After watching the Phoenix Suns clobber the Minnesota Timberwolves from my seat at the US Airways Center in Downtown Phoenix on Friday night, I hopped in my truck with a good friend of mine and drove up to Prescott for a political rally on Saturday. We went to Prescott to support Arizona's senior senator, John McCain, as he concluded his "Service to America" tour on the steps of the historic Yavapai County Courthouse.
Sen. McCain's focus of the final tour on his stop was clearly the bipartisan nature of Arizona politics and how it has shaped his view of the world and how it has shaped the way he conducts himself as a leader in the state. He evoked the memories of two good friends of his: Democratic Congressman Mo Udall and Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater. He brought up their service to Arizona and the U.S. because, while they were on opposite ends of the political spectrum, they worked hard for Arizona and always put the people of Arizona first before the party labels that they wore.
Sen. McCain seems to be seeking to show that the hype of Sen. Obama's willingness is just that: hype. McCain appears ready to prove that he will be the president to reach across party lines just as he has as a leader of the "Gang of 14," campaign-finance reform and other controversial issues that caused his popularity among ardent conservatives to wane somewhat leading toward this year's primary election.
His support among conservatives in Arizona waned so much, in fact, because of his bipartisan ways that when Congressman Jeff Flake spoke to a group of College Republicans at ASU a few weeks back, he said that he had been considered a possible primary election challenger to Senator McCain by many who hoped to send a conservative to Washington. Flake, of course, didn't run and said he never had any intention of running because Sen. McCain is a fiscal conservative who isn't afraid to work with the other side on issues he feels are important.
As the Democratic candidates continue to battle it out on their way to the convention in Denver, Sen. McCain is out and about telling his story about who he is, how he has led and how he will lead in the future should he be elected president. The stop in Prescott was just one of five stops on the "Service to America" tour which served as a type of biography for the Senator. Stops on the tour were designed to showcase Sen. McCain's service for his country both in the military and as a member of Congress.
Furthermore, the stop in Prescott served to remind us of our history in Arizona politics. When campaigning for president in 1964, Goldwater used the same Yavapai County Courthouse steps for a rally after capturing the Republican Party nomination. To go along with that nostalgic feeling, the sign in front of the podium on Saturday read, "Prescott, Ariz. Welcomes John" much like Sen. Goldwater's sign in 1964 read, "Prescott, Ariz. Welcomes Barry."
Sen. McCain is, of course, hoping that his campaign will be far more successful than the bids of Goldwater and Udall, thus making it possible for Arizona mothers to tell their children that it is possible for them to one day become President of the United States.
T.J. Shope is lamenting the loss of an American patriot, Charlton Heston. T.J. can be reached at: thomas.shope@asu.edu.
