MCCAIN SEEKS TO WARM CONSERVATIVE HEARTS
By Daniel Pimlott in New York
FT
February 5 2008 18:12
John McCain has built a reputation as a maverick politician who says
things people don’t want to hear.
But in New York on an overcast Tuesday morning, he appeared in front
of a rally of hundreds of supporters with a message likely to warm the
hearts of conservatives who fear that America is ready to capitulate
in the war on terror.
The crowd had gathered early – some before 7am – between 50th and
51st Street on the narrow Rockefeller Plaza to hear Mr McCain speak,
surrounded by a bevy of big names who have endorsed him.
Mr McCain had a word to say about a few of his backers, in typically
direct fashion.
"Rudy Giuliani is one of the most honourable men I have ever known,"
he said. "The one over there with the tan is the governor of Florida,"
he continued, referring to Charlie Crist, whose orange hue stood out
against the greyness of the New York morning.
"And there is Joe Lieberman, my favourite Democrat," he said, pointing
to the sheepish New York senator who became an independent senator
in last years congressional elections. Mr Lieberman has now moved
further away from the Democratic party by endorsing Mr McCain.
Also joining him on the stage were his wife and mother.
"If anyone has any doubt about my age," said the 71 year old
presidential candidate. "Meet my 95-year-old mother."
Mr McCain came to the state with a commanding lead in national polls
against his main rival Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts,
and Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas whose chances of
gaining the nomination are rapidly fading.
In national polls, Mr McCain has a lead of 18.3 per cent over Mitt
Romney, according to an average of polls taken by Real Clear Politics.
Many of the 21 Republican state primaries today – ranging from
California to Arizona to New Jersey – are winner-take-all contests
for delegates, suggesting a good showing for Mr McCain could give
him an insurmountable lead.
In New York itself, his lead is stronger still, with a 21.4 per
cent advantage.
New York offers 101 delegates – 4.2 per cent of all the delegates on
offer in the Republican race. Of this 87 are awarded to the statewide
winner on Tuesday, and 14 are allocated by Republican politicians in
the state later in the contest. Republican candidates need 1,191 to
win the nomination.
The audience was diverse, as one would expect in New York
John Vafai, a 67-year-old lawyer from Manhattan who was holding a
placard reading "Azerbaijanis for McCain" and a badge saying "Irish
for McCain" was one notable supporter. "He’s supporting a settlement
between the Armenians and Azerbaijan over Negoghubagh," said Mr Vafai.
"No other candidates have addressed this issue."
Meanwhile, Gareth Rhodes, a 19 year old political science student
from City College in New York, had turned out with a friend to enjoy
the performance and get some signatures from the Republican superstars.
"I love political campaigns, they inspire me and give me a chance
to meet the leadership of the country," he said. Mr Rhodes said he
was a veteran of the campaign trail and had also attended rallies for
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. His vote was for Mr Obama. "We need
an African-American president… he can inspire young people," he said.
Mr McCain spent much of his speech laying out a central plank of his
foreign policy – opposition to fundamentalist Islam.
"Have no doubt about the evil and implacable determination of these
people," he said. "They kill people including mentally disabled women –
what kind of evil is that?"
He was referring to reports that two women with Down’s syndrome were,
possibly unwittingly, used as suicide bombers at two bazaars, killing
at least 99 people in Baghdad on Saturday.
The defiant message on terror, although popular among Republicans,
did not go down so well with one staple element of midtown Manhattan
– the tourist. Leonhard Den Hertog, a 22-year-old Dutch student
visiting New York, said he had turned out to get a taste of the US
political pageant, but he was not impressed. "It was a lot of talk
about nothing," he said.
"Its all the same thing – Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. He is better than the
other Republican candidates, but a Democratic president would be
better for Europe."
However, Mr McCain had also found time to talk about one of the key
concern of voters – the state of the economy. He remained relatively
upbeat, confounding conventional wisdom, arguing that in spite of
"hard times" in the US, "I still believe the fundamentals of this
economy are strong."
Then just before 8am, after nearly half an hour of rock music, manic
enthusiasm and cheering supporters, Mr McCain left the stage with a
grin on his face. When results start pouring this evening his smile
may be even broader.