McCain’s mother visits regional GOP office

Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s 96-year-old mother dropped by the Charlottesville region’s GOP campaign office Wednesday evening to thank 75 volunteers for their efforts on behalf of her son and running mate Sarah Palin.

“I’m here to give my heartfelt thanks and I must sincerely thank you for all this work and all this time,” Roberta McCain told the crowd of volunteers at the Republican Party’s headquarters in the Albemarle Square shopping center.
McCain’s visit was part of a three-day tour of Virginia that aims to rally the support of Republicans in the days leading up to Tuesday’s election. Virginia is widely considered to be a battleground state in the presidential contest, though recent polls suggest that John McCain is trailing Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
McCain’s mother said she is proud of her son’s life of service, which began at age 17 when he joined the U.S. Navy and continues today in his campaign to win the White House.

“His whole life has been dedicated to making our country good,” she said.
Albemarle County GOP Chairman Christian J. Schoenewald said the visit by McCain’s mother was a treat for volunteers working hard in the final push of the campaign.
“This is a big thanking-the-volunteers tour,” he said.
When Roberta McCain arrived around 6 p.m., she was greeted by a gathering of volunteers, many of them teenagers. One wore a T-shirt that proclaimed “Palin Power.”
Another had a shirt that said “NObama 08” and featured an Obama logo that was distorted to look like a crescent and moon, a Muslim symbol.
McCain, who wasn’t taking questions from the media, did not speak about her son’s opponent during the stop, though she did say that McCain would not need any on-the-job training and would be ready to face a crisis on his first day as president. A key talking point of the McCain campaign has been that Obama is “not ready to lead.”

McCain’s mother spent much of her time telling the volunteers how grateful she was for their work.
“I can think of a lot better places you might like to be,” she joked. “Like at a bar.”
Anna Freshwater, an Albemarle County resident and McCain volunteer, told McCain’s mother that there was nothing as important as working to get McCain and Palin elected next week.

“It’s so important,” Freshwater said. “We need a president who cares about this country, not about what he feels is important.”
Another major McCain surrogate will swing through the Charlottesville area today. Michael Steele, former Maryland lieutenant governor, and John Hager, former chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, will stop by the Albemarle County GOP’s campaign office at 3 p.m. as part of the McCain campaign’s “Drill Baby Drill” tour.
The Obama campaign, meanwhile, has its own heavy hitters coming to town. Google CEO Eric Schmidt will speak on behalf of Obama at 10:45 a.m. today at the University of Virginia School of Law. And on Friday, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will appear at Obama’s “Charlottesville Change We Can Believe In” town hall at 10:15 a.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center at 1400 Melbourne Road.