McCain poised for a comeback
by Mosheh Oinounou
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — John McCain says he is down in the polls but told more than 16,000 supporters today that they have the Democrats “just where we want them.”
“Let me give you the state of the race today and some straight talk. We have 22 days to go. We’re six points down. The national media has written us off,” McCain said to cheers in a packed convention center in Virginia Tidewater country. “Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections…and concede defeat in Iraq.”
McCain was joined by running mate Sarah Palin for the rally as the GOP ticket is being forced to play defense in the historically Republican state (a Democrat hasn’t won since 1964) in the closing weeks of the election. The rally took place in Virginia Beach, among the places McCain will have to win big in in order to keep the state in his column.
“You know what they forgot? They forgot to let you decide,” he said to cheers. “My friends, we’ve got them just where we want them. What America needs in this hour is a fighter.”
McCain introduced the slightly retooled stump describing the sorry state of economic affairs and offered an issues-based contrast with Obama on the economy–removing his harsh indictment of the Democrat’s character which were central to his speeches last week. He warned that given the current state of affairs, there will be no time for a president to get on on-the-job training as “our enemies watch.”
McCain also compared Obama to Herbert Hoover, the Republican president who presided over the start of the Great Depression, chiding him for his opposition to the Bush tax cuts and a number of free trade agreements.
“The last President to raise taxes and restrict trade in a bad economy as Senator Obama proposes was Herbert Hoover,” he said to boos. “That didn’t turn out too well. They say those who don’t learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Well, my friends, I know my history lessons, and I sure won’t make the mistakes that Senator Obama will.”
He also took a shot at President Bush’s tenure at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, noting that, “we cannot spend the next four years as we have spent much of the last eight: waiting for our luck to change…we have to act immediately. We have to change.”
McCain concluded with his final crescendo from his convention speech, calling on his supporters to fight in the closing days of the election.
“I’m an American and I choose to fight. Don’t give up hope. Be strong. Have courage and fight,” he said. “Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history. Now, let’s go win this election and get this country moving again.”
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