CLAREMONT, N.H. -- Following a week of financial woes and negative publicity surrounding his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) spoke to a crowd of around 100 at the Claremont American Legion headquarters in a town hall meeting this past Saturday. The campaign recently announced that it would focus on the primaries in three states: New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina.
The past few weeks have been difficult for the McCain campaign. Last month, McCain suffered the failure of an immigration measure that he strongly supported and many conservatives strongly opposed. Within the last two weeks, news reports revealed that the campaign has approximately $2 million left in its war chest -- a relatively meager sum compared to other leading Democratic and Republican campaigns, especially given the fact that he has spent at a rate of roughly $1 million per week so far.
The campaign has also been hurt by the recent exit of several influential McCain advisers and a July 12 Gallup poll found the hopeful trailing former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani by 16 points for the Republican nomination.
Despite these obstacles, McCain appeared to be relaxed throughout the meeting, peppering his discussion with jokes and references to his time in the military.
He acknowledged that his campaign made mistakes in managing its money, but maintained that he can outperform others in the crowded Republican field.
"I can win in New Hampshire, as I did in 2000," McCain said, referring to his unexpected victory in the New Hampshire primary seven years ago. "This campaign was never going to rely on money. I can out-campaign [the other Republican candidates]."
McCain did not address the problems affecting his campaign until the question and answer session, instead beginning his speech with a discussion of climate change and spending reform.
"I know climate change is taking place," McCain said, adding that if nothing is done about climate change "the consequences to future generations are serious."
The Senator did not discuss the war in Iraq until the last section of his speech. McCain -- a steadfast supporter of the war even as a growing number of Americans turn against it -- made it clear that he is strongly opposed to the way the war was managed by the Bush administration, but that he remains committed to the war.
He described the war as an integral part of what he termed the "global struggle against radical Islam." The Senator drew resounding applause when he compared the war to a battle between good and evil.
"Failure [in Iraq] spreads to the region, then to the world," McCain said, adding that withdrawal would create "a disastrous situation."
McCain expressed disapproval with the Republican Party's involvement in corruption scandals.
He also blamed the loss of the Republican congressional majority in last year's midterm elections on the party's abandonment of its traditional message of reduced government spending.
"We came to power to change government, but instead government changed us," he said.
During the question and answer period following his speech, the Senator expressed his disgust with current government inefficiency and with the news media for making political campaigns more about style and money then about substance.
He also scolded the media for ignoring the importance of domestic issues like health care.
"The press does not have sufficient interest in issues important to the people here," he said.
He proposed alternative energy sources, including a renewed investment in nuclear power. He also emphasized the need to come to an agreement about reducing greenhouse gas emissions with all major industrial countries, including India and China.
