I apologize for my lack of posts in the last couple of weeks as I have been actually been fulfilling my duties as a college student. This past Tuesday, I took a break from end-of-semester papers and finals to make the hour drive from Steubenville to Youngstown to see John McCain. Once I got there, I ran into a good problem: the fire marshal closed the event because the room was filled to capacity, which I told was over 600 people. Fine with me, better for an independent or Democrat to hear him then me, an already convinced McCain supporter. So myself and some friends went outside to greet McCain when he arrived. We were joined by scores of others who were also turned away at the door. I had some good conversations with the locals as I waited. Most were independents who were very surprised McCain was visiting Youngstown and were very open to voting for him.

As the time drew closer for McCain to arrive, the police of course pushed us further and further back from the entrance. People got nervous thinking that they had taken their lunch break off to hear McCain and wouldn’t even get to at least greet him. Knowing McCain’s style, I knew he would take time to come see us. Sure enough, he did, despite 20 or so anti-war protesters right next to us. They were visibly upset when McCain came over and greeted them with smiles and waves. McCain really knows how to handle his adversaries a lot better then Bill Clinton does.

Luckily, as students had to leave the event to return to class, the police allowed those of us waiting into the event. I missed a good amount of the event, but I think the defining moment was when the event was over, literally everyone in the room was cheering wildly for him. Knowing Youngstown, I am sure most of the people in the room weren’t Republicans. He got the rock-star treatment as he made his way through the crowd. My friend Mary got some great pics from the event below. She had a nice camera so she was able to sneak in with the press for a press conference. Enjoy the pics.

I am more and more impressed with him every time I see him. I have seen him several times in other states, but those were all victory parties. This was the first time I’ve seen him town-hall style. He is very accessible to the voters and is able to connect with them, which is a vital key to their success. McCain clearly passes the beer test. The DNC knows this, which is why they are going to try and paint McCain as a wealthy elitist. I think such attacks won’t work the way they did against Kerry in ‘04 and will backfire against the Dems. Also, the McCain campaign is really getting organized here in Ohio, especially in the last month. The campaign is really getting off the ground, and I am sure will really start rolling now that McCain has hired all 11 regional campaign managers.

I hope to bring more coverage to R4′08 this summer, as I’ll be working on a Congressional race in New Jersey starting in early May. I am sure McCain will be there quite a lot given the recent polling coming out of Jersey.

Me and McCain shaking hands:

This is a cool pic:

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