McCain Kicks Off Biographical Tour
John McCain kicks off his "Service to America" tour today at the Navy airfield in Meridian, Miss., named after his grandfather, where he aims to reintroduce himself to voters.
"A distant ancestor served on General Washington's staff, and it seems my ancestors fought in most wars in our nation's history. All were soldiers – both Henry and Bill McCain were West Pointers – until my grandfather broke family tradition and entered the Naval Academy in 1902. He was succeeded there by my father, then me, and then my son," McCain will say, according to prepared remarks.
He will also argue that government has a duty to provide access to education and health care in addition to tax policy and job training programs.
"Government must be attentive to the impact of its policies on families so that it does not through inattention or arrogance make it harder for parents to have the resources to succeed in the greatest work of their lives – raising their children. And where government has a role to play, in education, in combating the threats to the security and happiness of children from online predators, in helping to make health care affordable and accessible to the least fortunate among us, it must do so urgently, effectively and wisely," he says.
After his speech McCain will then hop on the Straight Talk Express and ride to Hope Village for Children as an example of service McCain hopes to motivate Americans to take part in.
Throughout the week, McCain will visit his high school in Virginia, the Naval Academy, military bases where he was stationed and he'll wind up in Arizona, the state he currently represents.
"We are going places where I had the opportunity to serve the country. The motivation is for other Americans to serve a cause greater than their self interest and each one of the places we are going to was part of the formative experiences that shaped my views and my thinking and some of them where I was proud to serve the country," McCain said.
McCain also released a new web ad today which coincides with today's speech and focuses on McCain's family history of service to America. In it, the announcer explains that McCain's father was an aviator and his father a submariner and from them John McCain learned honor, courage, perseverance and leadership. Black and white family photos appear of the two along with photos of McCain in earlier stages of his navy career. The ad also mentions how parents can be an aspiration to be part of something greater than their self-interest.