Monday, May 2nd, i attended John McCain's town hall meeting at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville- part of his "Straight Talk Express" tour across the country. My Obama-supporting coworker James accompanied me. i took extensive notes, partly as an excuse not to participate in several sessions of applause for statements with which i disagreed. James didn't have that luxury. The result of those notes will be, i'm sure, a rather lengthy report to follow. i was quite excited, because i had spent the better part of the prior day researching and forming questions, hoping i might get the opportunity to ask Senator McCain something that might not otherwise be asked, thanks to what i consider the shoddy quality of journalism in the major media outlets of the US.
The event was open to the public, with door opening for general admission at 12:30. When James and i arrived, the line had just wrapped around Gruhn Guitars on Broadway. On the way in we were greeted by protesters, with signs about the war in Iraq, and one about NAFTA. The anti-NAFTA lady got in a shouting match with another women her age in front of me, who taunted back at her by making silly "i can't hear you" gestures. One protester, a late 20's guy in a red polo and, occasionally, a rubber Nixon mask, asked with a grin, "Does McCain understand the economy?" One guy in front of me, just out of earshot, started yelling "Do you?? Do you??" until he was satisfied he'd been heard. i think the line of reason that naturally follows is "since we don't understand economics, who are we to demand a President that does?" i told James some of the Primary debates weren't much better than this.
Once inside, it was as if TSA had commandeered the place, but instead it was the Secret Service inspecting purses and wallets while we walked through metal detectors. General admission sat in the balcony, the floor being occupied by VIP's, according to a young volunteer named Caroline who helped seat us. Because we were being seated in sections from right to left, James and i scored second-row aisle seats in the center, my favorite spot to attend a Ryman function.
A smartly-dressed woman in her 50's was making her way down the aisle next to me, and shook my hand announcing "I'm Marsha Blackburn." ...awkward pause... "i'm Shannon. Collins." Her smile began to fade until a man in my aisle showered her with compliments regarding her earlier appearance on a radio show, apparently talking about oil refineries. Turns out she's the 7th district's US representative, serving an electorate stretching between the suburbs of Memphis and Nashville. According to one man near us, she is "the bestest one we have" and when she says she'll get something done, she surely will. i offered Caroline my pen, because she desperately wanted the Congresswoman's autograph.
First up was John Rich of Big & Rich, in all black with a red tie, who opened with Johnny Cash's "Walk the Line". He intermingled a few more songs with praise for Senator McCain, who, he was pleased to say, recognized him when they first met, and was a fan of his music. Behind Rich was four bleacher rows of supporters with McCain signs, my favorite saying "Hold the Bacon", which was not McCain's dietary concern, as James surmised, but rather an ode to the Senator's war on pork-barrel spending and earmarks. The backdrop was an enormous US flag flanked by 6' x 12' "John McCain and the Straight Talk Express" banners. Rich ended with a little diatribe about the "youth vote", and how it's apparently going to Obama. "Well guess what," he said, "I'm pretty young, and I'm not voting for him- I'm voting for Senator McCain!" His comment was met with enthusiastic cheering, the crowd encouraged to know that the 34-year old wasn't so young he didn't know better.
Senator Bill Frist attested to McCain's judgment and responsibility, particularly when it came to fiscal issues. i felt silly when i didn't anticipate his introduction of former Senator Fred Thompson, who received a great standing ovation- perhaps greater than any McCain received. Thompson praised McCain's "career of honor, courage, integrity; plain old-fashioned guts in everything he's ever done" and told a story of how during five and a half years as a "guest of the Viet Cong" McCain turned down an early release offered to him as the son of an admiral. He assured us that Senator McCain could deliver a "smaller, more responsible government", with "less pork." Then he warned us that McCain was "the only man in this race who understands the importance of the US not appearing to be weak and not appearing to be divided."
John McCain appeared to one of many enthusiastic standing ovations. His speech was peppered with self-deprecating stories, which were pretty funny, including one where on the campaign trail a man asked if he'd ever been told he looks "like Senator John McCain," adding, "doesn't that make you mad as heck?" Someone in the back with a large video camera shouted something and was promptly escorted outside by Secret Service without much more drama, aside from a woman in the section to my left who similarly stood up and screamed, "Go home, you Marxist!" but wasn't also asked to leave. Her charge became ironic when i later found the man was a Paul supporter and likely even less Marxist than the woman.
After another woman stood up to shout "Fred for VP!" John related that a Vice President has two duties- to preside over the Senate, and to inquire daily about the health of the President. McCain commended Thompson, as well as former opponents Guiliani, Huckabee, and Romney, notably omitting Representative Ron Paul, who to McCain's irritation, continues to campaign against him. "We are a united party," he assured us. You wouldn't know, considering the past several Republican primaries, where he still only gets around 3 of 4 votes in what is an all-but-determined contest.
He spoke about the price of oil, mentioning his tax holiday idea, which he explained would benefit those who drive the furthest and own the most gas-guzzling vehicles, otherwise known as "the lowest income Americans." Huh? He chided Obama for calling it a gimmick, and suggested we should find a few more gimmicks like that. Next, he advocated "energy independence", saying some of the money we pay for oil ends up in the hands of terrorists. Another standing ovation, in which James and i sat awkwardly in their midst. Wind, solar, plug-in hybrids, and nuclear are the answer, he said. He ignored a call-out regarding drilling in Alaska. We wouldn't care so much about Hugo Chavez, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, if we weren't so dependent on their oil, he said in an interesting confession.
Next he focused on Iran, citing a quote by Ahmadinejad from earlier in the day where he apparently said "I must pronounce that [Israel] is about to die and will soon be erased from the geography," and something about the "fall of the Great Satan." McCain was reiterating his talking points from the AIPAC conference earlier in the day. McCain also asserted that the Iranians were sending "the most explosive weapons into Iraq." He called on Senator Obama to visit Iraq, where he hadn't been in nearly three years. (In Obama's later victory speech in St. Paul, he challenged McCain to visit one of the many cities in the US affected by our failing economy.) McCain continued to hammer at Obama, citing his failure to criticize MoveOn.org's controversial "General Betray-Us" ad.
McCain argued success in Iraq, saying the three major cities are under the control of the Iraqi Council, and repeating his "it's not American presence, it's American casualties" line, and warning that if we withdraw, we will have to return at a greater loss. he ended with a story about how he wears a bracelet in the honor of a particular fallen soldier and promised not to let that soldier to have died in vain.
Following his awkwardly-worded claim that "with your support, I win win every place," we entered the question time, which i consider a disappointment, partly because only a dozen questions were addressed, due in part to the lengthy nature of the questions, and in some cases, the meandering path of the answers. The first was not a question at all, but a story by a former enlisted man under Petraeus, who related a heartwarming story about the General while he was a Lieutenant Colonel hit by friendly fire.
The next questioner mentioned Hillary Clinton, which was the first mention of the New York Senator that afternoon, and McCain took the opportunity to praise Clinton for inspiring generations of young women to achieve high office. Don't quite know how he segued, but McCain also took the opportunity to appeal the Tennessee's social conservatives, grabbing another standing ovation by voicing his support for the idea that marriage is between a man and a woman.
The third questioner asked what his response to Iran would be if they bombed Israel, possibly hoping to recreate Hillary's "total obliteration" snafu. McCain said he would never allow a "Second Holocaust," which was a talking point for which the audience warmly rewarded him.
The next questioner pointed out McCain's votes against several rounds of Bush's tax cuts, citing his statements that "we have to match cuts with spending cuts," and otherwise he could not support them. "How would McCain' cuts look different?" he asked. McCain spoke of cutting earmarks and "pork barrel spending," and reminisced about fiscal restraint under Reagan.
Responding to a question about servicemen in extended tours in Iraq, McCain blamed the overstretched military on the cuts made under Clinton. He said he'd do whatever it took to increase the size of the military. He would increase educational and health care for vets, he said.
After another lady suggested Fred Thompson for veep, with another round of standing ovation, a young man offered a little diatribe on how he felt the "Separation of Church and State" has become the "Separation of God and State," and ended with a very carefully crafted, direct question to Senator McCain: "What or who is the supreme authority in your life, and how will it be evident during your Presidency?" This drew an eager gasp from the audience, a large percentage i suspect were evangelicals. McCain proceeded to directly avoid the question, telling a long story about being a POW in Vietnam, and how his faith helped him through- that he "would be here today" if it weren't for his faith. Problem was, the question was not about whether he had faith, but in "what or who" that faith was placed. The questioner likely was hoping for "Jesus", "the Bible", or as a concession, "God," but got none of the above. i was disappointed when the questioner decided not to follow up by asking the very same question again. As an aside, i do not believe a religious test should be put on a candidate for the Presidency, but i am completely disappointed in McCain's lack of "Straight Talk" in addressing the question. Ironically, the Tennessean chose to use the "faith" quote as their headline in the next day's newspaper, which i believe utterly misrepresented McCain's visit, but surely eased the minds of the local electorate.
The next questioner, another Iraq War vet who chided the Senator for admittedly being one of many congressmen who did not read the intelligence report before authorizing the President to invade Iraq, asked the Senator if he could name the US Poet Laureate. "The what?" McCain asked, while many wondered the same. "Maybe you can tell me," McCain said. After informing everyone the current appointee (which we all promptly forgot), he asked McCain who his biggest literary influences were. McCain seized the opportunity to regain some face with the evangelicals by immediately citing Joel Osteen. i don't know if that had the desired effect. After adding Hemingway, McCain seemingly couldn't remember any other names of authors, because he fumbled his way into a little aside about biographies of "The Founding Fathers."
Another man assured McCain that he was a bonafide fiscal conservative, but that he had doubts about his social conservatism. What would judicial appointees look like under his Presidency? Roberts and Alito were cited, and John took the opportunity to mention that Obama opposed both. "I will only nominate strict Constitutional judges," he said.
"Thank you for five years in a concentration camp," said a women in the VIP section, adding logically, "what is your stance on immigration?" McCain's response meandered from "The Federalist Papers inspired me", the country has changed, sometimes "not for the better," and that "all are created equal and endowed." i don't remember anything about immigration in his answer, but the questioner must have been satisfied because she declared to him, "you are one of the Fathers!" Oh, please. i considered changing my question to "Which of the Federalist Papers is your favorite and why?" hoping to call his bluff.
A man told a sad story about his deteriorating 92-year-old aunt, who had chronic pain, and wondered why someone couldn't just treat the pain. Apparently, the Federal government is prosecuting doctors for prescribing too much pain medication, so they are wary to give ample amounts. i thought the question was going ot be about medical marijuana. McCain had no idea how to address this question, but Frist stood up to come to his aid, but with not much better result. The best the two could come up with was "we need to invest in science." McCain said he'd be glad to look at the issue.
At 3:15 people were bored and began to leave. i, on the other hand, was quite eager to ask McCain my question, and even more eager for James, behind me in one of four lines, to ask the question i offered him. But after a woman took the opportunity to lobby for a legislation proposed by NARF, which McCain didn't know anything about but would again "examine the agenda," the presumptive nominee ended the meeting so he could take photographs.
Oh, disappointment. i made a mental note to be more aggressive with opportunities like this, be cause had i lined up earlier i surely would have had my question in. Here it is, if you're curious: "Senator McCain,, you've detailed several tax cuts you'd like to make, but i haven't heard you specify the spending cuts you plan to make to address the $400 billion budget deficit, likely to increase another $300 billion more after your proposed tax cuts. Would you please specifically itemize the spending cuts you'd propose, to cover this several hundred billion dollar deficit?"
i consider economic questions of utmost importance, considering our current outstanding liabilites amount to $53 trillion and we have no hope to pay them. Since McCain promised to balance the budget before the end of his first term, and because during the afternoon he already committed to increasing funding for the military, benefits for vets, and "science", i wanted to get him to be brave and tell us what programs would face cuts. i didn't suspect he actually would be able to, nor do i anticipate such cuts under his Presidency. i would also have liked to take the opportunity to use a followup question to challenge his pork-cutting rhetoric, which i could demonstrate is a smokescreen for anyone interested. i don't buy into McCain's "fiscal conservative" image any more than i buy into his "maverick" image, or his supposed "straight talk."
Oh, here's the question i gutlessly pawned off on James: "Since you've taken the position that you can unilaterally withdraw your campaign from public financing without the authorization of the FEC, failing to abide by a campaign financing law that bears your name (McCain-Feingold), should we expect similar above-the-law actions during your presidency?"
If he comes to your town, please consider attending with a good question of your own. If you're uninspired, i'd be delighted if you used one of mine.
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