McCain listens to questions during a townhall meeting at the York Expo Center Aug. 12, 2008 in York, Pa. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
by Josh Drobnyk
YORK - John McCain was halfway through a town hall event in central Pennsylvania on Tuesday when a questioner seemed to stop him cold.
''We conservatives believe you dismiss our serious quest for responsible, limited government,'' the woman said during the question-and-answer session at the York Expo Center. ''In your quest for the presidency, we want to know if it is in you to become a passionate and forceful leader with a conservative agenda?''
The 5,500-person crowd burst into applause. McCain responded succinctly and playfully: ''Yes.''
In his two months of campaigning in Pennsylvania, McCain has focused largely on drawing on his appeal among independent voters in suburban Philadelphia counties, playing up his pledge to bring a bipartisan approach to the presidency.
His two-day swing through the state that ended Tuesday presented the Arizona senator his first opportunity to address head-on the concerns among voters in a part of Pennsylvania that has long been kind to Republican candidates and is considered crucial to the GOP presidential candidate's chances of carrying the state.
After his curt response to the questioner at the York event was met with a polite, ''Well, thank you,'' McCain continued: ''I want to look you in the eye and assure you that I have supported Justice [Samuel] Alito and Justice [John] Roberts.''
He added: ''I will nominate ... only judges who have a clear record of strict adherence to the Constitution of the United States and do not believe in legislating from the bench.''
The crowd welcomed the response with warm applause, but whether or not it will be enough to overcome a record that has some conservatives anguished about McCain's candidacy -- he supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants and spearheaded the effort for campaign finance reform -- is one of the central unknowns of the 2008 election.
Josh Drobnyk writes for The Morning Call. Read the full story about McCain courting Pennsylvania conservatives at www.mcall.com.
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Comments
McCain, do you promise to be a conservative if you become president?
Yes.
1. I will appoint judges in the mold of Thomas and Scalia.
2. I will attack Iran
3. I will cut taxes
4. I will attack Iran
5. I will reduce the size of government.
6. I will attack Iran
7. I will try to get rid of gays
8. I will attack Iran
9. I will issue school vouchers and eliminate the Dept of Education.
10. I will attack Iran
11. I will not support stem cell research
12. I will attack Iran
13. I will put prayer back in the schools.
14. I will attack Iran.
Is that conservative enuff fer ya? Next conservative question.
Posted by: GEEP | August 13, 2008 9:38 AM
York, PA, eh??
The meeting house at Warrington, nearby, was (legend has it) a hiding place (in the attic) for passengers on the underground railroad.
Demographics seem to have shifted in 200 years if McCain is ahead in York, PA.
Posted by: ornery | August 13, 2008 10:32 AM
Interesting. I've read three reports on the York meeting. The first one said 2,000 attended, the second one said 3,000, and now this one says 5,500. Either the crowd grew dramatically while the meeting was in progress, or some reporters (you know who you are) will buy anything the McCain camps has for sale.
Posted by: rita s | August 13, 2008 10:49 AM
I wonder if speaking before 5,500 people made McCain feel like a "celebrity"?
Posted by: BC | August 13, 2008 2:55 PM