Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

McCain condemns Hezbollah
By Dean Treftz
The Daily Iowan (U. Iowa)
07/17/2006

(U-WIRE) CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — While cats scurried, horses whinnied, and electric fences crackled on a sprawling farm just south of Highway 20 on July 14, Sen. John McCain spoke to a group of reporters and donors about domestic politics, ethanol, and the current conflict between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

Appearing in Iowa for the second time this year, McCain, R-Ariz., addressed more than 100 Mike Whalen supporters. Whalen, a Davenport Republican, is seeking to replace Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Nussle in the state's 1st District House seat. Speaking from both the porch and inside Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott Jordan's enormous brick farmhouse, McCain offered his perspective on recent events. A barbecue, the event's main draw, featured Whalen and McCain stumping, with cameras clicking, supporters eating, and everyone hiding from the late afternoon sun under a white tent.

Whalen introduced McCain as "a true American hero, somebody I've admired for a number of years." Whalen, a restaurant and hotel entrepreneur, is battling Democratic lawyer Bruce Braley to represent the area, which includes the Quad Cities, Dubuque, and Waterloo.

McCain started the afternoon by condemning the rocket attacks and kidnappings by the Shiite organization Hezbollah, while calling the Israeli armed response appropriate.

"The Europeans called for the Israelis to exercise more restraint. If we in America had some group of terrorists come across our border — and Hezbollah is a terrorist organization — kill our soldiers and kidnap others, we would respond very grievously," he said.

McCain, likely testing Iowa's political waters for a 2008 presidential-nomination campaign, went on to lambaste Iran's involvement in the conflict, saying, "I do not see how [the Hezbollah] attack could be carried out without the encouragement of the Iranians." He also insinuated that the Iranians have aided insurgent attacks in Iraq, calling the nation's behavior "unacceptable."

Moving inside, McCain spoke on a more local issue — ethanol — calling it, along with nuclear energy, "the only two sources of energy that are available and can be produced cheaply." He had previously voiced staunch opposition to ethanol subsidies; in a Des Moines debate prior to the 2000 Iowa caucuses, which he opted not to participate in, he said, "Ethanol is not worth it. It does not help the consumer."

Showing sizable loyalty toward the Republican Party, considering his trademark maverick style, McCain praised President Bush for his management of the country, saying, "I hope the American people appreciate him." The statement is a far cry from McCain's rhetoric in the 2000 election, when, in a campaign ad, he insinuated Bush could be "another politician in the White House America can't trust," comparing him with former President Bill Clinton.

After the gathering moved to the tent, McCain was presented with some Iowa pork by Whalen, ironically intended to summon thoughts of McCain's stance against legislators unnecessarily funneling federal money into their districts — an act commonly known as pork-barreling.

"This will be the first time it's gone in that direction [from Iowa to Washington," McCain said.

The crowd attending the barbecue included another powerful U.S. senator, Iowa's Charles Grassley, who came unannounced later in the event. He was largely an observer, standing on the sidelines save for a quick handshake with his Washington colleague.

Grassley said he came out to see McCain because "he's probably going to be a presidential candidate ... and quite frankly, I want to welcome and encourage everybody who is a candidate to participate."

As the sun set, McCain stayed to appear on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes," to the delight of his supporters. Via satellite, he articulated his positions using the farm's bright-red barn as a backdrop.

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