing sign out front off Mississippi 16 with "Vote McCain President" as well.

A grassy, gravel drive leads to two wooden Uncle Sam figures on the columns by the door.

Jack McMillan, the owner and proprietor, envisions the store as the McCain volunteer headquarters for Leake County. He plans a youth involvement program, volunteer phone banks, a get-out-the-vote rally, and campaign signs, hats and CDs of McCain speeches.

He has never done this before.

Now retired, McMillan worked for the state for many years and speaks of his service with Govs. Cliff Finch and William Winter (he compliments both) while explaining he has never been personally involved in "politics."

He is no Republican Party activist and his words reflect no passion for Republicans or partisanship. He speaks about America - about duty, honor, country - a reflection of McCain's image.

I never heard an ill word toward Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton (or any mention of them for that matter) and for McMillan, it seems, this election isn't about them. For him, John McCain is the man that can best lead this country. McCain is the reason McMillan is out of retirement and into politics for the first time in his life.

Older, rural, blue-collar voters in the South, Appalachia, and the Midwest, relate to McCain's image as a respected and seasoned servant of his country. They hear McCain speak of service to America with humility - almost as if he were courting the person America - cognizant of his own failures but honest to his promise that just as he has in the past, he will give every measure of service and sacrifice to her.

These voters are not looking for Obama's change for the future. They have had enough of the future and want to trade in their risky aggressive high-yield stocks for the security and comfort of a trusty treasury CD. They may not be on blogs or YouTube, and they may be unable to leave their responsibilities to attend rock-star rallies; but like the fabled tortoise, they are steady, persistent, and unshakeable: to borrow from Richard Nixon, a silent majority. Besides the South, they put states like West Virginia and Indiana into McCain's column. Obama lost both states to Clinton in their primaries.

Here are a couple of pictures from McMillan's future Leake County McCain HQ.




Second, while a lot was made of McCain's challenges early on with maintaining and exciting his conservative base, Obama could face problems with moderates in the Democratic Party who supported Clinton.

Eighty miles southwest of McMillan is my home in the Belhaven neighborhood of Jackson. I didn't poll everyone at my street's recent block party, but if I was not the lone Republican, I was at least in a silent minority. Talk turned to the presidential race and the excitement about Barack Obama. No one cared that I plan to vote for John McCain. They've seen my yard signs. I'm a Republican. Republicans vote for McCain. But what turned up the temperature on the late May day in Mississippi was the discovery that several Clinton supporters were also voting for McCain.

I was intrigued to hear the discussion first-hand. A couple of the neighbors raised questions of competence and experience: they believe Clinton possesses those qualities, Obama does not. Regardless of ideology, they want an adult in the White House. These Democrats feel George W. Bush is an example of immature leadership and Barack Obama would be the Democratic version of him.

One neighbor is from Illinois. She notes just four years ago Obama was a state senator from Chicago dominated by ward-bosses, divisive men like Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and indicted influence peddlers like Tony Rezko. She describes Obama as an old-style street politician cloaked in the illusion of transformative rhetoric. She would never vote for Obama, my Democrat neighbor said.

A Gallup Poll in March reported that 28 percent of Clinton supporters would vote for McCain rather than Obama: this includes a large number of Democrat leaning independents, conservative Democrats, moderate Democrats and Hispanic Democrats. Those numbers put states like Pennsylvania and Ohio closer to McCain (Clinton beat Obama in both primaries) and shores up McCain leaning but contested states like Florida and Virginia.

The Jackson Clarion Ledger wrote yesterday that "Some hope Obama turns Miss. 'blue". These anecdotes don't spell victory in Mississippi (which most expect anyway) but might suggest broader national challenges for Obama.

Mississippi voters have chosen the Democrat nominee once since 1960: the born-again Baptist governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter against the unelected Nixon-pardoning Gerald Ford in 1976. Ford barely lost.

Democrats don't look to improve their record this year.

A recent Rasmussen poll puts Obama six points behind McCain, 50 to 44 percent; and a Research 2000 poll puts the race at 54 percent McCain to 39 percent Obama.

No one is surprised that Mississippi is John McCain country, but if these examples indicate a broader national trend, then Barack Obama faces a cultural and electoral challenge in November.

You can read the full uninterrupted column at the Madison County Journal: The Obama challenge.

The General Election Begins

Don't Be Bamboozled

Rasmussen: McCain 50% Obama 44%

Another poll shows McCain leading Obama in the Magnolia State.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Mississippi shows John McCain leading Barack Obama 50% to 44%.

The strong racial divide is highlighted by the fact that Obama earns 44% of the vote in a sample where 36% of the voters are African-American. Obama overwhelmingly wins the African-American vote. Obama also leads among voters under 40 while McCain wins most votes from those 40 and older. Women are essentially evenly divided between the two candidates, while McCain leads by eleven percentage points among men.

George Bush won the state by twenty points four years ago and sixteen points in Election 2000. The current poll results are similar to Bob Dole's margin of victory in 1996. No Democrat has won the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976. In 1968, George Wallace won 63% of the vote while running as an Independent. Mississippi is currently rated as "Safely Republican" in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator .

Fifty-three percent (53%) say that if John McCain is elected in November, it is at least somewhat likely the U.S. will win the War. Twenty-six percent (26%) say victory is likely with an Obama victory. On the other hand, 52% believe a President Obama would get his troops home within a year while 42% say the same would happen with McCain as President.

DailyKos: McCain 54% Obama 39%

DailyKos released the results of poll conducted May 19 - May 21 of Mississippians (+/-4) that puts John McCain over Barack Obama 54% to 39%.

California Dreaming?

National pundits claim the Republican brand is damaged. Mississippi's First Congressional District seat was won by a Democrat. Voters, weary of war in a weakened economy, want some kind of change. In this kind of atmosphere, could California be in play for John McCain? Brian Perry discusses the opportunity this week in the Neshoba County Democrat: McCain California dreaming?.

When George W. Bush won Florida in 2000, he won the presidency. Four years later, the White House came down to Ohio. Ohio 2004 seemed a rerun of Florida 2000: small margins, voting machine questions, a high profile Republican secretary of state, and whoever prevailed in Ohio would be President of the United State: the Electoral College majority hung in the balance. Any challenge in the Buckeye State whimpered out as Bush had a small but clear majority with 50.8 percent of the vote.

The seeds of Bush's Ohio victory were sewn a year prior in Massachusetts.

In November 2003, four judges on the seven-person Massachusetts Supreme Court, overturned a state law to establish America's only state permitting gay marriage. In response, 11 states placed defense of marriage measures on their ballots the following year. They all passed by wide margins.

In Ohio, Bush beat Senator John Kerry by fewer than 150,000 votes in an election where 5.7 million voters went to the polls and 3.3 million voted to uphold traditional marriage.

If four judges in Massachusetts could provide the boost needed by Bush to win a second term in 2004, could four judges in California do the same for John McCain in 2008?

In 2000, 61 percent of California voters approved a traditional marriage ballot initiative: Proposition 22. Now the California Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision, with the equivalent of a judicial super veto, declared that marriage in the state must be allowed for same-sex couples.

Already, conservatives have filed a provision with more than a million signatures to amend the California Constitution to make marriage only between one man and one woman for the California November ballot. Polls show a majority of Californians support the amendment.

For McCain to win California this year, Republicans would need a conservative surge in turn out, some independent and Democratic crossover, and a strong showing among Hispanic voters.

A traditional marriage amendment could produce the conservative surge. McCain's maverick style and perceived moderation could provide the cross-party appeal that some Western voters need to support the Arizona Senator. Finally, McCain's polling shows him in reach of surpassing the record 44 percent of the Hispanic vote that Bush carried in 2004. Catholic Hispanics trend against gay marriage and may make the difference for McCain in California.

Republicans haven't carried California in a Presidential election since George H.W. Bush whipped Michael Dukakis 20 years ago. McCain's Western base and Hispanic appeal alone can't deliver California, especially facing Obama's rock-star appeal and fundraising prowess. But throw a conservative mobilizing issue like the defense of marriage into the mix, and McCain might be able to squeak out a win.

Will Obama be another Dukakis or is McCain just California dreaming? If McCain does carry California, his campaign should send thank you cards to four judges in California and four judges in Massachusetts.

Read the full column here: McCain California dreaming?

McCain and the Judiciary

When Mississippi jurists like Charles W. Pickering, Sr.; Mike Wallace; and Leslie Southwick were attacked by national Democrats and opposed by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, men like John McCain stood by Trent Lott and Thad Cochran in pushing their nominations. A column in the Madison County Journal this week highlights the differences in a McCain court and an Obama court.

November's election for President of the United States also determines the future of the federal judiciary. Mississippians know the type of jurist they want on our federal courts. We also know what national Democrats think of such nominees.

President George W. Bush nominated Charles W. Pickering, Sr. to a post on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. National Democrats and special interest groups attacked, slandered, maligned, obstructed, and ultimately blocked his confirmation with a filibuster without ever giving him an up-or-down vote (on which he would have prevailed). Next President Bush nominated Mike Wallace to the Fifth Circuit and Democrats, without skipping a beat, re-launched their assault and obstruction machine. They continued against the next nominee as well, Leslie Southwick, but were unable to defeat him.

Pickering, Wallace, and Southwick believe in the Constitution; they believe we are a nation of laws and not of men; they believe role of a judge is to interpret the laws and Constitution as written, and not to legislate from the bench or impose their own beliefs and values onto others through their rulings.

Senator John McCain shares that perspective.

Last week in a speech on his judicial philosophy delivered at Wake Forest University, McCain promised if elected President: "I will look for accomplished men and women with a proven record of excellence in the law, and a proven commitment to judicial restraint. I will look for people in the cast of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and my friend the late William Rehnquist - jurists of the highest caliber who know their own minds, and know the law, and know the difference. My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power, and clear limits to the scope of federal power. They will be men and women of experience and wisdom, and the humility that comes with both. They will do their work with impartiality, honor, and humanity, with an alert conscience, immune to flattery and fashionable theory, and faithful in all things to the Constitution of the United States."

Sen. Barack Obama, who appears to be inching toward the Democratic nomination, told a very different philosophy to CNN in a recent interview: "What you're looking for is somebody who is going to apply the law where it's clear. Now there's gonna be those five percent of cases or one percent of cases where the law isn't clear. And the judge has to then bring in his or her own perspectives, his ethics, his or her moral bearings. And in those circumstance what I do want is a judge who is sympathetic enough to those who are on the outside, those who are vulnerable, those who are powerless, those who can't have access to political power and as a consequence can't protect themselves from being being dealt with sometimes unfairly, that the courts become a refuge for justice. That's been its historic role. That was its role in Brown v. Board of Education."

Judges appealing to their own perspectives, ethics, and morals ruled in Dredd Scott v Sandford that blacks were not citizens; and judges seeking the law in themselves - as Obama advocates - ruled in Plessy v Ferguson to create separate but equal policies.

Some may say it is absurd to put Obama on the same side as these horrendous Supreme Court rulings. However, if activist judges had not ignored originalism in the former, nor disregarded the Fourteenth Amendment in the latter, America's journey to equality would have been achieved earlier.

McCain on Judges

Today at Wake Forest, John McCain spoke of his desire to appoint judges who will not legislate from the bench and will not bring judicial activism to the federal bench. He wants to see more judges like John Roberts and Sam Alito. The Associated Press reports:

"My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power, and clear limits to the scope of federal power," McCain said Tuesday in a speech at Wake Forest University.

McCain, the eventual GOP nominee, promised to appoint judges in the mold of Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, saying they would interpret the law strictly to curb the scope of their rulings. While McCain didn't mention abortion, the far right understands that such nominees would be likely to limit or perhaps overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Obama, on the other hand, voted against Roberts and Alito. So did Obama's rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, but McCain focused on Obama.

"Senator Obama in particular likes to talk up his background as a lecturer on law, and also as someone who can work across the aisle to get things done," McCain said. "But ... he went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee."

In response, Obama's campaign said McCain would pick judges who would threaten abortion rights as well as McCain's own campaign finance reform bill.

"What's truly elitist is to appoint judges who will protect the powerful and leave ordinary Americans to fend for themselves," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

The Arizona senator said his role models interpret the law strictly, paying attention to what lawmakers intended, as opposed to "activist" judges who, by striking down statutes or court decisions, make laws rather than interpret them. "Activist" is a term conservatives use pejoratively to criticize liberal justices.

The Republican National Lawyers Association notes that Mississippi's Judge Charles Pickering has weighed in on McCain's leadership in the Gang of 14. The post writes:

Judge Pickering's backing of the agreement is further sign that it was good for conservatives, nominees, Republicans and everyone interested in the confirmation of "capable and conservative jurists."

And links to a letter from Pickering to McCain that says in part:

There is no way you can look at that agreement as a Democratic victory. Two days after the Deal was announced, Owen was confirmed by the Senate. Two weeks later, Brown was confirmed, and the next day the Senate confirmed Pryor. These confirmations were exactly what President Bush and the Republicans had tried to accomplish for five long years and the Democrats had blocked.

The confirmation of Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justice Sam Alito --two exceptionally capable and conservative jurists-- were made relatively easy because of the "Gang of Fourteen Agreement."

Barbour touts McCain to Washington Times

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour recently discussed Senator John McCain's prospects with the Washington Times editorial board. (Read The Full Story Here)

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour yesterday said that he is too conservative to be John McCain's running mate but that the Arizona senator's maverick reputation will help him in an election in which moderates and independents will be more important than in recent years.

Mr. Barbour also urged Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, not to name his pick for vice president until after the Democrats' convention, when he can draw the sharpest distinction between the parties.

Mr. McCain will depend on "persuasion" to snare independents and disgruntled Democrats on Nov. 4, unlike George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections when victory depended on maximizing the turnout of each party's hard-core partisans, said Mr. Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman.

"I am a lot more conservative than John McCain," Mr. Barbour told The Washington Times at a luncheon meeting with the newspaper's editors and reporters. "It may help him that he is not as conservative as I am."

More Democrats than before are going to be unhappy with their party's nominee, whether it's current Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton loyalists. Such Democrats may be ripe for the picking by Mr. McCain, a maverick Republican admired by many Democrats and independents for his own occasional and unpredictable independence. But Republicans are also poised for defections.

The Washington Times also provides four videos of the interview:

TWT Video: Barbour on being a potential running mate for McCain

TWT Video: Barbour: Why McCain is a strong candidate

TWT Video: Barbour on race in the 2008 presidential campaign

TWT Video: Barbour compares Bush to Truman

Proud Caroll County

Another response to the George Lambus race card.

Criticisms of McCain, Carroll County unfounded
The Clarion-Ledger • April 24, 2008

I was born and reared in Carroll County. When I read George O. Lambus' comments about Carroll County and Sen. John McCain's family ("Should McCain be proud of heritage in Carroll County?" April 9), I was appalled. That statement was the first time that I had ever heard about any Klan activity anywhere other than on the TV news. Maybe there has been an individual or so that was involved in the Klan from Carroll County, I do not know. I have neither known anyone involved myself nor did I ever hear my parents or granddad speak of such and they, too, were born and reared in Carroll County.

As far as Sen. McCain is concerned, he can be proud of heritage in Carroll County, because as far as I've ever heard, the McCain family were well respected, law abiding, and honorable people.

I looked up information about the Klan from World Book Encyclopedia, which says the KKK had four major periods: 1) mid-1860s to early 1870s; 2) 1915 to 1944; 3) late 1940s to early 1970s; 4) since the mid-1970s. Sen. McCain's great grandfather, J.S. McCain, became sheriff of Carroll County in January 1891 and served through 1895. In January 1896, J.S. McCain took over as Carroll County Beat 2 supervisor. The last two years, he served as board of supervisors president. J.S. McCain was not sheriff during the active period of the Klan.

I have never judged a person by who their relatives are. People need to be judged on their own merit. Sen. McCain has merit of his own. He has served his country well, with honor and integrity. People of Carroll County are proud of Sen. McCain and proud to be from Carroll County. Maybe Mr. Lambus has been around too many crooked law enforcement officers and dishonest people lately to be making such unfounded statements.

Linda Grantham Lehman, West

Speaking of family tradition, the Daily Mississippian discusses McCain's roots in Mississippi: McCain's family lineage traces back to Mississippi

While presidential nominee John McCain may be a senator from Arizona, his roots are grounded deeply in Mississippi. Marvin King, assistant professor of political science, said McCain's heritage will certainly help him win votes in Mississippi. "Having roots in a state is usually seen as a plus by campaign teams," he said.

Unlike King, John Winburn, assistant professor of political science, said he does not think McCain's Mississippi heritage will affect the amount of votes he receives in the state. While having a family connection in Mississippi will not hurt McCain, it will probably not provide a lot of votes either, Winburn said. "He personally does not have a real close tie with the state," Winburn said. "In any event, the state's conservative and Republican leanings are much more important than his family background for picking up support throughout Mississippi."

McCain paid tribute to his southern ancestors when he began his "Service to America" tour in Meridian a few weeks ago. "The family I was born into, the family I am blessed with now, made me the man I am," McCain said. "By all accounts, the McCains of Carroll County were devoted to one another and their traditions; a lively, proud and happy family on the Mississippi Delta."

In his book "Faith of our Fathers," McCain tells of his ancestor William McCain who moved to Carroll County in 1848 from North Carolina. William, the senator's great-great grandfather, became the sheriff in Carroll County. He was a plantation owner who died in the Civil War fighting for the Confederacy.

McCain's grandfather, John Sidney McCain, Sr., was born in 1884 in Teoc, Miss. He attended the University of Mississippi for one year in 1901 and left the South in 1902 to enter the U.S. Naval Academy, according to the Arlington National Cemetery Web site. He was an admiral in the U.S. Navy and a notable commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force in World War II, according to the Web site.

McCains have been great military leaders

Herman Smith responds in Friday's Clarion Ledger to the George Lambus letter-to-the-editor.

3 McCains have served as great U.S. military leaders
The Clarion-Ledger • April 18, 2008

George Lambus should join the present century and quit living in the past ("Should McCain be proud of heritage in Carroll County," April 9 letter). How dare he slam three of the great military leaders of our country - the McCains. He can have Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Herman Smith, Houston

Mississippi Dr. heads national McCain group

Dr Sampat Shivangi of Jackson, Mississippi helps create and leads "Indian American Physicians for Senator McCain."

Indian physicians panel to support McCain

NEW YORK: A national committee named "Indian American Physicians for Sen. McCain" has been formed to bring a united front of like minded Indian physicians under one umbrella to work towards electing Republican Presidential candidate Sen.

John McCain as President in the coming elections.

Dr Sampat Shivangi of Jackson, MS, Co Chair of Indian American Republican Council and past delegate at the National Republican convention had an opportunity to have a luncheon meeting with Sen. McCain last week in Jackson, which was attended by prominent Republican party leaders in the state that included Gov. Haley Barbour, his wife, US Senator Thad Cochran, US Senator Roger Wicker, Senator Trent Lott (Ret), Congressman Chip Pickering and Mrs. Cindy McCain and Mrs. McCain Senator McCain's mother).According to Dr Shivangi, Sen. McCain appreciated the contributions of Indian American Community especially the Indian American Physician community.

The discussion included the formation of a Committee to support the Senator for his Presidential bid. "Sen. McCain has stood by India as a friend and has supported the majority of bills in the US Senate including US-India Civil Nuclear treaty," Dr Shivangi says.

"He is a national hero and a strong supporter against terrorism and fundamentalists needs our support in the forthcoming elections."The National Committee would work along the lines of a similar committee that was formed to elect President George Bush in the past, according to Dr Shivangi.