John McCain unbending toward conservative wing
May 5th, 2008, 1:17 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Paul Giblin
Cindy and John McCain/Photo by Tim Hacker, Tribune
John McCain spent a considerable portion of his press conference in Phoenix on Monday discussing his renewed efforts to reach out to Hispanic voters.
It was no coincidence that Monday is Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday that commemorates the Battle of Puebla in 1862 when a small group of Mexican troops overcame overwhelming force during that country’s struggle for independence.
McCain announced the launch of a Spanish-language page on his campaign Web site. It can be accessed at http://espanol.johnmccain.com.
Then, as he did following his Super Tuesday victories on Feb. 5, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee declaired that he wasn’t overly worried about the reaction from the most conservative members of his own party.
“My party is the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. My party is an inclusive party. My party reaches out to every citizen, every American who shares our views and our optimism and our belief in the principals of this great nation,” he said.
“I will seek the vote of every American. I will make sure we go to places where we might not get the majority of the votes. But the job that I have is to re-unite America and to make sure that people know that I will be the president of all the people, whether they vote for me or not,” he said.
“Americans are crying for us to work together. I notice that Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton are touting their work in a bipartisan fashion. I will match my record for reaching across the aisle and working with the other party with them any day of the week. It’s far more extensive and far more substantive – and I’m proud of that work,” he said.
For more on McCain’s outreach to Hispanics and his plans pump up the campaign with discussion of energy issues, check out my story on the Tribune’s main Web site here.
