(Courier reporter Joy Brown will be part of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's motorcade today as he campaigns through Ohio. Brown will "blog from the bus" and report on a campaign rally in Lima today, here and at www.thecourier.com.)
9:30 a.m.
It's about 9:30 on Thursday morning, and we're all just standing around in Marion. Doors are just now opening at the Veterans Memorial Civic & Convention Center in Lima, where a rally is scheduled, but Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign bus probably won't leave this town (70 miles to the east) for another half an hour yet.
As they often do on the campaign trail, plans have changed a little bit for the local media invited to ride along with McCain and his entourage. We will be stopping at a hotel in Upper Sandusky for a round-table discussion with the Arizona senator, rather than engaging in en route interviews. (That ought to make us even later in Lima.)
After the round table, the few local media folks will be kicked off the campaign bus and tucked into the bus for the national media for the last leg to Lima.
The good news, since I drove myself to Marion from Findlay, is that someone from the campaign will be shuttling me and others in my predicament back to Marion after the rally. No hitch-hiking on Route 30.
That's what I know for now. That, and McCain's wife, Cindy, also is scheduled to be with us today. Feel free to leave a comment, especially if you're hanging out at the Civic Center for the next few hours.
*****
9:45 a.m.
Let's hope I don't have to write a story like this one, from MiamiHerald.com:
"McCain's tour bus crashes in Miami" (Miami Herald, 8/6/08)
Politics is tough. So is driving in Miami. Just ask Sen. John McCain's tour bus driver.
The presumed Republican nominee's tour bus got tangled in a traffic accident at about 3 p.m. Wednesday on 55th and Biscayne Boulevard. No one was injured.
Sen. McCain was not traveling on the bus when the accident occured. He was in Ohio. The bus driver, Sen. Joe Leiberman and an aide were traveling southbound on Biscayne Boulevard when an accident occured with a blue van. The driver of that vehicle was the sole occupant.
''This was an unfortunate incident, but we're thankful that everyone is okay,'' said Mario Diaz, campaign manager for Sen. McCain for the Southeast Region.
*****
10:15 a.m.
OK, so we did get some interview time in with McCain on the bus. He talked a lot about the economy and the housing crisis.
When I asked him about his plans for the rest of his campaign through November, and whether he intended to focus on playing up his strengths in his ideas or criticizing his opponent, he said the Democrats started the negative campaign. He also said Americans expect the campaign to be tough from time to time, and that he felt he would be able to keep putting his ideas out there.
*****
11:00 a.m.
We're done with the round-table interviews in Upper Sandusky and are now headed to Lima. I'm riding in a van with the other media folks behind the campaign bus.
I did get the chance to talk to McCain about local residents who were impacted by flooding and who are still in the recovery process, and what he thinks he would be able to do for these residents as president. Again, he spoke a lot about how he intends to improve the economy.
I will be expanding on McCain's answers throughout the day as the story develops. For the moment, I'm just along for the ride.
****
1:00 p.m.
We're headed back to Marion after the Lima rally. McCain spoke about much of the same things he did on the bus, especially the economy and his energy policies. Lots of offshore drilling talk. More later!
The rally was a "town hall" style of meeting. Attendees raised their hands from the crowd and McCain picked which one he wanted to hear.
To read an Associated Press story on McCain's take on the thousands of Ohio jobs in jeopardy if DHL pulls out, click HERE.
*****
1:30 p.m.
I'm not sure what the count was, but there might have been 500 people in the Civic Center for the rally. The crowd was very supportive of McCain and seemed to have a lot of energy.
The media were swept into the center through a back door, so I'm not sure if any people were not able to get inside. There were no tickets for the event, and admittance was on a first-come, first-serve basis.
There were about 20 people standing outside the venue holding anti-McCain and other protesting signs.
*****
2:30 p.m.
Lance Booth, our photo intern, also attended the rally and will be posting an online gallery of pictures. One of the observations he made was that the crowd didn't seem to appreciate a woman who was asking tough and specific questions. As far as the fellow who asked something along the lines of: "When are you going to announce your pick for running mate? It's keeping me up at night," McCain basically deflected the question.
Booth is also happy to report that he is intact after accidentally falling over and landing on a Secret Service agent. (Photographers tend to get themselves into precarious spots just to get the best shot.) Yes, the Secret Service were there, and this agent had no problem absorbing the blow.
****
9:20 p.m.
I want a bus with marble countertops and a shower. OK, no I don't. The gas mileage would be horrible. But at least I got to ride in one today for half an hour, as a "reward" for working so hard lately on flood stories and Findlay city activities (so says the boss man). Twelve hours of work might seem like a lot to some, but for an assignment as interesting as this, it was worth it.
Now that I'm at home with a cold beverage in hand, allow me to summarize. First, the expected did happen. There was waiting. There was more waiting. And there were schedule changes. Five private minutes with McCain suddenly turned into a half-hour "roundtable" discussion with the man, with three other reporters vying for his attention. There was media herding. There was police dog sniffing. And did I mention there was waiting?
While we waited, we got the low-down on views from a local pastry shop owner, who showed up at the Holiday Inn Express in M.C. Hammer pants. He wasn't there for McCain, mind you, but to catch a gander at the senator's "hot wife." Not that his own wife isn't plenty hot, mind you, but... Please Hammer, don't hurt 'em.
The entourage made for great people watching. As it turns out, many of his staffers (and I suspect those of other politicians), use caffeine and nicotine to stay on the ball. They all looked fairly young, so they must do well in the paycheck department as well, unless Mom and Dad buys them their Gucci purses.
Before we were herded onto the back of the bus, we were herded into the Marion Bob Evan's, behind the pie counter, to watch the national press swarm upon McCain and friends. I think I was the only one who apologized to some of the workers for my (our) intrusiveness. "That's OK," said a waitress. "But if you stay here any longer we'll have to put you to work." Now THAT would be a job.
And so we come to the actual bus ride and interview. McCain was very approachable, just as he was a few years ago when he briefly came to Findlay, I asked him if he was going to run for president, and he wouldn't tell me. Seriously, he seems like the kind of person you'd feel perfectly comfortable with sitting at your kitchent table and griping about how much the Findlay water department charges for hookup ($200, folks). He made eye contact. He seemed comfortable. And he gave me the requisite politician wink.
He also had canned responses that I expected. He has plans, however vague, and he wants to tell people about them. Which he did on the bus after I asked him why people here, particularly those devastated by the flood and still struggling, should vote for him.
I spent Wednesday night, when I thought I was going to have five minutes alone with the man, trying to decide what to ask him. I got two decent questions in today, thanks to my fellow reporters, who were all very nice and non-aggressive. And I even got a plug in at the end by urging him to pay a visit to Findlay. But I didn't get to ask him some of the lighter questions I wanted, like how he maintains his energy campaigning day after day, an act that would exhaust Lance Armstrong. And I honestly wanted to ask him if he's heard any good political jokes lately, because I know a lot of people around here love those.
After the bus ride, we were herded onto the last van in the press caravan, where I did a pretty good job of keeping my nausea in check. Note to self: next time bring Dramamine. Sitting sideways on a swaying bus while looking to the back and taking notes can wreak havoc on the system, I realized. But I pulled through all right (I could've done the unthinkable, after all).
I was not surprised to find that many of McCain's statements at the town hall meeting mirrored those from the bus interview, although some of the interactions, which the national press corps probably won't cover, were interesting. Like the guy who told McCain he needs to announce a running mate because it's keeping him up at night. And the guy who said he votes only for pro-lifers. Then there was the disabled vet who simply asked to shake McCain's hand.
Did my face-to-face interaction with McCain offer any valuable insight? No it didn't. Was the experience rewarding? Absolutely. No matter what your political persuasions, the man is running for president and he's a bonafide war hero. This assignment was absolutely a reward.
As an aside, excellent comments, blog commenters! Do me a favor: read my coverage in Friday's paper and let me know how you think I did.
*****
AUDIO FILES:
McCain responds to a question about local residents recovering from the disastrous flooding last summer (4:30): LISTEN
The whole ride (25:00): LISTEN
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