While John McCain had strong support at his rally in Prescott on Saturday, there were some people in the crowd with different political agendas.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Ron Paul supporters held signs and distributed literature about their candidates as well.

One particular Paul supporter was fairly entertaining. As a row of newspaper reporters typed madly at their computers at an outdoor table immediately after McCain’s speech, the Paul enthusiast kept walking back and forth in front of them carrying a Paul campaign sign. He kept saying, “Remember the revolution! Remember the revolution!”

According to Paul’s Web site, his, ahem, revolution persists. It says, “Dr. Paul is continuing his bid for the Republican nomination in order to spread the message of constitutional government and personal freedom, take the GOP back to its traditional roots, and continue the grassroots activism his candidacy inspired.”

So noted.

Meanwhile, El Mirage resident William Crum made the trip to Prescott specifically to oppose McCain. He held a hand-made sign that stated, “McCain = 100 Years of War With a Draft (Men and Women).”

Crum, a Vietnam veteran, said he differs with McCain’s approach to the war in Iraq.

“His opinion right now is basically stay the course,” Crum said. “You know what? We can’t afford that. Our country and our service guys can’t stay the course. I mean, why else would they be going back three, four, five times? That’s why I feel that if this war keeps going, we’re going to have to start a draft again, because where else are we going to get people? The reason I believe that we’re going to have to get men and women is because there are not enough men.”

I covered McCain’s speech in the Tribune and my story can be accessed here.

OK, and quick note on Paul’s puzzling campaign sign, in which the letters E, V, O and L within the word “revolution” are backwards and in red. If you read just the red letters backwards, it spells ”love.”

Trippy, man.

Also, if you play some of Paul’s campaign speeches backwards, it sounds like he says, “Number 9,” “I am the walrus” and “Coo-coo ca choo.” Really.

John and Cindy McCain

One of the best applause lines in Sen. John McCain’s speech in Prescott on Saturday was a reference to his wife Cindy.

“I was introduced to Arizona by my wife, Cindy, whose love for this place I soon shared. Guided by her superior judgment, to which I am always indebted…”

At that point, McCain had to pause for a moment while the women in the crowd of more than 500 cheered.

Then he continued, “… we made the decision to raise our children here.”

Before McCain took the podium, one of his warm-up speakers, Sen. Jon Kyl, elicited a fair laugh himself. Kyl’s task was to introduce Cindy McCain, who in turn introduced her husband.

Kyl quipped, “My friends, we know that Cindy McCain will be the best first lady of the United States. I won’t even mention the first bubba candidate.”

For more on McCain’s day in Prescott, read my story that appeared in the Tribune.

John McCain

A surge of interest in the Democratic presidential candidates will present problems for Republican John McCain across the West, according to Democratic Party leaders from Arizona and other states who spoke in a teleconference Thursday.

They pointed to numbers that indicate Democrats have been turning out for their presidential primary elections in record numbers across the region, where the political landscape is changing. In Arizona for instance, 369,000 Democrats voted on Feb. 5, which marked a 130,000-voter increase from the previous record amount.

If all of that’s true, the big blue upheaval hasn’t exactly shown up in most polls across the eight-state Mountain West region.

Deep thinkers with the polling company Rasmussen Reports classify Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana “Safe Republican” states, at least for the presidential race. They catalogue Nevada and Colorado as “Toss Up” states, and New Mexico as a “Leans Democratic” state. For those keeping score at home, that’s five reds, two purples and one blue.

The Democrats in the teleconference offer a different assessment. They said Republican voters feel betrayed by McCain.

Arizona Democratic Party executive director Maria Weeg noted that McCain failed to win the GOP primaries in Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney placed first in each of those. McCain finished second in Colorado and Utah, third in Montana, and fourth in Wyoming.

“McCain’s losses around the West speak volumes. I mean, they’re really resounding. If you look at what happened in the Mountain West, McCain only won one state – and it was his home state,” Weeg said.

McCain won Arizona’s GOP presidential preference election on Feb. 5 with 48 percent of the vote. He was followed by Romney at 34 percent and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 9 percent.

The U.S. senator from Arizona never opened a campaign headquarters in his home and hardly campaigned in Arizona, spending the bulk of his time before the Super Tuesday elections in other states, including New York and California, both of which he won.

The presidential primaries haven’t been conducted yet in the remaining Mountain West states. Idaho’s primaries are May 27 and New Mexico’s are June 3. Here’s a guess that McCain will win both GOP races.

The Democratic leaders did not respond to a question about whether they felt the state-by-state losses of their eventual presidential candidate foretold similar difficulties for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in those states. For example, Clinton beat Obama in Arizona. So if Obama ends up as the Democratic nominee, which seems likely, does his second-place finish in the state’s primary in February suggest that he doesn’t have a chance in the general election in November?

Paul Lindsay, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, faulted the Democrats’ assessment of McCain’s chances in the West.

“By ignoring every recent poll showing Sen. McCain’s strength among independents, the (Democratic National Committee) is proving that their Western strategy is as far removed from reality as their candidates’ liberal policies are removed from the values of the region’s voters,” he said in a statement.

“John McCain’s Western roots and proven record on taxes, Second Amendment rights, and protecting our national security stand in stark contrast to the flawed vision of Obama and Clinton,” Lindsay said. 

McCain’s biggest problem is within his own party, Weeg said. Republicans simply don’t trust him.

“He’s not the Straight Talk Express that he might have been when he ran for Senate the first time. He’s now what we’re referring to as the Double-Talk Express. He’s changed his stance on almost everything to pander to the most extreme portions of his party,” she said.

The Democrats said McCain has been cozy with lobbyists and AWOL from his Senate job, plus he’s weak on the economy and wrong on the war in Iraq. According to their assessment, that’s enough to tip the election toward the eventual Democratic nominee in Arizona.

“I see Arizona as winnable for a number of reasons. The first and foremost is that I don’t think McCain is that popular here. He may once have been – I don’t know – but certainly 48 percent of the vote from his own primary voters does not bode well for him,” Weeg said.

McCain’s handling of immigration has demonstrated his failure to lead, she said.

McCain and other Republican senators, notably Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, joined with Democrats to forge a compromise border security and immigration reform bill that failed to advance last year. Some Democrats said the bill was too strict in regulating immigration into the country, while some Republicans charged that it was too forgiving in allowing millions of illegal immigrants already living in the country to obtain citizenship.

Since the bill failed, McCain has changed his stance on the issues, going from an all-at-once approach to a two-step approach. He said he believes lawmakers should deal with the border first; and deal with immigration reform second.

Weeg said immigration will be a huge issue for Arizona voters in November.

“We work with people who come across the border. We play with them. We are next to them. We are their neighbors. So this is really an issue in Arizona,” she said. “And McCain, who once sponsored legislation to come up with some practical solutions to this increasing problem, has given in to the extremists in his party in order to garner this nomination. He’s not coming up with any real solutions at all.”

The Democrats talk about conducting a 50-state campaign. The real measure of their sincerity will be to see if Obama or Clinton runs a bona fided campaign in the 48th state.

National Journal magazine calls U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell and Gabrielle Giffords key players in “The New Center,” a movement toward centralist politics. The first-term Democrats from
Arizona are pictured along with seven other first-term Dems on the cover of the March 8 edition above the headline “Center Stage.”

National Journal reporters Richard E. Cohen and Brian Friel, write, “The freshmen Democratic ‘majority makers’ are overwhelmingly moderate in the National Journal’s 2007 congressional vote ranking.” Hey, if nothing else, Cohen, Friel and their editors are pretty sharp at generating buzz phrases.

The magazine’s rankings, which have been compiled annually since 1981, were based in 2007 on 107 key votes selected by a panel of National Journal reporters and editors. The votes related to economic, social and foreign policy issues.

According to the National Journal, Mitchell earned a 54 percent liberal rating, which put him in 202^nd place among all House members on the liberal scale; and a 46 percent conservative rating, which placed him in 228^th place on the conservative scale.

In comparison, middle man Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-Fla., got a 50.3 percent liberal rating and a 49.7 percent conservative rating, which placed him in the 212^th position on both scales.

Giffords came in slightly more liberal than Mitchell. She was 56.8 percent and 192^nd on the liberal side; and 43.2 percent and 238^th on the conservative side.

Democratic leaders have been careful to monitor the freshmen Democrats’ votes, according to Cohen and Friel. “They have become prime GOP targets, and their fates will go a long way in determining whether Democrats retain their house majority and by how much,” Cohen and Friel write.

“The freshmen know that every vote they cast could be used against them on the campaign trail. For the leaders, it’s a constant balancing act: seeking to satisfy and help the moderate first-termers politically, while not endangering the party agenda or alienating more-liberal caucus members,” they write.

I spoke to Mitchell about how comfortable he being plastered with all the political labels: The New Center, Center Stage, Majority Maker. I’ll post his comments Friday.

Mitt Romney (left) and Joe Arpaio

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who previously endorsed former GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney for the president, said he now backs fellow Arizonan John McCain.

“My point is he’s the nominee. I’m going to support him,” Arpaio told me.

Arpaio didn’t merely endorse the former governor of Massachusetts, he traveled around the country during the early primary season speaking in support of Romney and Romney’s feelings concerning illegal immigration. Romney never really did offer a clearly defined illegal immigration policy. Instead, he spoke about aspects of other candidates’ policies that didn’t suit him. It’s a moot point now though.

Arpaio said he would give McCain his official endorsement if McCain or his people asked, but to date, they haven’t asked. The only condition to formally endorsing McCain, Arpaio said, is that he be allowed to actively campaign for the presidential candidate. Arpaio said he wants to be more actively involved than just simply lending his name to campaign literature.

When asked I asked the sheriff about the differences between his own and McCain’s stances on immigration, Arpaio shrugged and noted that he and the Arizona senator agreed on enough other issues that he feels comfortable supporting McCain.

Bill and Hillary Clinton

Former President Bill Clinton was on his best behavior during a campaign rally for his wife and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Thursday in Tempe.

After making a series of remarks that were considered hostile toward fellow Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in previous weeks, he barely mentioned Obama at Arizona State University.And when Bill Clinton did mention Obama, either by name or inference, he had only positive things to say.

He started his hour-plus speech by giving a recap of the televised Democratic debate between Hillary Clinton and Obama, which was broadcast when everyone at the rally was standing in line waiting to get in.

Bill Clinton reported that they had a civilized discussion about the issues. He said, “They told some of the people in this country who have been using their positions to try to divide the Democrats that we are going to be united in November.”

Perhaps Bill Clinton was referring to himself as one of “those people.”

 At the end of his speech, he sort of mentioned Obama again.

 “Do I think it will be a great thing when we have our first woman president? Of course, I do,” he said.

“I have to tell you, I think it will be a great thing when we have our first African-American president, our first Hispanic president, our first Asian-American, our first Native-American president, our first Arab-American president, our first Jewish president, our first Muslim president, our first you-name-it president. America is not about catagories. America is about ideas and all of us ought to be part of a common humanity,” he said.

A couple of other observations…

Bill Clinton’s speech was something of a rerun of Hilliary Clinton’s speech the week before in Laveen.

They both covered healthcare, energy, global warming, education and foreign policy. They both took a couple of jabs at President Bush. They both asked members of the audience to raise their hands if they knew someone without health insurance. They both talked up Al Gore. They even told the same antidote about an injured Iraq war veteran that Hillary Clinton met.

 There were a couple of important differences though.

Hillary Clinton moved through her version of her stump speech in 37 minutes. Bill Clinton labored through his version of her stump speech in one hour, three minutes. And while I didn’t count, it seemed like Hillary Clinton got far more laughs than Bill Clinton managed. She also seemed to get more buy-in from the crowd.

Hillary Clinton gave a rally speech. Bill Clinton gave a policy lecture.

Whoever thought that Hillary Clinton could ever supersede Bill Clinton in the speech-making department?

Barack Obama at Arizona State University in October

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is likely to make an appearance in Arizona sometime next week. At least that’s what aides at his Phoenix campaign headquarters are telling anyone who calls to inquire.

Obama’s campaign schedule is booked only about two days in advance, so it’s difficult to forecast for certain beyond that, according to people who answer the phones at 22 E. Mitchell Drive, in Phoenix. Still, campaign workers are hopeful the senator from Illinois will land in Arizona before the state’s presidential preference election on Feb. 5.

One of the campaign’s media spokesmen declined to discuss Obama’s potential campaign stop with me when I told him I was seeking on-the-record sources on the matter.

And no, I can’t possibly begin to explain any strategic advantage to discussing Obama’s potential appearance in Arizona to anyone and everyone who calls – except reporters who can reach thousands and thousands of voters at once.

In the meantime, time is running out for Obama. Arizona’s presidential preference election is in 13 days, and Obama is way behind Hillary Clinton in the latest nonpartisan statewide poll.

No. 6, Susan Bitter Smith

There’s been plenty of action this week in Arizona’s 5^th Congressional District.

The stars are aligning for a six-person race for the Republican nomination featuring former state Rep. Laura Knaperek, former lobbyist Jim Ogsbury, former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert, state Rep. Mark Anderson, former Scottsdale City Councilwoman Susan Bitter Smith and Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jeff Hatch-Miller.

Knaperek, Ogsbury and Schweikert already are in.

The others will join the fray shortly. Hatch-Miller told me he will enter the race Friday, Jan. 11. Anderson will go on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Bitter Smith said she will make a decision as early as the beginning of February, but she is leaning toward entering.

I have the latest details in a story in the Tribune today, Thursday, Jan. 10.

Anderson told me he expects a big, positive and clean campaign. “I think there’s going to be six people and they’re all good people,” he said.

However, the race has extremely limited appeal at the moment, according to Bitter Smith.

“Voters are not paying any attention to congressional politics at this point. I mean, all the people in the race are talking to each other. It doesn’t make sense, and frankly it’s not fiscally responsible, to be spending money at this point,” she said.

A candidate, such as, oh say Bitter Smith herself, could hold off another month or two before jumping in and no one would notice, she said.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell is the Democratic incumbent. The district takes in Scottsdale, Tempe, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee Foothills and west Mesa.

Jeff Flake (Courtsey Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce/Vermillion Photography)

Rep. Jeff Flake, who grew up on a ranch in Snowflake, is duded up in blue jeans on the cover of the November issue of Impact Magazine, a publication of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. The headline: “Maverick: Arizonan Jeff Flake is a Different Voice in D.C.”

Hey, it wasn’t that long ago that another politician from Arizona had exclusive personal rights to the “Maverick” treatment. Yep, there’s a new maverick in town, pardner.

Anyway, reporter David Lucas writes, “As with most of the native Arizonans (Flake) represents, he has a streak of independence that is manifested in his voting record. On votes for fiscal policy considered beneficial to taxpayers, he has been ranked number one out of 435 members of the House of Representatives for the past three years by the National Taxpayers Union.”

Lucas also writes about Flake’s campaign against earmarks and notes that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has given Flake a 67 percent pro-business rating.