Meeting with McCain

When I first heard that McCain was coming to the Expo Center, I figured it was to shore up his base among the Republican faithful.

Today on the bus, one of the reporters asked McCain if that's what he was doing. McCain denied it. He said that basically, he's trying to make himself as visible as possible in the months before the campaign -- traveling around the country, meeting with people and answering their questions.

It could just be political posturing, but I believe him.

As I mentioned previously, I headed out of town on Thursday morning for a few days of vacation. I didn't learn of the logistics of today's Town Hall Meeting until last night. My editor told me that the campaign was inviting attendees of any political persuasion.

When George W. Bush came to the Expo Center in 2004, they did everything but post "No Democrats Allowed" signs at the entrances. It was very clearly designed as an event for the Republican faithful.

One of the first things that struck me about today's event was the extent to which all of the speakers, including McCain himself, kept emphasizing the idea of bipartisan cooperation. Those speakers including Platts, state Rep. Stan Saylor, state Sen. Pat Vance, and U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.

Once McCain's bus arrived, we heard from his two traveling companions -- former Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, and U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

Technically, Lieberman is now an independent, and he's not exactly a darling of the Democratic left these days. Still, the fact that a recent Democratic vice presidential candidate would speak at a rally for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is remarkable. (Hell, do we even have to say "presumptive" anymore? It's a safe bet the Republicans aren't going to nominate Ron Paul at their national convention.)

During the question-and-answer session, a young man rose to ask McCain how he proposed to make things easier for recent high school grads like himself. He identified himself as a former Hillary Clinton supporter who was now undecided between him and Barack Obama.

The crowd didn't boo, precisely. But a noise of mass disapproval was audible at the mention of Hillary's name, conveying a message of "Good Lord! A heretic is in our midst!"

Yet McCain emphasized several times at the rally, and again on the bus, that the young woman was eminently welcome in that auditorium.

Don't get me wrong. I don't attribute all this to sheer generosity of spirit on the McCain campaign's part. I think it's a matter of political calculation.

A lot of analysts agree that McCain's ability to draw crossover voters is what left him standing at the end of primary season. And he'll need those crossover voters to win in November.

I covered a couple of Obama rallies during the primary race. From what I could see, the Obama supporters seem genuinely enthused and passionate about their candidate. There was lots of cheering and chanting as they waited for him to take the stage.

Today's McCain rally had a very different vibe. The Republican supporters seemed committed, but not passionate.

Before the rally, I spoke to a bunch of people in the crowd. I didn't find a single one who considered McCain his or her first choice for the primary. A lot of them told me they weren't crazy about McCain, but saw him as a preferable alternative to Obama.

I don't see any of that as necessarily a disadvantage for McCain, particularly where this county is concerned. Historically, the people of York County tend to be middle-of-the-road voters. The fact that the faithful of their respective parties are enthused about Obama and lukewarm on McCain probably speaks to McCain's greater likelihood of drawing those middle-of-the-road voters who aren't particularly loyal to either party.

In other words, the swing voters that are so precious to both campaigns.