PETITION ON IRAQ FUNDING BILL

John McCain’s campaign website has launched a petition regarding the actions of the U.S. Senate on the Iraq funding bill setting a withdrawal date. If you believe that setting a date will have dire consequences, sign the petition to send a message to Reid and Pelosi.

MCCAIN HAS SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN TRIP TO NH

Last weekend McCain’s Straight talk Express made a trip to NH. All signs point to a very successful trip including Milford’s Saturday morning event at the end of a snow storm. More details of some of the Senator’s stops can be found on the McCain website and Patrick Hynes’ blog.

I had the pleasure of attending the house party in Bow on Saturday night. It was great to personally meet the Senator again. My last meeting with him was in 2000. My initial reaction was very positive as the Senator looked great. Much better than some of his TV appearances.

McCain personally met with everyone present and introduced his wife. He was very personable and in my case he somehow came around to me a second time and remembered that he had already said hi. So he was paying attention. After meeting everyone the Senator made a brief statement with the war, homeland security and illegal immigration highlighted. He also pointed out his experience and that he “did not need any on-the-job training”. After his talk he took questions on the war, education and veterans issues. I asked the education question pointing out that in 2000 McCain stated that good teachers needed to be paid better, but that we also needed to recognize that some teachers needed to make a career change. In 2000 he had also stated that we needed to raise the bar to better challenge our students and that we couldn’t keep lowering the bar to make everyone feel good. I asked the Senator if he still felt the same way. Not only did he agree with those statements from back in 2000 but stated it is even more important today pointing out that many technology executives are telling him that we only have a ten to fifteen year advantage over India and China in some technologies.

Overall, I continue to be impressed with his overall experience and leadership and his willingness to search for common ground to bring people together. And while I don’t always agree with every position McCain takes, I still believe he is the man this country needs at this time. I urge everyone to get out and meet the Senator as I am sure you will walk away with a better understanding of his candidacy.

STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS IS BACK

The race has begun and John McCain's campaign is back. His new Straight Talk Express is in action and he is being greeted with enthusiastic crowds. This weekend, McCain is in New Hampshire with town hall meetings in Milford and Lebanon on Saturday, and Exeter on Sunday. I encourage you to attend one of these sessions. I know you will walk away knowing that this man is the one.

Weather permitting; I will be attending a house gathering for McCain this weekend. I am enthusiastic to meet him again and will share my thoughts with you after the visit.

Check out the action and John’s weekend plans at the STE website.

MCCAIN STRONG IN NEW POLL

The American Research Group published a new poll on the presidential race. While I will be the first to agree that it is too early for polls to tell you a lot, they are still of interest. However, this morning on Meet The Press they quoted a poll that showed 73% of the electorate is ‘actively’ watching the presidential primary process. I was really surprised by that so maybe this year early polls may be more important than in the past.

In any case, Senator McCain continues to be in a strong position. On a national level, the poll shows Giuliani at 34% and McCain at 30% among republican contenders. This is within the 4% margin of error and is a bit closer than other polls that have been published recently. But this poll also looked at some important primary states and shows McCain ahead in NH, FL, MI and SC, with Giuliani in second place.

McCain is taking heat with his support of the Iraq war so anything can happen depending on what happens on the ground there. But McCain’s experience and record and some early wins in these primaries would go a long way toward making him the republican nominee.