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By Malavika Jagannathan • September 18, 2008
ASHWAUBENON – Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain and his running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin attacked their Democratic rivals for being out of touch and promised reform during a campaign rally before a full house at the 10,000-seat Resch Center on Thursday night.
In short speeches – Palin’s clocked in just at 10 minutes and McCain’s at about 15 – the Republican ticket hammered away at Democratic senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden before hitting on energy independence and the current financial crisis.
Earlier in the day, McCain said he would fire fellow Republican Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox as a response to the Wall Street financial crisis. At the Resch Center rally, however, he promised tax cuts, a pro-growth agenda and strong support of small business, which he called the “backbone of our recovery.”
“I will hold accountable those responsible for the oversight and protection of consumers, taxpayers and homeowners,” said McCain, 72.
Prior to that, he charged that Obama’s presidential campaign had ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the mortgage giants recently bailed out by the government – and linked those lenders to the beginning of the financial market meltdown.
McCain’s speech focused on his economic platform – also the topic of his address before the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday morning – while Palin’s concentrated on energy, an issue she is familiar with.
“Everything is going up but the value of your paycheck is going down all because of energy costs,” Palin said. “We are going to drill now to make this nation energy independent.”
The 44-year-old Alaska governor – who had been interrupted by protesters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – accused Obama of the “worst of politics” and blindly following his party leaders.
“Our opponent told his supporters to go out and argue – that doesn’t sound like the politics of hope or the politics of change to me,” Palin said to a cheering crowd that chanted her name at times.
They responded warmly to Palin’s opening remarks in which she said it was great to be in a state that appreciated hockey, hunting, fishing and “great football.” She was introduced by a former Hillary Clinton supporter Debra Bartoshevich, a nurse from Waterford who was ousted as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention after she publicly said she’d support McCain.
Polls have McCain and Obama running neck and neck for the state’s 10 electoral votes. Results in the Big Ten Battleground poll show Obama leading McCain by one percentage point in the state with Brown County emerging as a crucial battleground spot for both candidates.
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