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Preston on Politics: Can McCain win over social conservatives?

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. John McCain stood before a gathering of social conservatives here last fall and acknowledged that he had some work to do to convince them to support his presidential campaign.

I know that before I can win your vote, I have to win your respect, McCain told attendees of the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit.

At the time, McCain was in a tense battle for the Republican presidential nomination, and support from every corner of the GOP base was needed. He was received politely by the audience, but when the Values Voter Summit held its straw poll to gauge support for the nine Republican presidential candidates, McCain landed in last place.

Ten months later and the GOP nomination all but in hand, polling shows that McCain is making inroads with white, evangelical voters. But there still seems to be a lack of intense interest in his candidacy among these grass-roots activists, who not only vote but can provide invaluable volunteer manpower in key battleground states in the closing weeks of a campaign.

There is very little enthusiasm for McCain with people I network with, said Mike Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association. Farris, who is able to activate a vast network of home-schoolers to work on behalf of a candidate, said he won’t vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, but he remains undecided about whether to back McCain.

There is really no one overarching reason why McCain has failed to attract overwhelming support from social conservatives as George W. Bush did in 2000 and again in 2004.

He seems to be on the right side of most of their issues, namely abortion. But for some social conservatives there is lingering resentment from the 2000 presidential campaign when McCain described Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as agents of intolerance.

Others are angry over McCain’s campaign finance legislation that many social conservatives felt infringed on their constitutional right to free speech. And still others do not agree with his position on stem-cell research.

His voting record on social conservative issues, for the most part, is good, said William Murray, chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition. It is a matter of enthusiasm. He is a hard guy to get enthusiastic about and why, I just don’t know.

In some cases, it may be indifference because, well, McCain doesn’t pay that much attention to social conservatives or speak often about the issues that are important to them.

He hasn’t done anything to offend; he’s just ignored them and they don’t like to be ignored, said Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the Eagle Forum, who added she will vote for McCain.

With the election being counted in days and not months, there is a growing consensus in the social conservative movement that if McCain does not act fast to strengthen support within the community these voters may choose to stay home rather than show up for him on Election Day.

I think if he wants to re-create the intensity that has been within the base in the last two election cycles, which I think personally you are going to need to win, I think he has to make social issues a part of his political portfolio that he talks about, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. Watch Mark Preston’s interview with Tony Perkins

For its part, the McCain campaign downplays any talk that he has a weakness with social conservatives, saying that the senator from Arizona has the voting and legislative record that appeals to social conservatives.

Our belief is that during … the remainder of the general election, we will be able to make a compelling case as to why people of faith and Christians in this country do have very compelling reasons to vote for and support John McCain, said McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds.

It appears this week though that McCain might have stumbled, at least in the eyes of some social conservatives. His refusal to rule out an pro-abortion rights running mate in an interview with the Weekly Standard did not help him. Perkins fired off a note to the Family Research Council e-mail list sharply criticizing McCain.

Beyond the choice of his running mate, Sen. McCain’s comments raise questions about the type of individuals he would appoint to other important positions like HHS secretary and even judgeships, Perkins wrote.

Still, Gary Bauer, a prominent social conservative leader and McCain supporter, said he thinks that come Election Day social conservatives will show up for McCain.

As it becomes clearer and clearer that a Barack Obama administration would be a disaster, the numbers will be there, said Bauer, a former presidential candidate in 2000 who is now president of American Values.

found here.

Audio: Pilot said unscheduled Obama landing was ‘emergency’

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Control tower tapes reveal that the pilot of presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s plane told air traffic controllers there was an emergency when he made an unscheduled landing last month in St. Louis, Missouri.

On July 7 the Midwest Airlines MD-81 made an unscheduled landing during the flight from Chicago, Illinois, to Charlotte, North Carolina. The owner of the plane initially said the landing was not caused by an emergency.

However the tapes, released to ABC News through a Freedom of Information Act request, contradict that report. ABC first reported on the tapes on Thursday.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown told CNN Thursday evening that preliminary information for incidents is often incomplete or incorrect. Watch what the tapes revealed

According to the tapes, the pilot told an FAA air traffic controller that he had limited ability to move the plane’s nose up and down.

We have limited pitch authority at flight levels; we’re descending to see if we can regain pitch authority, the pilot told the air traffic controller.

At this time we would like to declare this an emergency and also have CFR (fire and rescue equipment) standing by in St. Louis, the pilot said. The pilot remained calm throughout the recording.

Midwest Airlines acknowledged at the time that the pilot had detected a control problem in the pitch of the plane after an emergency evacuation chute opened in the aircraft’s tail cone while in flight. Normally, the chute deploys only after landing and after the tail cone pops off.

The pitch, or angle of the nose of an airplane, affects the pilot’s ability to control the plane.

The airline said the pilot had full authority of the aircraft.

According to the tapes, the pilot said he regained control as the plane began to descend into St. Louis.

We had a pitch authority problem, now that we have come down to a lower altitude it seems to have rectified itself. We do have pitch control of the aircraft at this time, he said.

Fire trucks met the aircraft when it landed at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

After the plane landed, Obama told reporters the plane landed because of a mechanical problem and noted it marked the first time he had had to do so.

Just thought we’d spice things up a little bit today, he joked. Anytime a pilot says that something’s not working the way its supposed to, then, you know, you make sure you tighten your seat belt. Everything seemed under control, the pilots knew what they were doing.

found here.

Secret stories of WWII spies revealed

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland (CNN) — At 94, Barbara Podoski finally gets to tell the story of how she punched a German sergeant in the face during World War II, when she was a secret U.S. interrogator.

Her story was one of many brought to light Thursday, when the National Archives released declassified personnel records from the old Office of Strategic Services, the CIA’s predecessor.

The names include Julia Child, who would later become a famous chef. Child was stationed in Sri Lanka and China as a researcher for the head of the OSS, Gen. William Donovan.

Two other OSS operatives, William Casey and William Colby, later led the CIA, the intelligence agency that replaced the OSS. See which famous figures worked for the OSS

Podoski was on hand for the release Thursday in a climate-controlled, high security room at the National Archives where thousands of documents are stored in an area normally off-limits to the public

She said she and thousands of other OSS agents were told not to talk much about their work. Their employment files had remained sealed.

They used me mostly to interrogate prisoners of war, said Podoski, a native of what then was called Czechoslovakia. I was multilingual.

Podoski said she became a U.S. citizen and joined the Army as WWII began. She recalled preparing to question the sergeant, a Nazi prisoner of war.

He was very vociferous against America and was vilifying President Wilson, Podoski said. I told him to stop, and he didn’t, so I took my little fist and hit him over the face. I gave him a knuckle sandwich.

I was very ashamed of myself because I had a pistol under my jacket, and he was unarmed, she added. Watch Podoski describe her spy career

The German she questioned told her that Adolf Hitler was using Czechs and Slovaks to do dirty work along the Italian Front.

To counter that, she borrowed a Czech typewriter from the Vatican, and distributed an underground leaflet encouraging them to abandon the Germans.

Within a week, about 600 guys, with my appeal, crossed the lines, she said, smiling.

found here.

China to deport five activists

BEIJING, China (CNN) — Five activists protesting on behalf of Tibet, including three Americans, were arrested Thursday for what Chinese police called activities against Chinese law and will be deported, Beijing police said.

The incident occurred at about 5:45 a.m. in the Chaoyang District in northeastern Beijing near the construction site of new buildings to house CCTV, the state-run television station, police said.

The five, who were part of the group Students for a Free Tibet, hung a pro-Tibetan banner near the buildings, group organizers said in a statement.

found here.

China to deport five activists

BEIJING, China (CNN) — Five activists protesting on behalf of Tibet, including three Americans, were arrested Thursday for what Chinese police called activities against Chinese law and will be deported, Beijing police said.

The incident occurred at about 5:45 a.m. in the Chaoyang District in northeastern Beijing near the construction site of new buildings to house CCTV, the state-run television station, police said.

The five, who were part of the group Students for a Free Tibet, hung a pro-Tibetan banner near the buildings, group organizers said in a statement.

found here.