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Ohio Players at Fraze
McCain celebrates Wisconsin victory in Ohio
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
COLUMBUS — A jubilant John McCain all but pronounced himself the Republican nominee for president here Tuesday, Feb. 19, as he celebrated his victory in Wisconsin's Republican presidential primary with a cheering Ohio crowd.
Although former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee officially remained in the race, McCain thanked Wisconsin for convincing even a "suspicious naval aviator" that he would be the GOP nominee.
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Without naming him, McCain fired verbal salvos at Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who also won in Wisconsin and is competing with Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.
"I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure Americans are not deceived by an elegant but empty call for change," McCain, accompanied by his wife, Cindy, told an estimated 500 supporters packed into a ballroom of the Columbus Renaissance hotel.
McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, promised to help Ohio workers who have lost jobs to find new jobs "that won't go away."
McCain will take his campaign for Ohio's March 4 presidential primary to the Dayton area today, Feb. 20, for a visit to Young's Jersey Dairy near Yellow Springs.
Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said McCain also will meet with key backers.
The crowd here included long-time McCain supporters and converts.
Lara Mastin, a GOP activist from Washington Twp., had supported Fred Thompson, but now supports McCain.
"He's going to protect my kids and my country in the event of another terrorist attack," said Mastin.
Charles McClenaghan, a Columbus attorney, had backed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Compared to Democrats Obama and Hillary Clinton, "this guy's absolutely a winner," McClenaghan said, referring to McCain.
