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| McCain to meet Mexican president at end of tour |
| 2008-07-03 |
| John McCain has insisted that his trip through Mexico and Colombia was not supposed to be campaign-related. But there have been plenty of political overtones throughout. The Republican presidential hopeful planned an early morning visit Thursday to Mexico City's famed Basilica de Guadalupe before meeting with President Felipe Calderon as he concluded a three-day Latin American visit aimed at promoting free trade in the Western Hemisphere. The Basilica de Guadalupe is Mexico's holiest site for Roman Catholics, and Catholic and Hispanic voters are expected to be key swing voters in the November election. McCain's Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, has worked to woo Catholics and Hispanics as well after those groups voted heavily for Hillary Rodham Clinton during the primary season. McCain has said he planned to seek Calderon's help in addressing illegal immigration, a key issue for Hispanic and many conservative voters. The Arizona senator has called for increased security along the U.S.-Mexico border. He also has spoken out in favor of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the proposed Colombia Free Trade deal currently stalled in Congress. On Wednesday he said as president he might pursue a possible free trade agreement that would cover the entire Western Hemisphere. Obama has spoken out against NAFTA and the Colombian free trade pact, both of which have been unpopular in important general election swing states like Ohio. McCain wants to help workers displaced by free trade agreements to receive job training and other benefits. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #5 And snatch him up by his lapels? |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-07-03 12:34 |
| #4 I've got nothing for or against Mexicans, en masse or individually. I've got everything against McCain putting his dumb ass into Mexican-themed photo opportunities. Unlike a lot of base and movement conservatives, I could give a shit about immigration - in my part of Pennsylvania, we don't get illegals, we get Amish. I'd be just as happy to just forget the whole damned subject for the next four years. Let the INS do its collective job for a change, whatever. There's a war to be won, and it isn't against the ghost of Pancho Villa. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-07-03 12:28 |
| #3 Mexicans ARE fine. No need to use the F-word on them. Their government is NOT fine and neither is ours. McCain, in particular, has turned a deaf ear to those of use who live in border states and have watched illegal immigration turn everything upside down. It's a sell out. Everybody knows it but nobody will say it. It could very well cost him the election. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2008-07-03 11:33 |
| #2 Mexicans are fine, we have a LOT of work to do that requires their cooperation. He could stay away from La Raza though. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-07-03 10:30 |
| #1 Why can't McCain's handlers keep him away from the fucking Mexicans? They *have* to know by now that the amnesty/open borders thing is a lose/lose proposition for him. Everytime anyone gets any sort of momentum behind a base rally for McCain, the damnable amnesty thing gets pulled back into view, and everybody goes home mad. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-07-03 10:10 |