Sen. John McCain made his first campaign stop in West Virginia since launching his bid for the White House -- a private event Friday at a gun shop -- as opponents and supporters waited outside.
Sen. John McCain made his first campaign stop in West Virginia since launching his bid for the White House -- a private event Friday at a gun shop -- as opponents and supporters waited outside.
While McCain met with invited guests and a handful of media members inside St. Albans Gun & Archery store, a crowd of about 75 gathered nearby. Many carried signs with messages like "McCain Will Bring More Pain,'' "Invest in Health Care Not War in Iraq'' and "I sold my gun for gas.''
Stew Sheridan, an out-of-work tradesman, said he came out on the cool, overcast Friday morning to "see the man who's going to get whupped by a woman.''
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain shakes hands with people after leaving the St. Albans Gun & Archery store Friday morning.
The 42-year-old rode his bike several blocks from his home to the event because he said he can't afford gasoline.
"Bush just killed us,'' said Sheridan, who lamented that his family of five had to go on food stamps. He said he thinks a McCain administration would add to his troubles.
When fuel prices were lower, Sheridan said he could travel out of state to find work. Now that gasoline prices are teetering near $4 a gallon, he says even that's not an option.
Sheridan added, "If McCain gets in, there will be a revolution in this state. People aren't going to stand for it. If they keep pushing the common man, he's going to push back.''
Supporters of the Arizona Republican included dentist Grant Mason who lives in Charleston and works in Beckley. He and his 5-year-old son Reese came dressed in camouflage.
The father of three said he supports McCain because of his stance on gun rights, and also because "he's not Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.''
Gas company retiree Arlie Hubbard, 71, of South Charleston, said McCain is the best candidate to protect Americans from terrorists.
"If terrorists win, nothing else matters,'' said Hubbard, who served six years in the Air National Guard. "The security of this country is absolutely paramount, and he's the only one with a real grasp of how serious the situation is.''
Across the street from the gun shop, at Debbie & Company hair salon, owner Debbie Walls said she wished she'd had enough advance notice to bring signs supporting the presumptive GOP nominee to counteract the protesters.
Walls said she supports McCain because she's concerned about the moral decline of the nation and she prays for the troops in Iraq every day.
"I want someone who's a real leader for unity, the economy,'' she said.
In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1, Democratic Party leaders criticized McCain for keeping the public out of his first appearance in the Mountain State since announcing his candidacy.
"Why would a presidential candidate do that?'' state Democratic Party executive director Tom Vogel asked in a news release Friday morning. "Maybe it's because of his long and consistent record of opposing meaningful programs to help West Virginians?''
The state Democratic Party opposes McCain's stance on natural disaster response and prevention programs in the state, and his health care plan.
Sen. John McCain made his first campaign stop in West Virginia since launching his bid for the White House -- a private event Friday at a gun shop -- as opponents and supporters waited outside.
While McCain met with invited guests and a handful of media members inside St. Albans Gun & Archery store, a crowd of about 75 gathered nearby. Many carried signs with messages like "McCain Will Bring More Pain,'' "Invest in Health Care Not War in Iraq'' and "I sold my gun for gas.''
Stew Sheridan, an out-of-work tradesman, said he came out on the cool, overcast Friday morning to "see the man who's going to get whupped by a woman.''
The 42-year-old rode his bike several blocks from his home to the event because he said he can't afford gasoline.
"Bush just killed us,'' said Sheridan, who lamented that his family of five had to go on food stamps. He said he thinks a McCain administration would add to his troubles.
When fuel prices were lower, Sheridan said he could travel out of state to find work. Now that gasoline prices are teetering near $4 a gallon, he says even that's not an option.
Sheridan added, "If McCain gets in, there will be a revolution in this state. People aren't going to stand for it. If they keep pushing the common man, he's going to push back.''
Supporters of the Arizona Republican included dentist Grant Mason who lives in Charleston and works in Beckley. He and his 5-year-old son Reese came dressed in camouflage.
The father of three said he supports McCain because of his stance on gun rights, and also because "he's not Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.''
Gas company retiree Arlie Hubbard, 71, of South Charleston, said McCain is the best candidate to protect Americans from terrorists.
"If terrorists win, nothing else matters,'' said Hubbard, who served six years in the Air National Guard. "The security of this country is absolutely paramount, and he's the only one with a real grasp of how serious the situation is.''
Across the street from the gun shop, at Debbie & Company hair salon, owner Debbie Walls said she wished she'd had enough advance notice to bring signs supporting the presumptive GOP nominee to counteract the protesters.
Walls said she supports McCain because she's concerned about the moral decline of the nation and she prays for the troops in Iraq every day.
"I want someone who's a real leader for unity, the economy,'' she said.
In a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1, Democratic Party leaders criticized McCain for keeping the public out of his first appearance in the Mountain State since announcing his candidacy.
"Why would a presidential candidate do that?'' state Democratic Party executive director Tom Vogel asked in a news release Friday morning. "Maybe it's because of his long and consistent record of opposing meaningful programs to help West Virginians?''
The state Democratic Party opposes McCain's stance on natural disaster response and prevention programs in the state, and his health care plan.
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KENOVA - John McCain's stop in West Virginia was brief Wednesday. He got off his campaign plane and onto another version of the "Straight Talk Express," his campaign bus.
WASHINGTON - Brandon Ziegler served two tours in Iraq and wears a bracelet inscribed with the name of an Army buddy who never made it home. Jim Morin saw action in both Iraq and Afghanistan and has lost several friends to the war in Iraq, the latest just a month ago.
CHICAGO -- Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and - in a move sure to cause controversy - support some ability to hire and fire based on faith.
After meeting with other "centrist" leaders of the Democratic Party for two days in Chicago, Gov. Joe Manchin said Monday he believes Illinois Sen. Barack Obama can carry West Virginia in November.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain trumpeted the support of a "prominent" West Virginia Democrat over the weekend - a fringe political candidate best known because former Gov. Bob Wise had an affair with his wife.
WASHINGTON - A major labor union and the liberal organization MoveOn.org are joining forces to air a provocative new ad portraying John McCain's Iraq policy as a prolonged presence that would involve a new generation of Americans.
SAN ANTONIO - Republican Sen. John McCain criticized Sen. Barack Obama's call for a windfall profits tax on the oil industry on Tuesday, despite leaving the door open to the same idea last month.
Hillary Clinton may be out of the presidential race, but West Virginia's Democrats will be adding some names to her roster of national convention delegates this weekend.
WASHINGTON - The Democratic presidential nomination his, Barack Obama reached out Wednesday to mend fences with his defeated rival as Republican opponent John McCain tried to frame the fall campaign on his own terms. "I think he has exercised very bad judgment on national security issues and others," McCain said.
NEW YORK - Angling for a vice presidential nod, Hillary Rodham Clinton refused to bow out of the Democratic race Tuesday, hoping to maintain leverage as Barack Obama clinched the delegates needed to secure the party's nomination.
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Before a crowd of cheering thousands, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois laid claim to the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night, taking a historic step toward his once-improbable goal of becoming the nation's first black president. Hillary Clinton maneuvered for the vice presidential spot on his fall ticket without conceding her own defeat.
CHICAGO - Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton heaved toward the finish line in their exhaustive Democratic presidential odyssey with Obama poised to claim victory and Clinton facing the prospects of having to abandon a quest that once seemed a sure shot but became one of long odds.
WASHINGTON -- The United Mine Workers of America endorsed Barack Obama for president Wednesday despite his recent defeats in primaries in coal-producing states where many of the union's members vote.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Barack Obama stepped to the brink of victory in the Democratic presidential race Tuesday night, defeating Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Oregon primary and moving within 100 delegates of the total he needs to claim the prize at the party convention this summer.
