[big campaign] Tracking Update: McCain Town Hall in Baton Rouge, LA 06/04/08

podesta-emails 3,348 words email

P17 P22 P19 V11 D2

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Hello BigCampaign, Just off the phone with our tracker Evan who was on the ground today in Baton Rouge, LA. Below are the notes from our call. *BIG HIGHLIGHTS* - Congratulates both Democratic candidates. Says that "as a father of 3 daughters," he knows that Hillary's campaign has been an inspiration to women - Invites Obama to join him in series of town hall-style meetings, and even fly on the same plane. Spends most of the event criticizing Obama for empty rhetoric and naivete, and distancing himself from Bush wherever he can. - Insists that "we are drawing down from pre-surge levels" and that Obama was "dead wrong" to think the surge wouldn't work. Says of Iraqi political situation, "Democracy is tough… Look at the gridlock we have" in Washington. It's better to have a 'flawed but functioning' democracy than Saddam. - Had to be corrected for 2 small flubs: 1. Saying there are now 27 instead of 37 charter schools in NOLA and 2. Repeating a reporter's mistake of saying "investment" instead of "divestment" in Iran policy. As a result, McCain said, "I've never favored investment," and then waved off the misspeak. *Baton Rouge, LA: McCain Town Hall Meeting 06/04/08* *Background details:* - Mayor Kip Holden gave introductory remarks, followed by former Gov. Buddy Roemer and finally Gov. Jindal. - Also in the audience were former Gov. Dave Treen, State Sen. John Kennedy and Woody Jenkins - 6-700 people. Staffers appeared to act as seat-fillers at the beginning of the event. It was unclear whether they moved as the event got under way. The event appeared at capacity, with audience members having to stand along the walls. - Minorities poorly represented, but more than usual; Crowd younger than usual - Security: McCain staffers gave our staffer some trouble, as they seem to be getting stricter about only letting credentialed press onto the risers. Our tracker was able to get into the Town Hall by leaving out his tripod, etc.. He was turned away from the press avail. - A few Ron Paul buttons / supporters, and a Code Pink lady. McCain seems more careful about who he picks to answer questions, e.g. a lot of questions from the risers, which were packed with vets. Spent a longer time than usual talking with his back to the general seating. - Backdrop is another giant green sign that says "Straight Talk Town Hall" *Speech Highlights:* - Roemer thanks McCain's volunteers who called you all and got you to come to this event. He remarked that there are some racists and a few journalists say the race is about black and white. It's not, it's about green and gray; commander-in-chief; leading the free world; health care. McCain's "modest about his economic background" (" He gets it right every time. … Let's lower taxes on business…"). McCain had the courage to stand alone in the Senate and not put a single earmark in a single bill. Earmarks are not the American way. "John McCain doesn't talk about it; he just does it." "He's not an economist" but he knows how to "protect our dollars." As President, "don't need a pretty speech; I need a Commander-in-Chief" (This is the general message of the event.) - Jindal comments that McCain was a real reformer before it was cool, e.g. earmark reform. Courage- knows what it means to suffer and sacrifice. He is a son, grandson and father of dedicated patriots. Our next President will need to stand up and do what's right, not just sound bites. McCain "has an annoying habit": he's straightforward. *[McCain begins opening remarks]* - Thanks Jindal for his tax reform and ethic and lobbying reforms. Thanks the rest of the introducers. Talks about post-Katrina LSU-AZ State football game in AZ, a "moving experience" - Town hall meeting is "essence" of American democracy. - Congratulates both Dem candidates, HRC for hard-fought campaign she waged and her hard work "and *I know that as a father of 3 daughters" that Hillary has inspired women with her campaign."* Congratulates Obama on his win. And so, this morning, I sent Obama invitation to join in town hall meetings around the country (vis-a-vis JFK-Goldwater—those contenders enjoyed a very good personal relationship. They had agreed on this, and it would have happened had not JFK been assassinated in Dallas). No spin rooms, just people. MCCAIN even suggested they travel together, even on same plane – probably save on energy; and given the expenses, I'm sure my campaign would agree to it. Wants 1st to be in NYC June 12th. - Americans are tired of all the gimmicks, phony sound bites and photo-ops that make campaigns seem more about the candidates than the public. No matter who wins this election, this country is going to change dramatically. The difference is between the right change and wrong change, forward vs. backwards. Obama has chance to embrace a higher level of political discourse, namely this town halls. - America is a leader. "Leaders don't hide from history; they make history." - ENERGY: Cost of oil continues to increase and you keep paying more for gas. It is a compelling national security issue and economic issue and environmental one that we eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. We're spending $500B - $600B to countries that don't like us very much. We must exploit existing reserves, obviously in U.S.—and this state is very important to that aspect of our economy—but also need to go to alternate fuel sources, incl. nuclear power. Americans need to be led. I'm not telling you that Americans have to shiver in the dark. i'll be telling you how we can achieve this in a few years. Uncertain about what Hugo Chavez is going to do, the Persian Gulf, the Iranians—but I can tell you they're up to no good. - NATIONAL SECURITY / ROLE OF MILITARY / IRAQ: We need a much larger military to relieve the strain on them. We can recruit and retain the best of our military. All of us are saddened by the sacrifice—*over 4,000 making the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan*. Straight-talk: the war was badly mismanaged, and I was against the way it was going. Under Petraeus, it's working and it's succeeding. It's been hard and tough but "recent events show we are winning in Iraq." Today in 3 Iraqi cities, the Iraqi military is running things with support of Americans – not the other way around. The Iraqi military is now functioning effectively. "Sadr City today is quiet." - Repeats – *"we are drawing down from pre-surge levels." *I am hopeful that we will be able to withdraw more troops. But it has to be based on facts on the ground, not some politician's ideological schedule for withdrawal. Obama was "dead wrong" in Oct when he said the surge wouldn't work. "Democracy is tough. … Look at the gridlock we're in" in DC. Saddam Hussein who had had WMDs in the past and used them against his people and wanted to do it again today. Better to have a 'flawed but functioning' democracy. - Iran is developing nuclear weapons. They've pledged elimination of Israel, they're exporting explosives that are killing Americans. Obama's willingness to sit down without preconditions is "not right… naïve… shows a lack of experience" - I want to be President because these are dangerous times—we're in two wars—but also because I believe I can inspire Americans to serve a cause greater than themselves. - In Louisiana, I sense a spirit of optimism – there are still challenges, but they are making improvements. I believe that that spirit can spread across the country. *QUESTION AND ANSWER * * *Q1) I'm a military mom. I have 2 sons enlisted right now. One is in Baghdad – told her to tell him that the Marines support him and he is our only hope for succeeding out here – we can't allow Obama or HRC in White House. MCCAIN: All I can say is it's very hard to have family members in the military, but they are an inspiration to us all. Q2) I appreciate your balanced approach on Iraq – I was uncomfortable with us going in, but we're there now and we have a responsibility. Similarly, on the energy issue. Any comments on the VP search? MCCAIN: Jindal is the next generation of leadership, not just of GOP but of America. His accomplishments are remarkable, "a great American success story." Q3) A lot of Gold Star families here. MCCAIN: "I hate war. Ask the veterans here – no one hates war more than the vets." I will do everything I can to bring them home. If I didn't believe in my heart that staying the c—staying with this succeeding strategy was working, I would also want to bring them home immediately, but I want to bring them home with honor. Q4) what's your opposition to Webb GI bill? MCCAIN: We need to increase the educational benefits. Years ago, the GI bill was really important. I want 2 things: (1) at a point, GIs should be able to transfer their benefits to their spouse and family. (2) Non-commission officers are our great strength. I want to increase the educational benefits as those members of the military stay in the military- so they'll make a career out of a very honorable profession. Now the bill doesn't have any incentive to stay in longer. It's very expensive to train. Study says retention would drop 16%. Q4) Question about immigration and the problem of non-English speakers. MCCAIN: "This meeting is adjourned." You articulate very eloquently the concerns and frustration that Americans have over our failure to carry out our federal responsibility to secure our borders. We have failed to do that. As you know, I've tried—reaching across the aisle. We failed because Americans didn't believe that we'd secure the borders. I got the message. A large number of illegals cross from Mexico to AZ. We can use technology, walls, UAVs, etc. it's going to be expensive but we can do it. Then we need to have a temporary worker programs with tamper-proof biometric document and electronic employer-verfication system. Then we can prosecute anyone who still employs people without these. The bad part is last: we should round up the 2 million people who've committed a crime and deport them or put them in jail. We don't have the capacity to deport all 10million. We should deport all the people who came here recently. For anyone to even get a green card, they have to learn English or at least English-capacity, and learn the Constitution and our laws. What's partisan about illegal immigration and securing our borders? Nothing. I'll reach across the aisle to fix this. Q5) According to VFW mag, less than 1% (?) of Congressmen have children in service. I think that should be a national scandal. MCCAIN: (1) I don't believe we need to go back to a draft. In Vietnam draft, the majority of the people drafted were the lowest-income Americans—the richer could find a way out of it. (2) as President, I will ask all young people to serve in some capacity. I'll tell them that the noblest of all is serving in the military and "I believe I can inspire them to serve." Q6) If elected, what's your commitment to the limitation of federal powers and federal govt as it applies to national security and governance. To minimize intrusion. MCCAIN: If I sign a bill into law, I will abide that law and will make sure the govt agencies abide by that law. (2) Very important – the appointment of judges to the federal bench. I will only appoint strict-constructionists. "Two of the finest appointments were both Senator Alito—excuse me, Justice Alito and Justice Roberts." I was proud to have supported them. There's a stark difference between myself and Obama, which is extremely important. - MCCAIN jokes that "these work-release workers" aka his aides at the event "are not very good." Q7) NCLB forgets about the responsibility of parents. How are you going to address this? We as teachers have no control over things like having kids with drug problems. MCCAIN: straight-talk – I cannot legislate the responsibility of parents. I can encourage parents. I thought NCLB was a great beginning. It rewards good-performing schools in some ways. That's why we need to fix it. It was a landmark piece that got the fed govt involved in certain ways. If you want to scrap it like Obama wants to do, that means you're happy with the pre-NCLB status quo. Good example in NOLA. There are 27 charter schools (interrupted and corrected--- "37, 37 charter schools"). McCain asks Gov. Jindal to talk about this system. § Jindal says we can learn some lessons – when we rebuild Louisiana, let's not just rebuild what we had before; (2) lack of discipline in classroom environment makes teacher retention difficult; we need higher pay for teachers and a Teachers' Bill of Rights so they have support of school administration and the parents to restore classroom difficulty § MCCAIN response to Jindal: "Well I've got to take him wherever I go" Q8) (a PE teacher): Very concerned about childrens' obesity problem. Anything we can do to step up PE in schools. MCCAIN: Every parent in USA should know what school lunch program is in their school, what their school's PE program is. I'm reluctant to have fed government impose things on local school boards and local authorities. But if you send LSU and NOLA Saints and other athletes to schools to say 'get in shape, watch your diet,' I think young people would respond to it. Wants a nationwide program where athletes go to schools and motivate kids to lose weight – without getting the federal govt involved, in which case there are always unintended consequences. Q9) Wouldn't it be a good idea to concentrate more on preventative health care (e.g. BluePrint Louisiana)? MCCAIN: I think insurance companies and employers should reward people for wellness and fitness; e.g. cash reward, employer paying for fitness club. Most expensive is ER care. We need more facilities that address emergency care outside E.R. health care costs are never going to come down if we have a rising rate of heart disease and diabetes. We're going to spend hours discussing / debating health care. I want to give every family $5k refundable tax credit so they can go across state lines and get health care. McCain concludes: I want to assure you as President, "I will never let you down." *Press Avail *(Note: We were not able to get tracker footage of this, but it was broadcast by some of the cable networks.) * * MCCAIN repeats invitation to Obama to engage in series of town hall meetings. Wants to do first one on June 12th and fly there with Sen Obama as part of the "symbology" and the agreement that was made between Goldwater and JFK. American people want a new kind of debate and they want to hear directly from the candidates. I hope Sen Obama will agree. - Q1 (Kelly O'Donnell): Obama gets a lot of praise for drawing large crowds and deliver a speech and you get criticism for small crowds and worse at the podium. Is that a deficiency in your campaign. MCCAIN: (mocks getting angry and offended): We do fine. I just prefer a town hall meeting – it's a purer form of democracy, I never would've been able to win in NH without them. I will continue this throughout the election. - Q2: At AIPAC speech, Obama said he proposed investment [means "divestment"] a year ago and wants to know why you didn't. he also said he wants to meet with Iranian leaders but *with* preconditions – using democracy as a leverage. MCCAIN: "I've never favored investment'" reporter corrects McCain and himself: "Divestment." It's very clear on my record on whether we should support terrorist organziations. Obama has repeatedly he would meet with Pres of Iran – it shows a naivete and a lack of experience. o Follow-up: Are you familiar with this divestment bill? MCCAIN: No, I don't even know if it passed the Senate. There are thousands of bills every year. Obama voted against declaring Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist org – a fundamental misunderstanding of threat they pose to us. - Q3 (Michael): Obama campaign said they're open to town hall meeting, but would prefer something less structured, more like Lincoln-Douglas debates. Are you flexible on format? MCCAIN: I want to hear directly from the American people asking the candidates what they think. - Q4: Now that Obama has clinched nomination, what makes Louisiana important to you? MCCAIN: The leadership here, Gov. Jindal – has been able to reach across the aisle and help with recovery. It's a way I can show American people how I can reach across the aisle and get things done. - Q5: It seems to me you didn't answer Michael's question. MCCAIN (interrupting): I was actually recognizing the person behind you, not you, to ask a question. o Follow-up Q: maybe I should start differently. MCCAIN: Maybe you should, but I'm recognizing the person behind you. - Q6: In your speech last night, you criticized Obama for supporting GOP Pres's energy bill. It seemed extraordinary. Just how much of a liability do you see GWB to your campaign? MCCAIN: it was a bad bill. I'll leave others to figure out liability. I've agreed with Pres a lot of times and disagreed a lot, whether on Iraq, environment, spending, etc. we've had great differences. The energy bill was a failure. Obama has criticized the policy, but he supported the bill. - Q7: When Michael asked if you were open to format changes in town hall proposal. Are you? MCCAIN: I want a town hall meeting and I want it to be in a way that American people can feel like they're involved. I know from many years of experience that this is the most effective way. If there are ways to modify the details, I would discuss that. I do want a town hall meeting. - Q8 (JEFF MASON): you were complimentary of HRC last night and today. Are you actively courting her women voters? MCCAIN: I would welcome them, but we'll be seeking votes of people across the political spectrum. We're going to discard the old politics as usual. 81% of people think we're on the wrong track, and I think this town hall could go a long way in fixing that, rather than hearing long speeches. - Q9: Maya Rodriguez (local CBS): Why have you voted twice against investigation of levee failures in NOLA? MCCAIN: I've supported every investigation into what caused the tragedy, I've been here. I've been as active as anybody in restoration efforts. I also voted against one bill that was loaded with pork-barrel projects that had nothing to do with NOLA recovery. I'm proud of my record of support, doing everything I can, incl. my commitment on climate change. -- Sara DuBois Deputy Director, Tracking/Media Monitoring Progressive Media USA [email protected] 202-609-7681 (office) 410-967-7306 (cell) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the "big campaign" group. To post to this group, send to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] E-mail [email protected] with questions or concerns This is a list of individuals. It is not affiliated with any group or organization. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---