McCain: 'I am ready'
Posted: Saturday, May 10, 2008 12:15 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2008, McCain
From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Back on the soil that was once his Waterloo -- and now the site of his seminal political victory -- John
McCain said today that he's ready for the general election.
"I am ready," he told reporters in Columbia, South Carolina, before
launching into the canon of his objections to the policy positions of
likely opponent Barack
Obama. "I'm ready to take to the American people the challenges and the issues we face."
McCain did not comment directly on the results of Tuesday's Democratic
primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, which have spurred predictions
that Obama will seal his bid for the Democratic nomination in the
coming weeks. But McCain's determination today to take on his
general-election opponent centered only on his differences with Obama
-- not
Clinton -- especially on matters of foreign policy.
Specifically, the Arizona senator continued to slam his probable
opponent for proposing to meet with Iranian president Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.
McCain mentioned the issue of tensions in Iran and elsewhere in the
Middle East earlier in his remarks when he acknowledged the "very
serious situation" of mounting violence in Beirut at the hands of
Hezbollah militants. The senator called Syria "the major motivator" of
the aggression and called for increased United Nations involvement in
the region.
"Pressures have to be brought to bear on Syria," he said, adding, "It's a very serious situation that calls for international concerted action to bring the situation under control."
The senator's press conference in South Carolina's state capital had an air of victory afresh. He was escorted by an adoring gaggle of longtime supporters -- including state Attorney General Henry McMaster, SC House Speaker Bobby Harrell, and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham -- all largely credited for engineering his triumph in the 2008 sequel to his failed 2000 primary campaign here.
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, whose name has been bandied about as a potential vice presidential candidate for McCain, was unable to attend due to a commitment to part-time service in the Air Force Reserve. (His wife came in his place.)
Now one presumptive nominee sizing up a rival, McCain seemed eager to move on from the past primary battle to the general election war.
"We'll have many many differences of views," he said, after listing his critiques of Obama, "And I look forward to hearing them."
