McCain: "Americans Are Angry" About Immigration
NASHUA, N.H. -- John McCain just wrapped up a town hall meeting at a senior activity center here in Nashua. There were a couple of interesting exchanges including one with a man who said he was becoming a single-issue voter because of the illegal immigration issue.
"I would dearly love to vote for you but I need to hear something strong about how you would address that issue," he said. This statement drew applause from the room.
McCain joked, "This meeting is adjourned." He then got serious and told the room that he learned from his last attempt to address the problem.
"I learned that unfortunately Americans have no trust or confidence in their government...and Americans are angry and I got the message. The message I got - they want the borders secured first. And I will secure the border first," McCain said. He noted the need for a temporary worker program and explained his plan to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants. He also said he did not support amnesty, "We can't reward anyone or give them any precedence because they came illegally and came across our borders."
He also took questions on issues ranging from repealing the income tax to climate change to the Iraq war.
There was a follow-up questioner for McCain -- a follow-up from last night's town hall meeting in Bedford, N.H. A voter who also attended last night's event went home and researched a poll a questioner had referenced that showed 60 percent of military families polled think the cost of the Iraq war is not justified. McCain disputed that poll last night.
The questioner said he looked up the poll when he went home last night and brought it today for the Senator to read. The man added, "I think the mistake that was made was going into Iraq in the first place."