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White House 2008 -- The Republicans

MCCAIN

1. Lucky Number $7 Million

John McCain "swept into" NYC last p.m., and raised a "record" $7M for his camp.

McCain addressed 800 supporters at the Sheraton New York, then attended a smaller gathering of top donors who raised more than $100K at the home of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. The $100K bundlers included Carl Icahn, Donald Trump, insurance "titan" Hank Greenberg, New York Yankees pres. Randy Levine, and Bill and David Koch. Rudy Giuliani, meanwhile, introduced McCain (Campanile, New York Post, 5/8).

Well, Rochester? Why Rochester?

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Rochester, MI, on 5/7, McCain said the answers to fixing MI's ailing economy lie not in doing away with free trade agreements, but in focusing more on laid-off manufacturing workers.

McCain: "The problem is not free trade. ... We have not cared for the displaced worker." More McCain: "Innovation is here in the great state of Michigan -- the birthplace of the modern automobile industry. ... Of course, the old kinds of doing business [are] not coming back. But there are new kinds ... that will eliminate our dependence on foreign oil" (AP, 5/7).

McCain: "You invest in the cradle of the auto industry, new technologies, such as the battery that lets you take a car 100 miles before you have to plug it in. We have to provide all the incentives, for investment in pure R&D as well as R&D tax breaks, worker retraining and education and reduction in any taxes that may give other areas an unfair advantage" (Hornbeck, Detroit News, 5/8).

Noting that MI raised income tax rates last year, McCain "said he supports lower taxes to stimulate economic development." He pointed to the example of AL, "where numerous automobile and manufacturing plants have located in the past decade" (AP, 5/7).

Land Ho!

McCain also "appealed to religious conservatives" in Rochester, "with pledges to prosecute sex traffickers, fight Internet child pornography and make religious freedom a priority in American diplomacy" (see 5/7 Hotline).

Southern Baptist Convo official/Rev. Richard Land wrote last month to McCain, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama, urging them to speak out about human trafficking. Land pronounced himself "delighted" with Mr. McCain's speech on 5/7. Land: "He was ringing all the Southern Baptist bells. ... This shows that Senator McCain is making it clear it will be a priority commitment, and that's very important to my constituency" (Bumiller, New York Times, 5/8).

But Don't Look Back In Anger, I Heard You Say

The topic of McCain's temper arose at the town hall meeting, and McCain "quickly turned it around to his advantage."

During the Q&A, an audience member asked: "It's become something that's a concern of your colleagues in the Senate and, as such, has become a concern of me and many of my fellow Republican voters as well, and that is the question of your temper."

McCain then "growled in jest": "How dare you ask that question! Take that microphone away from him!"

But the questioned continued: "I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't concerned, sir."

McCain "turned the question around, using it as a rallying cry in combination with some of his stump-speech staples: railing on Washington for overspending and corruption." McCain: "Look, I will confess to you, my friend, that I get angry. I get angry when I saw a guy named [Jack] Abramoff that ripped off Native Americans for millions and millions and millions of dollars and people ended up, including him, in federal prison. I get angry when I see $233 million of your tax dollars going to an island, to a bridge to an island with 50 people on it. And that's your dollars. I get angry when I see corruption to the point where we have former members of Congress residing in federal prison."

McCain then continued over applause: "And you know something? The American people are angry to and they're not gonna take it any more! And they're mad and they've lost their temper, you know? These town hall meetings, ask 'em if they're not mad. Ask 'em, ask 'em!" (Holmes, "Washington Wire," WSJ.com, 5/7).

Esta En El Internet

McCain released a new Spanish-language web ad today, "McCain, Plan Economico." The ad highlights "ways in which his economic plan will help small businesses flourish during these uncertain economic times" (release, 5/8).

Meanwhile, Washington Times editorializes, "building a solid Latino coalition that can effectively communicate" his immigration plan -- "a plan that will ensure safety, security and a fair path to legal citizenship -- is the next and most crucial" step for McCain. In addition, McCain "must recognize that Latino values are American values; he must clearly articulate his positions as a reflection of mutually shared convictions" (5/8).

Give Us This Day Our Daily Show

McCain appeared on the "Daily Show" last night. Some highlights:

Jon Stewart: "I cannot tell you the difference. Normally you show up, it's you, your bookie, a couple other guys. You have a security detail now. This is serious business."

McCain: "It is something. In all candor, they're wonderful people, those that work in the Secret Service. They're great people. I just resisted that because of the fact that it does separate you from people. But it's a necessary thing"

Stewart: "Right. ... Have they given you one of those titles? I think, what's the president, Trailblazer?"

McCain: "I think mine is 'Jerk' because I did resist for a period of time."

Stewart: "I've got one. ... McDreamy. ... McDreamy? McSteamy? ... How about this? Grumpelstiltskin?"

McCain, on being the nominee: "It feels really incredible. In a moment of seriousness, to receive the nomination of the party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan."

Stewart: "You know those guys aren't around anymore, right?"

McCain: "I know you have been wondering who my vice presidential candidate would be. I've got it written down. You ready? You heard it here first."

Stewart: "All right."

McCain: "Dwight Schrute. Doesn't he do a great job for Michael Scott?"

Stewart: "Do you want me to win you the election right now?"

McCain: "Yes, sir."

Stewart: "I'm going to blow your mind. You know who your running mate should be if you want to win this election?"

McCain: "Besides Jon Stewart?"

Stewart: "Senator Hillary Clinton. If you chose Senator Clinton, you would win this election. I'm not saying it'd be, necessarily, you know, something I would like. ... But I'm just saying, don't you think that's a great idea?"

McCain: "That's one I've never contemplated."

Stewart: "Do you want to say into the camera right now that you would do that?"

McCain: "No, I don't want to look in the camera and say I would ever do that" (Comedy Central, 5/7).

To see scenes from the interview, check out today's Play of the Day.

Ron Paul Gets Called To The Principal's Office

When McCain clinched the GOP nod in early Mar. '08, RNC Chair Mike Duncan reached out to Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee to let them know the RNC intended to recognize McCain as the party's nominee.

However, since then, Paul supporters "have disrupted and shut down state conventions, and McCain has struggled to win the primaries in a convincing manner reflecting the fact that the race is over." Thus, an RNC official "confirmed that in the last two weeks Duncan again reached out to Paul for a 'private meeting.'" No word on what transpired (The Hill, 5/8).

Runaway Jury

The response to McCain's 5/6 speech on judicial nominations continued:

• Wall Street Journal editorializes, McCain "needs to pick these fights to mobilize conservatives, but especially to make voters understand the election stakes." To "have any chance" in Nov., McCain "will have to draw distinctions that show precisely the kind of change Democrats have in mind" (5/8).

• Boston Phoenix editorializes, "despite McCain's highly publicized maverick moments, he is at his core a ruby-red" GOPer. "Like" Pres. Bush, McCain "values the economic supremacy of the few over the many, and is dedicated to the proposition that the power and prerogatives of the presidency are more important than the civil liberties of the citizenry." Any Dem "disenchanted with the hard-fought primary season would do well to remember this" (5/8).

I Like Smoke And Lightning, Heavy Medal Thunder

The U.S. Navy recently released McCain's military record -- "most of it citations for medals during his Navy career" -- after a FOIA request by the AP. "From his five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp to his tenure as the Navy's liaison to the Senate," McCain's Navy record "boils down to a series of unadorned paragraphs that bestow upon him some of the nation's top military honors" (Kuhnhenn, AP, 5/7).

Thinks Grouping Him With Lincoln Chafee Is A Good Strategy

McCain supporter Jack Kemp writes in the Washington Times, McCain "understands that to raise tax rates on capital formation and entrepreneurial investments at this time of recessionary expectations and a weakening currency would be inexplicable, inexcusable and completely counterproductive." His "support for the lower marginal tax rates on capital gains and dividends is on the right side of history, as well as the right side of the electorate -- no pun intended."

Thus, "irrespective of where" McCain and ex-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) were in the '03 debate and vote, McCain "is unambiguously clear now that raising these tax rates in a declining economy would exacerbate the incipient stagflation we face today" (5/8).

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls Of Fire

NBC's Curry sat down with Cindy McCain. Some highlights:

C. McCain, on the general: "I believe we're going to see a great debate, which the American public deserves. ... None of this negative stuff, though. You won't see it come out of our side at all. ... My husband is absolutely opposed to any negative campaigning at all."

C. McCain, asked why Iraq is worth risking the life of her son: "Freedom."

C. McCain, on why she wants to keep her tax returns private: "My husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate."

Curry: "So you'll never release, you're saying?"

C. McCain: "No."

Curry: "Even if you're first lady?"

C. McCain: "No."

C. McCain, on the criticism of J. McCain's age: "I'm 53 and he's much younger than I am, I can tell you. ... Listen, he's going to hike the Grand Canyon again this summer with our sons. I'm not going to go, I'll freely tell you right now. He is just a ball of fire."

Curry, after the interview: "I also asked Cindy McCain about published reports this week that she and her husband didn't vote for George W. Bush after their bruising campaign loss in 2000. She said it's not true" ("Today," 5/8).

 

Editor-in-Chief: Amy Walter

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