Country Singer Rich Debuts "Raising McCain"
(PANAMA CITY, FLA.) – On a sweltering summer evening in the Florida panhandle, about 500 people gathered for the free "Country First" outdoor concert at Marina Civic Center Complex here to see John Rich (of the country duo "Big and Rich") debut the song "Raising McCain" he wrote for the Republican candidate.
"I'm sure Johnny Cash would have been a John McCain supporter if he was still around," Rich said, as he warmed up the crowd with "Walk the Line" (in fact, Cash was a distant cousin of Jimmy Carter through Cash's wife, June Carter Cash, and campaigned for Carter).
As Rich plowed through the raucous country and rock "Raising McCain," the senator's Straight Talk Express bus pulled up to the stage to let off McCain, his wife Cindy, as well as Florida governor Charlie Crist and his fiancée Carole Rome.
McCain gave a brief speech about supporting the war in Iraq and asking for votes in this battleground state, before shaking hands with the crowd and flying back to Washington.