January 28, 2008
The biggest issue facing voters in this year's presidential race is national security, and Republican candidate John McCain is best equipped to handle it.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla, made that declaration Sunday, when he and two other high-profile McCain supporters appeared at a local campaign rally days before the presidential primary in Florida.
The event also attended by former U.S. Secretary of the Navy William L. Ball III and former CIA Director Jim Woolsey drew nearly 100 people to the Gulf Breeze Recreation Center on Shoreline Drive.
"We're in a long war against Islamic terrorism, and we need a leader who is tough and has a steely resolve," said Woolsey, a foreign policy specialist and former head of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Woolsey, who has been known primarily as a conservative Democrat, has endorsed McCain and serves as one of the candidate's foreign policy advisers. He said his support stems from the fact that McCain is someone who has the "courage to take a stand on issues that are sometimes not popular."
Woolsey pointed to McCain's early support for a U.S. military surge in the Iraq War.
"He was the only one in Washington, D.C., advocating for a surge and was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats," Woolsey said.
Retired business executive Lew Oliver agreed that national security is a key issue in this year's presidential election. After listening for an hour to the presentation, he said he was convinced that McCain can best solve the problem.
"National security is tied to our dependence
on energy from the Middle East," said Oliver of Gulf Breeze. "I believe if
elected, Mr. McCain will offer alternatives to us relying on Middle Eastern oil,
and that will protect our national security."
Illegal immigration also was an issue tackled at the rally. Mike Peavy, a retired Marine, said he had planned to vote for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani because of his strong stance on immigration.
"But Rep. Miller has reassured me that John McCain, who supported an earlier bill that provided amnesty to illegals, has now gotten the message that the American people are dead set against such a bill," said Peavy, also a Gulf Breeze resident.
"With such assurance, I think I'm going to switch my vote for McCain."
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