McCain in SF: ''I will win California''
Arizona Sen. John McCain hit San Francisco tonight for a major fundraiser. The full report from pool reporter Josh Richman of the Oakland Tribune just hit, and here's some excerpts detailing what he saw:
Contributors began gathering beneath the crystal chandeliers of the Fairmont Hotel's Gold Room -- an ornate, French Provincial-styled ballroom -- at around 6:30 p.m.
The drinks: California wines, Mountain View Vintners Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Gloria Ferrer sparkling wine. The food: hor's d'oeuvres including ahi tuna tartare, chicken sate skewers, bruschetta, crab cakes and local artisanal cheeses.
The crowd: About 250, though ''campaign staffers declined to say how many people attended the dinner and reception, or to estimate how much money was raised Monday evening.''
From Richman's pool report:
McCain entered at 7:49 p.m. with California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who introduced the event's chairman, Howard Leach, the former U.S. Ambassador to France.
Leach introduced Cindy McCain, who said she recently returned from Rwanda on a trip with One, the anti-AIDS and poverty organization founded by U2 frontman Bono. She said it was a remarkable experience, witnessing reconcilation between Rwandan woman and those who'd brutalized them during the genocide of 1994.
''I can honestly tell you I'm not that strong... I've never been so moved and I've never been so honored to be in the presence of woman as strong as that,'' she said.
She then explained that she was telling this story because she realized it reflected the strength and forgiveness her husband showed during and after his time as a Vietnam prisoner of war. ''He is the true epitome of what is great about America and Americans: hope, honor, dignity and strength.''
McCain began speaking at 7:57 p.m., thanking the crowd for coming and promising not to let them down but rather to ''run a campaign you're going to be proud of.'' He also said he was glad to be back in ''one of the most beautiful cities on earth.''
He described himself as an underdog, said he loves that status and said he's doing better at this point than he thought he would be doing. ''I will compete and I will win in the state of California,'' he said, then quipped after applause, ''and following that I will take back to Arizona all the water that you've stolen from us.'' He then praised Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as ''a great guy.''
He then took several questions from the audience. One person asked whether he believes its appropriate for a presidential candidate to apologize for America's mistakes while visiting overseas.
McCain said he didn't see Obama's big speech, but would prefer to wait to give a speech in Berlin until he's president.
''I think America has made mistakes, I'm sure that throughout our history the United States of America has made some mistakes'' but ''the United States is unique in the history of the world in that we have sent our young Americans to shed their blood in all four corners of the earth, usually in defense of someone else's freedom.''
On California's allowance of same-sex marriage: ''I have to tell you my personal opinion is that I do not agree with that, but I believe states should make the decisions within the states as to what those issues should be.''
Someone asked him how he would ensure nobody else suffers, as he did, the pain of torture, war and violence, either by staying in Iraq or by attacking Iran. ''My position is that as President of the United States, I will declare we will never torture anyone in our custody.'' He said a former high-ranking al Qaeda official now cooperating with U.S. troops told him the Abu Ghraib photos had been the terrorist group's ''greatest recruiting tool... So I don't think torture works, number one, and number two it hurts us as far as winning the long-term ideological struggle.''
An African-American man said the Republican Party hasn't given African-Americans a reason to rally to the GOP, and asked McCain how he would help minorities move their first-generation wealth to their children, and also about his stance on affirmative action.
''I've never believed in and do not believe in quotas,'' McCain replied. ''I think we ought to do everything we can to provide Americans with an equal opportunity.''
To that end, he said, ''I believe the biggest civil rights issue of the 21st century is education... When we condemn Americans to a terrible education because of their income and their location, we have done a grave injustice... I want every American to have the same choice that Senator Obama and his wife had and that Cindy and I had, and that is to send their children to the schools of their choice'' with a voucher system.
McCain said goodbye and left at 8:22 p.m.
Posted By: Carla Marinucci (Email) | July 28 2008 at 09:25 PM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=28608
