by Jill Zuckman
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Upbeat and on the offense, John McCain accused rival Barack Obama on Friday of a Halloween trick to tax people's retirement contributions.
As McCain toured Ohio for a second day, he brought a little extra star power along with him, showing off Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie star and governor of California, in the state capital, and Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, in Hanoverton.
"John McCain has served this country longer in the POW camp than his opponent has served in the United States Senate," Schwarzenegger told a pumped-up crowd in the Nationwide Arena here. "I only play an action hero in my movies, but John McCain is a real action hero."
Being president is about leadership, Schwarzenegger said: "If you were in a POW cell with the threat of dangers and torture as part of your daily life, who would you want with you?" The crowd chanted McCain's name.
Campaign officials insisted they have just had their best 10 days of polling since the convention, boasted of a voter contact operation that would dwarf President George W. Bush's from 2004, and promised a final 24-hour burst of campaigning in seven cities in seven states leading up to Election Day.
"We're jazzed up by the movement," said campaign manager Rick Davis. "And we are witnessing, I believe, probably one of the greatest comebacks that you've seen since John McCain won the primary."
Since the convention, the campaign and the Republican National Committee has spent $325 million--the most spent by the GOP in a two-month period. Davis expects to outspend Obama on television by $10 million in the last 10 days of the race. And in the last week alone, Republicans say they have contacted 5.3 million voters and expect to reach 17 million more in the next four days.
At United High School in Hanoverton, where the boisterous crowd could not fit into the gymnasium, McCain said the Democrats who control Congress are planning to tax 401(k) contributions, which need to be "protected, not endangered."
"Here's what's going on, it's Halloween. So what do the Democrats do? Every four years, they run out and they try to scare seniors by saying the Republicans are going to take away their Social Security or we're going to take away Medicare," McCain said.
"They do it every four years," he continued. "My friends, our Americans have wised up. I'm going to protect Social Security, I'm going to protect Medicare and I'm not going to let this Congress tax away your retirement savings."
McCain also accused Obama of presumptuously banking on the presidency being handed to him.
"He's measuring the drapes. And as you notice, the night before last, he gave his first address to nation before the election, and this week, he's settled on a chief of staff," said McCain. "We're a few points down but we're coming back and we're coming back strong."
McCain was loose and joking Friday, reprising some of his old one-liners that have been in mothballs for several months. In Steubenville, on the steps of the Jefferson County Courthouse, McCain laughed as he read out loud the signs for "Eric the lawyer," "Doug the undertaker," and "Juka the nurse"--a play on his newest friend and campaign prop "Joe the plumber."
Comments
An endorsement from an actor/governator who has admitted on TV to being a bad boy sometimes--after the allegations that he fondled actresses (with less status than himself) is not good. The perv and powerful go for McCain. Gee, I just can't get jazzed up about Arnold. Between McCain's bad temper and x-rated name calling of women (which he did not deny in an interview with a Baptist minister), and Arnold's admitting that he's a bad boy sometimes--the two men are meant for each other--but not meant for leadership of 51% of the American population.
Arnold says BHO is measuring drapes? Doesn't Arnold want the U.S. constitution amended so that HE can be president?
I really hope that middle class Ohio doesn't vote against their financial interests.
Posted by: Vivian | November 1, 2008 12:07 PM
Barack has been a pillar of confidence, cool, and level headedness this entire campaign. McCain represents desperation, low road politics and putting self and your own personal aspirations far in front of country. There is no limit to the depths John McCain won't sink to in an effort to win this election. He gave up country first a long time ago. Schwarzenegger, an alleged racist, who's been critical of Sarah Palin and John McCain, now is being utilized as McCain's saving grace. Politics are such a joke.
Posted by: roschelle | November 1, 2008 12:16 PM
McCain claims: I'm going to protect Social Security, I'm going to protect Medicare and I'm not going to let this Congress tax away your retirement savings.
SURE! By privatizing Social Security so that EVERYBODY'S retirement can go down the UNREGULATED tubes, right John? I'd love to see HOW you intend to "protect" Medicare: planning on PRIVATIZING that too? Congress is not the part that has diminished my retirement savings, you blithering idiot. It's the lack of enforcement by YOUR REPUBLICAN PARTY over the market.
Go home to one of your 12 HOUSES! And stay there!
And take Arnie with you!
Posted by: athena | November 1, 2008 12:28 PM
"Lehman Brothers collapse is traced back to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two big mortgage banks that got a federal bailout a few weeks ago.
Freddie and Fannie used huge lobbying budgets and political contributions to keep regulators off their backs.
A group called the Center for Responsive Politics keeps track of which politicians get Fannie and Freddie political contributions. The top three U.S. senators getting big Fannie and Freddie political bucks were Democrats and No. 2 is Sen. Barack Obama.
Now remember, he's only been in the Senate four years, but he still managed to grab the No. 2 spot ahead of John Kerry — decades in the Senate — and Chris Dodd, who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee." Foxnews
See it below:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,423701,00.html
Posted by: Joe | November 2, 2008 3:19 AM
Haley’s comet swings by the earth every 86 years or so, which is precisely the amount of time that has passed since the last World Series game was called. The current one is suspended with the score tied at 2, the first occurrence of a suspended game in progress in World Series history, but it has been 86 years since a game was called in the World Series. However, this isn’t the only news in Pennsylvania. McCain, along with Palin, and Obama, sans Biden, both held morning rallies despite the weather that interrupted the most holy of all sporting events. McCain and Palin in Hershey, and Obama at Widener University in Philadelphia both continue to press their campaigns, McCain and Palin maintaining their attack mentality, whilst Obama keeps on reminding us that a vote for McCain is a vote for four more years of George W. Bush, just with a new face. For those of us who have ever needed quick loans, that might not be too bad of a thing, because we just might be able to maintain our freedom of financial choice. A democratic congress and presidency might not afford us that. The freedom to select for everybody’s financial needs must not be influence by those democrats.
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Posted by: Payday Loan Advocate | November 3, 2008 1:58 AM