This afternoon, Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, held a townhall meeting at Lakeville South High School. He was terrific! Among the MN politicians who spoke were: Marty Seifert, Minority Leader for the MN House; Patrick Garofalo, House Representative for Farmington/36B; former senator, Rudy Boschwitz; former US House Representative, Tim Penny; and Minnesota's Second Congressional District Representative, John Kline.

As every speaker said, this election comes down to character, experience, and leadership. Each one said, in their own way, "Hands down, McCain is the guy." He has all three traits. His opponent, Mr. Obama, has questionable character (as evidenced by his neighbors and friends), minimal experience (especially in making decisions - "present" is not a decision, it indicates the inability to make a decision); and leadership - well, when has Obama ever showed leadership? Never.

McCain took a gamut of questions from the floor, addressing such topics as: housing, life, veterans, energy, the economy, going after the culprits who caused the financial mess, China, drilling, etc. One group of junior high students asked about drilling offshore, then went into a short dance line to the tune of "Drill, Baby, Drill" to which McCain responded, "You can come on our tour!"

He was so "at home" in this venue. His answers were sharp, quick, humorous. He comes across as the real deal! Frankly, I was surprised at how human and natural he is. We sat about 25' from the center and it was like he was in your living room. IF he could come across on camera like this, his opponent would not have a prayer.

Of course, no Republican event is complete without ever present protesters. This one was no different - about 10 protesters before the session, maybe 7 afterward. As you can see from this final photo - note the signs on the ground - they had more signs than people so they just couldn't display all their "stuff" - gee, too bad.

Labels: McCain