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McCain visits Arkansas, says Huckabee will have role in campaign Saturday, Apr 26, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and former rival Mike Huckabee campaigned together for the first time in Arkansas' capital city Friday. Huckabee and former Congressman Asa Hutchinson co-hosted a fundraising luncheon for the Arizona senator at the Capital Hotel in downtown Little Rock and accompanied him to Arkansas Baptist College in south-central Little Rock, where McCain met with about 50 students in a mentorship program. Talking to reporters at the college, McCain noted that the former Arkansas governor won millions of votes in the primaries and said Huckabee will play a role in his campaign, though he would not say whether he is considering Huckabee as a possible running mate. "I just happened to notice the other day he still has a 65 percent approval here in the state of Arkansas," McCain said. "They do say sometimes that people judge you by the company you keep. I hope that will be the case with the voters." Huckabee dropped out of the race last month after McCain won enough delegates to secure the GOP nomination. McCain said Friday his respect for Huckabee grew "because of the kind of campaign that Gov. Huckabee engaged in." Huckabee often was critical of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney during his campaign but tended to be complimentary toward McCain. Huckabee said Friday he was glad he would not have to "unsay" anything he had said about the presumptive nominee. "Sometimes I got accused of being in collusion with him during the course of the campaign," Huckabee said. "We were somehow forming an unholy alliance. Well, it wasn't that. It was just that I have an extraordinary level of respect for him." Huckabee also joked, "If anything, maybe I was a little too generous in my comments, because now I'm here supporting him instead of the other way around." McCain's visit to Arkansas was the final stop on his "Time for Action" tour of regions that McCain has called "forgotten parts of America." Earlier in the week he visited poverty-stricken areas of Alabama, Ohio and Kentucky, as well as New Orleans' Ninth Ward, devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. At historically black Arkansas Baptist College, McCain met for about 40 minutes with students in the Our Kids Program, which fosters partnerships between police, schools, churches, students and community members to provide positive role models for young black males. McCain said he wanted to end the tour with "a great success story." In a question-and-answer session with McCain, student Brandon Smith asked why McCain voted against the creation of a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. "I voted against it on grounds that were not sound - that we didn't need to spend the money or whatever," McCain said. "But a very short time after that I changed my views because I was informed. I was informed by people who made me understand." Student Donald Smith, no relation to Brandon Smith, told a reporter he believed McCain's visit was a little opportunistic, though it did bring attention to the college and the mentorship program. "We do feel like it's part of a political campaign to gain the African-American vote," Donald Smith said. "Nevertheless, we're glad he came. We're doing him a favor, but he's doing us a favor as well." Arkansas Baptist President Fitz Hill said he was grateful for the visit and said he believes the mentorship program could become a national model. McCain visit drew some protesters. As his "Straight Talk Express" bus traveled down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive toward the college, it passed several large signs posted by the Young Democrats of Arkansas with messages such as "Voted no on student loans" and "Voted against MLK holiday." "I think it (McCain's tour) is a facade, to be quite honest with you. It's a political tactic by McCain and the Republican Party," said Antwan Phillips, vice president of the Young Democrats of Arkansas. Members of the Arkansas AFL-CIO stood outside the Capital Hotel and Arkansas Baptist College holding signs advocating passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would revise laws on the organization of unions. McCain opposes the measure. "The part about the forgotten parts of America ... it's just a show, is all this is," said Alan Hughes, president of the Arkansas AFL-CIO. "If you go back and look at his voting record on issues, that'll show where he's forgotten." Organizers of the private luncheon fundraiser would not say how much money was raised. Contributions ranged from $250 per person to $2,300, which included a photo with the senator. After the luncheon, former state Sen. Doyle Webb, who recently was named chairman of Victory 2008, the state GOP's campaign to get out the vote, said McCain was a hit. "He was very engaging and humorous," Webb said. "He shares a patriotism and a vision, and one of the stories he told brought tears to my eyes, and I thought that's what we need as president." University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin also was impressed. "I saw a side of John McCain I hadn't seen today, because he was very relaxed and very funny," Hardin said. State Rep. Dan Greenberg, R-Little Rock, praised McCain for his bus tour. "I think it's great that he's getting out in the real world," Greenberg said. ------- Reporter Rob Moritz contributed to this report. |
