{"id":3897,"date":"2008-10-25T21:42:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-26T03:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/10\/mccain-says-hes-down-but-not-out-will-keep-fighting\/"},"modified":"2008-10-25T21:42:00","modified_gmt":"2008-10-26T03:42:00","slug":"mccain-says-hes-down-but-not-out-will-keep-fighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/10\/mccain-says-hes-down-but-not-out-will-keep-fighting\/","title":{"rendered":"McCain says he’s down but not out, will keep fighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>John McCain<\/a> had a simple message for voters during a rally today in Mesilla: I may be down, but I\u2019m not out. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s 10 days to go and we\u2019re a few points down (in the polls). Pundits have written off the race,\u201d McCain told a rowdy crowd of about 4,000 on the plaza in Mesilla. \u201c\u2026 I\u2019ve never been one to back down when the stakes are high.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCain sought during the rally to paint himself as a fighter. He referenced the fact that, before his surprising win in the New Hampshire<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> primary earlier this year, pundits said he wouldn\u2019t become the GOP nominee.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But he didn\u2019t give up then, and McCain said he\u2019s not giving up now.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a new direction, and we have to fight for it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been fighting for this country since I was 17 years old, and I\u2019ve got the scars to prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCain\u2019s rally in Mesilla was one of four high-profile political events today in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. The day began with McCain speaking to a crowd of about 1,500 people<\/a> in Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. About the same time McCain spoke in Mesilla, Hillary Clinton<\/a> urged hundreds of people to support Barack Obama<\/a> at a rally in Sunland Park<\/a>. Tonight, Obama spoke to 45,000 people<\/a> at a rally in Albuquerque<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Clinton<\/st1:city> defeated Obama in New Mexico<\/st1:state>\u2019s Feb. 5 caucus by scoring a huge win in southern New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>. Many conservative Democrats who voted for Clinton<\/st1:city> are the swing voters Obama and McCain are battling for in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Clinton<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> had a message for them at today\u2019s rally:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that there are a lot of people here who supported me when I ran, and I\u2019m here with a very simple message,\u201d she said. \u201cI want you to support Barack Obama as hard as you supported me.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCain isn\u2019t giving up on Clinton<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> supporters. Today\u2019s was his second campaign event in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> and, at today\u2019s rally, he sought to connect with voters by citing western issues.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI know land, I know water, I know Native American issues,\u201d the Arizona<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> senator said. \u201cI know how western states are growing with dynamic strength. Sen. Obama does not understand these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCain urged supporters to vote, and said he needs to win New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Republicans express optimism<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Many who spoke before McCain at the rally shared his optimism. Though Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Pearce<\/a> and 2nd Congressional District candidate Ed Tinsley<\/a> are trailing in the polls, Do\u00f1a Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez<\/a> introduced them as the state\u2019s next senator and the district\u2019s next congressman.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Tinsley, who spent hours working the crowd before McCain arrived, praised the GOP presidential nominee for, in the final days of the campaign, \u201cstaying true to form. He\u2019s not giving up. He\u2019s coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Tinsley said McCain was right on the surge in Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, and said McCain and the Republicans need a similar surge.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need you to surge to the polls, get your friends to the polls, get out to vote, and we can win this thing,\u201d Tinsley said. \u201c\u2026This is the election of our lifetime. We cannot afford to lose. We must keep fighting, in the spirit of John McCain, never, never, never give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Pearce went on the attack against Obama, saying, \u201credistribution of wealth is not American.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot have Barack Obama. We need the pro-growth policies of Republicans in the White House and in the U.S. Senate,\u201d Pearce said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Grammy Award-winning singer Vikki Carr<\/a> sang \u201cAmerica\u201d<\/a> for the crowd before saying that her Catholic faith helps her \u201cknow what is right and what is wrong. So that\u2019s what you have to remember when you go to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cLet it please be him. Oh God, let it please be him,\u201d Carr said of McCain.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCain was joined on stage by U.S.<\/st1:country-region> Sens. Pete Domenici<\/a> of New Mexico<\/st1:state> and Lindsey Graham<\/a> of South Carolina<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>. Graham called McCain \u201cthe most tested man in American politics, the most qualified man to be our commander in chief in this time of war.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018Let the voters weigh in\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCain focused most of his speech on the economy and attacking Obama as someone who \u201cis more interested in controlling wealth than creating wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to create wealth for all Americans by creating opportunity for all Americans,\u201d McCain said. \u201c\u2026 Sen. Obama\u2019s tax increases would put even more people out of work. We\u2019ve seen this movie in other countries. It doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCain also spoke about increasing drilling and the number of nuclear power plants as a way to boost the economy, end dependence on foreign oil and combat terrorism. And he took a shot at Obama over a report that a staffer had already written a draft of a potential Obama inaugural address<\/a> for a book published over the summer.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAn awful lot of voters are still undecided, but he\u2019s decided for them,\u201d McCain said, adding that he hopes Obama will donate the draft to the Smithsonian so it can be displayed next to the infamous \u201cDewey Defeats Truman\u201d<\/a> newspaper.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI prefer to let the voters weigh in before presuming the outcome,\u201d McCain said in pledging to fight until the end.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In an interview at the rally, Mark Van Dyke, chairman of the Republican Party of Do\u00f1a Ana County, said he\u2019s \u201cabout as optimistic as I\u2019ve ever been.\u201d He cited a tightening of the presidential race in several new polls and the high level of activity in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> in support of Republican candidates.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen this kind of activity, not even in 2004. It\u2019s really amazing,\u201d Van Dyke said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You can listen to McCain\u2019s Mesilla speech by clicking here<\/a> and watch video from the event here<\/a>. I\u2019ll update this post later with additional photos, so check back.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 11 p.m.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here are some additional photos, starting with more images of McCain:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a> <\/o:p><\/p>\n

McCain with Graham, left, and Domenici:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Carr:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Tinsley:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Pearce:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John McCain had a simple message for voters during a rally today in Mesilla: I may be down, but I\u2019m not out. \u201cThere\u2019s 10 days to go and we\u2019re a few points down (in the polls). Pundits have written off the race,\u201d McCain told a rowdy crowd of about 4,000 on the plaza in Mesilla. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3897\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}