"[198] Standing with Reagan, McCain said, "This is an important, most important kind of expression of confidence in my ability to lead the party that I could have. McCain began to focus on the Democrats, particularly leading candidate Barack Obama, in anticipation of the general election. [7] The following day, President George W. Bush endorsed McCain at the White House. "It's a tough business," he added. [428][430], McCain's transition team was much smaller, and had a less formal structure, than Obama's. Virtual St. Patrick's Day Parade. "[275], After McCain announced Palin as his running mate, Newsweek and Time put Palin on their magazine covers,[276] as some of the media alleged that McCain's campaign was restricting press access to Palin by allowing only three one-on-one interviews and no press conferences with her. McCain's aides said the campaign was considering taking public matching funds[52] There are some indications that although the campaign has $2 million cash on hand at the end of Q2, a 7-figure debt will make the monetary situation even more dire. Those who expressed an opinion favored McCain's opponent. She is an actress, known for Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and Hot Girls on the Beach (2011). He said that "it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first", before addressing other immigration laws. [112] McCain offered a bit of his "straight talk" strategy, saying that "There are some jobs that aren't coming back to Michigan," and proposing federal job training plans and other remedies to compensate. [43] Because of their majority status, Senate Democrats could sometimes delay votes in order to accommodate the schedules of Democratic presidential candidates.[44]. 70% of the PAC contributions have come from business groups, 1% from labor groups, and the final 29% from ideological organizations. [160], On February 19, McCain continued his winning ways, picking up wins over Huckabee in the Wisconsin primary and the Washington state primary. "[38] On the same day, retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey issued a report saying, "... no Iraqi government official, coalition soldier, diplomat, reporter could walk the streets of Baghdad without heavily armed protection". [33], In March 2007, with considerable press attention and in hopes of reigniting his efforts, McCain brought back the "Straight Talk Express" campaign bus that he had used to much positive effect in his outsider run in 2000. The son of an Appalachian Ohio tanner, Grant entered the United States Military Academy at age 17. [360], In the wake of the election results, anonymous members of McCain's staff reportedly criticized Palin and her campaign staff's conduct of the campaign. [105] McCain's campaign garnered about $1 million in newly contributed funds immediately after the New Hampshire win,[106] but still had $3.5 million in bank debt. [336] Muñoz told Alan Colmes that he became involved in the 2008 presidential election by giving newspapers "hiding the truth about Obama" a piece of his mind. On October 1, a similar bill, HR1424, passed the Senate 74–25 with McCain voting in favor. [387] In August 2008, singer Jackson Browne filed suit against the McCain Campaign, The Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party for use of "Running on Empty" in a commercial stating that the use violates the Lanham Act by implying an endorsement by Browne. [407] This raised the question of whether the campaign's privacy policy[408] was violated by such a use. "[345] McCain's response was considered one of the finer moments of the campaign and was still being viewed several years later as marker for civility in American politics. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president? [428] However, McCain was concerned about being too quick to prepare. He focused on his opposition to abortion and gun control, as well as his support for lower taxes and free-market health care solutions. [28][29] Randy Scheunemann, a board member of the Project for the New American Century, was hired in January 2007 as McCain's foreign-policy aide. "[216] Following the exchange, former first lady Nancy Reagan as well as Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, daughters of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, invited both McCain and Obama to town-hall appearances at the Reagan and Johnson presidential libraries. Acclaimed in her community for her quirky roles in independent film and mainstream such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Keener got her start as a casting director in New York City. "[48][49] Despite this, McCain maintained that he was still planning on competing in the Iowa Caucus. [208][209] In May 2008, the campaign issued new rules regarding possible lobbying or other conflict-of-interest entanglements, which required campaign workers to either cut ties to lobbying groups or outside political groups that did political advertising, or leave the campaign. After the primaries, McCain's highest support was recorded in a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted between September 5 and September 7 showing a 10% lead. Between 1991-93, Ryan appeared in Fifteen (1990), a Nickleodeon series taped in Florida with many other Canadian actors. [55] McCain's co-chair for his Florida campaign, State Rep Bob Allen, was arrested on July 11, 2007, on charges of sexual solicitation (prostitution). [428], McCain's transition planners worked out of his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. [12] During the 2006 election cycle, McCain attended 346 events and raised more than $10.5 million on behalf of Republican candidates. [352], Down the stretch, McCain was outspent by Obama by a four-to-one margin. [371], Poll numbers varied greatly the day before the election and through the election season. [418], McCain also received the support of Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman, who said, "I happen to think (McCain) is the best of all candidates to unite our country across political lines so we can begin to solve some of the problems people have."[419]. [376] With the election already decided, the close results in Missouri were not contested, and Missouri was called for McCain. [260], Palin also became a "ubiquitous presence on newsstands," appearing on the cover of both Newsweek and Time, among others. "[428] However, there was criticism that McCain was doing too little in regards to his transition planning. I'm going to New Hampshire, and I'm going to tell people the truth. Stone began acting as a child as a member of the Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, where she made her stage debut in a production of Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows". In 1991, he received a degree in drama from Bennington College and began his career. They have two children. "[363], In campaign post-mortems, top McCain staffers conceded that the Palin rollout to the national media had not gone well. Those generally critical of Palin's candidacy applauded Gibson's penetrating questions and thought aspects of Palin's responses showed that she was not ready to serve as Vice President, whereas those generally supportive of her candidacy took a more positive view of her performance. [36] On March 29, CNN's John Roberts reported, "I checked with General Petraeus's people overnight and they said he never goes out in anything less than an up-armored humvee. [citation needed], Kari Sleight, publisher of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, which covered much of Palin's life in Wasilla, endorsed Palin for Vice-President. [1] Schmidt had managed Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election and was a top Dick Cheney aide. The two stayed in a cheap Los Angeles motel. In addition, McCain returned to his long-standing practice of granting almost unlimited media access to him on this bus;[382] this as well as the notion that he engages in "straight talk" free of political calculation[381] gave him a positive personal sentiment in the press. Both leads were above the margin of error in the polls by Zogby International and Rasmussen Reports. Michigan had by far the nation's largest unemployment rate, at 7.4 percent, and was continuing to lose jobs from its historical manufacturing base. She is capable. Senator from Arizona, was launched with an informal announcement on February 28, 2007, during a live taping of the Late Show with David Letterman, and formally launched at an event on April 25, 2007. [203] McCain told the committee that a promise of withdrawal would be "reckless" and a "failure of moral and political leadership."