McCain Returns To U. Tampa For Closed Roundtable

This story was written by Charlie Hambos, The Minaret

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain stopped at the University of Tampa on Wednesday at 1 p.m. for a national security roundtable discussion. The event was held in the Plant Hall Music Room and was not open to the public.

Among the participants were Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, former Pennslyvania Gov. Tom Ridge and Sens. Joe Lieberman and Mel Martinez.

McCain visited UT on Jan. 25 for a security roundtable in Plant Halls Music Room, where officials discussed dependency on foreign oil, the Iraq War and border control. McCain took questions from the press and reinforced his ideas of how America should be run.

The longtime senator was joined by high-ranking local and federal officials. Ridge, who is also a former director of Homeland Security, moderated the roundtable.

The Republican candidate spent Tuesday in Franklin, N.H., on his No Surrender Tour, where he reaffirmed his support for the troop surge, according to the Boston Globe.

McCain was scheduled to appear in Miami this morning, according to his Web site. He is also scheduled to appear tonight at 9 p.m. on Larry King Live.

With less than a week before the Nov. 4 election, McCain is currently trailing Sen. Barrack Obama. In some polls, Obamas lead is in double digits.