McCain plans town meeting

By Jeremy W. Peters

Daily Staff Reporter

The Feb. 22 Michigan GOP primary will be a pivotal point in the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain - so important that the senator has scheduled a town meeting on campus the day before voters will head to the polls.

The Arizona Republican trounced Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the New Hampshire primary earlier this week and a strong finish in the South Carolina and Michigan primaries has been deemed critical by both political analysts and McCain supporters alike.

Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics, emphasized the importance of a victory for McCain in Michigan.

"Obviously everything is critical for him at this point," Ballenger said. "If he wins in the South Carolina primary, or comes close ... and then wins here, he could really be on his way to the nomination."

Last night at a mass meeting for campus McCain supporters in the Michigan League, McCain Michigan co-Chair Will Rubens, an LSA junior, echoed the need for the senator to fare well in the primary. McCain's home state primary is also scheduled for the same day.

"McCain sees Michigan as a swing state ... a barometer for the midwest," Rubens said. "Michigan is the number one priority."

But three days before the Michigan primary, candidates will square off in the South Carolina primary, where a recent poll indicates McCain is currently five points ahead of Bush.

McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, believes he can appeal to the state's large population of military veterans.

Bush, a former fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard, is well aware of McCain's popularity with the armed forces population and met yesterday with a group of veterans in South Carolina.

Rubens said he is confident that McCain, not Bush, will capture this large, heavily voting segment of the population.

"I think Gov. Bush is a veteran in his own right, but being in the Texas Air National Guard is not the same as being a P.O.W.," Rubens said. "I think they'll find it a little hard to swallow that Bush is as sympathetic to the needs of veterans as McCain is."

Rubens said one of the ways the senator plans on carrying Michigan is by winning over the student population. McCain is scheduled to visit the University Feb. 21 to take part in a town meeting tentatively planned at the Michigan Union.

tentatively planned at the Michigan Union.

"I honestly believe McCain will be the nominee and I would hate to see Michigan left out of that," Rubens said.

Students were not the only voters urging support for McCain last night.

Peggy Hinchey, a veteran in politics and former Reagan campaign worker, voiced her support for the senator.

"He is a stronger man than Reagan ... and right now, I think he is our only chance," she said.

Hinchey added that she felt Bush would not capture the Republican nomination.

LSA freshman Kate Madigan also expressed her preference for McCain over the Texas governor.

"Bush would be a good president because his aides would do a good job running the country, whereas McCain would do a good job by himself," Madigan said.

Bush is scheduled to visit a church in Detroit this morning and plans to attend an event in Troy this afternoon before heading to Grand Valley State University in Allendale later in the day.