McCain plays softball with friendly, hand-picked crowd in St. Paul

Two weeks ago Barack Obama laid claim to the Democratic presidential nomination before a raucous crowd of nearly 20,000 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Last night, just a few blocks away, his Republican rival John McCain held a much more somber "town hall" meeting with roughly 200 voters.

The contrast between the two events couldn’t have been more stark. While Obama promised "a new course for America," McCain warned the audience of a long war against Islamic terrorism and vowed to stay the course in Iraq. On a day when Minnesota‘s unemployment rate reached its highest level in 17 years, he also promised to resuscitate a reeling economy. "Americans are hurting," he said. "We’ve got to return to prosperity."

But the Arizona senator, after being introduced by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, opened the Landmark Center event by chastising Obama for opting out of the public financing system for the general election. "Anytime you go back on your word to the American people it erodes the trust that they have in all of us," he said.

Any notion that McCain would face stringent questioning by the supposedly undecided Minnesotans was allayed by the first query. The audience member expressed his great admiration for the Arizona senator and frustration at "misinformation" being circulated about his campaign. "I’m not sure we’re getting the real John McCain," he complained. McCain responded by returning to a recent theme of his campaign: complaining about media coverage. "Jack Kennedy once said, ‘Life isn’t fair,’ and I appreciate that comment more and more every day," he said.

(While the event was billed as featuring "undecided" voters, it was definitely a McCain-friendly crowd. As the conservative blog Truth v. The Machine points out, the gathering "was populated by many friendly faces, several of whom I recognized as long time Republicans.)

The questions subsequently became more substantive. To a query about health care, from a woman whose son suffers from a chronic disease, McCain offered few specifics. "We put the families in charge, rather than the government," he stated. "If you like government-run health-care programs I suggest you go to Canada or Great Britain."

Immigration seemed to be a question prominent on the minds of many in attendance. It’s a tricky balancing act for McCain. He sponsored a bill that would have provided amnesty to some people who are currently in the country illegally. But he then backtracked on that position during the primary season, as Republicans sought to out-demagogue each other on the issue. At last night’s event McCain endorsed an expanded temporary-worker program and advocated using technology for more stringent documentation. "We would have to prosecute those [business owners] who continued to go around it and hire people illegally," he stated. "We must secure our borders."

McCain was also asked how we would know when victory has been achieved in Iraq, but he declined to offer any specific benchmarks. "The problem with all this progress that we’re making is that it’s very fragile," McCain said. "The Iraqi people are just starting to lead normal lives."

But the issue bubbling beneath the surface was raised with the last question of the night: What are the chances of Gov. Tim Pawlenty being named his running mate? McCain dutifully dodged the query. "I knew we should have stopped there," he laughed. "This meeting is adjourned." But McCain then went on to sing T-Paw’s praises. "I believe Governor Pawenty is the next and new generation of leadership in the Republican party," he said.

Earlier in the day McCain hosted a fundraiser at the Minneapolis Hilton, with donors contributing between $1,000 and $50,000 to attend. In two months McCain will return to St. Paul to accept the Republican party’s presidential nomination at the Xcel center. It remains an open question if Pawlenty will once again be by his side.

After the event, Raul Piersdorf, a 79-year-old retiree from Oakdale, said he was impressed by the senator and almost certain to vote for him. But he’s wary of McCain’s immigration stance. "I don’t believe in amnesty, that’s for sure," he said. "I think people have to earn the right to be in our country. If they have to wait five years, they have to wait five years."

Megan Quiggle, who got invited to the event through a friend on McCain’s advance team, wouldn’t reveal which candidate she intends to support in November. The African-American St. Paul resident described herself as an independent with conservative leanings and cited education as her chief concern. The race of the candidates, she said, would not make a difference in how she votes. "I think that character and beliefs are more important than skin color," she said.

Donald Nemer, a 50-year-old defense attorney from Eagan, said he struggled to decide which candidate to support during the primary season. "If it’s Hillary Clinton or John McCain I have a problem," Nemer stated. But Thursday’s town hall meeting put him staunchly in the Arizona senator’s camp. "I was independent until this evening," he said. "I was leaning a little bit towards him, but he sealed it for me."