McCain, Palin Campaign In Ohio

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

From NPR News this is All Things Considered. I'm Robert Siegel.

Melissa BLOCK, host:

And I'm Melissa Block. Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, campaigned together again today. The pair took the stage in Lebanon, Ohio, just as President Bush was making his announcement that 8,000 troops will be pulled out of Iraq by February. McCain and Palin both gave upbeat assessments of the situation in Iraq. NPR's Don Gonyea is traveling with the McCain campaign. He joins us from a rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. And, Don, how upbeat are they?

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DON GONYEA: They are very upbeat about Iraq. And it is a continuation of the message that we've been seeing from Senator McCain for some time now. But Governor Palin has jumped right in on that. She has been using a particular construct when she describes the status of the war in Iraq as saying victory is within sight. Now she has also become the person in this ticket who has really been going after Barack Obama.

BLOCK: And what about John McCain's tone?

GONYEA: You know, he took the stage almost at the exact same time President Bush was giving his address at the National Defense University. Senator McCain was on the street in Lebanon, Ohio, in front of an old double-decker balcony of an old hotel. And he did not specifically address what President Bush had been talking about. He too went after Barack Obama, basically questioning his judgment. Here's Senator McCain.

Senator JOHN MCCAIN (Republican, Arizona; 2008 Republican Presidential Nominee): Senator Obama has refused to acknowledge that he was wrong about the surge. He said it wouldn't succeed. Thanks to General David Petraeus and these brave young Americans, we are winning in Iraq. We will come home with honor.

GONYEA: Again, the message is we are winning in Iraq. And that is a message that is very popular, at least among these crowds that are turning out to see Senator McCain and Governor Palin.

BLOCK: At the same time, Don, today Barack Obama said, look, this is not enough troops, not enough resources, not enough urgency, talking about this planned withdrawal. Were there any specifics coming from John McCain and Sarah Palin about their own potential timetable for troop withdrawal?

GONYEA: No, Here's what we get. We get criticism of Senator Obama, we get predictions of victory, and we get general praise for President Bush, but no specifics.

BLOCK: One last thing, Don. I gather that Sarah Palin has been repeating again her line that she opposed the so-called bridge to nowhere in Alaska, that "Thanks, but no thanks" line. Any change in the rhetoric at all?

GONYEA: No, I mean there have been many reports in recent days that that statement is misleading at very best and could be seen as just being flat out wrong. But the position of the McCain campaign, the approach she is taking, is that this is what she has to say about the bridge to nowhere, and she is going to keep saying it regardless of what kind of evidence arises elsewhere. And again, her basic position is that she opposed the bridge to nowhere, that she killed it. But we know that she supported the bridge to nowhere and did not oppose it until the federal government said that the 223-million-dollar earmark could not be used on that bridge. The state of the Alaska did still get that 223 million dollars, but it could use them on other transportation projects. Only then did she oppose it.

BLOCK: OK. NPR's Don Gonyea traveling with the McCain campaign at a rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Don, thanks very much.

GONYEA: All right. Thank you. My Pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.