• In New Hampshire, McCain talks up Romney's foreign policy cred

    By NBC's Andrew Rafferty

     

    PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - Sen. John McCain reached out to veterans in New Hampshire on Monday, delivering a scathing critique of President Barack Obama's foreign policy while attempting to portray Republicans as the only party willing to compromise over the contentious issue of defense sequestration cuts.

    McCain - the 2008 GOP presidential nominee - visited the Granite State to campaign for Mitt Romney and held town halls at three Veterans of Foreign War posts in the state he got to know well during his previous bids for the White House.  A veteran himself, McCain said support from the men and women who served in the military will be vital for Romney to win here.

    In each of the town halls, the Arizona Republican gave a harsh rebuttal to the foreign policy decisions made by the current administration. His most passionate argument centered around the recent attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya which took the lives of four Americans, including Libyan Ambassador Chris Stevens. U.S. officials such as Susan Rice, ambassador to the United Nations, characterized the attack as "a spontaneous reaction" to a video mocking the prophet Muhammad.

    It's a characterization McCain called "disgraceful."

    "This was a well-orchestrated attack. They had indirect fire, direct fire. And somehow there were reports that they knew where our ambassador was. That is not a spontaneous demonstration," McCain told a crowd gathered at the VFW post in Portsmouth. "That is wrong to tell the American people that it was. It's disgraceful to tell the American people that it was a spontaneous demonstration."

    McCain was joined for part of the day by New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. The two have been part of a group of Republicans who have toured the country to warn about the dangers of automatic spending cuts to the defense budget, known as "sequestration." The cuts, which were agreed to by Congress and the White House last year as part of deficit-reduction plan, will take place unless Washington can agree to an alternative way to slash spending.

    During a stop in Nashua, McCain called on the president to "invite us to the White House. We'll compromise. We'll prevent a devastating effect on our ability to defend this nation."

    Later in the day McCain said Republicans are "willing to put everything on the table for the sake of our national security." But he said the president has been unwilling to negotiate and cited it as an example of Obama's failed leadership.

    Much of McCain's energy on Monday was also aimed at defending Romney's foreign policy credentials, which have come under new scrutiny since the GOP nominee criticized the president's handling of attacks on American outposts in the Middle East. The former Massachusetts governor was viewed by some as trying to politicize an event which took U.S. lives. McCain defended Romney's statements, likening his world view to that of former President Ronald Reagan.

    "When Ronald Reagan came out of governor of California, he wasn't the most versed in national security issues," McCain told a VFW crowd. "He had been a movie actor and governor of California. But he had the instincts. He spoke up for the oppressed ... Mitt Romney has those same instincts."

    But it was not just Romney's foreign policy experience that McCain found himself defending. Throughout the day, he faced questions from conservatives worried about their prospects come November.

    One voter asked -- given the country's bleak economic outlook -- why Romney isn’t leading in the polls.  Another asked why the former Bain Capital CEO will not be more specific about his plans for the country.

    McCain cited the contentious Republican primary where the Romney campaign had to endure an onslaught of negative attacks as part of the reason why the candidate is having such difficulty winning over voters. "I've never seen in modern times such vicious attacks," McCain said. "Bain Capital, allegations that he was quote, lying; even one person said he had committed a crime. There was a saturation. And so, it's regrettable."

    When a woman said she worries Republicans will not be able to spread their message far enough to garner electoral success, McCain said, "I do, too."

    The concern on display from voters today came in the wake of a Politico article citing in-fighting in the Romney campaign for recent blunders and missed opportunities at the Republican National Convention. It's a narrative McCain knows well; his unsuccessful 2008 run was plagued by similar stories.

    "There's always some disagreements amongst campaigns, but you know, political folks need to write a story every day," McCain told NBC News after his Portsmouth town hall. "But look, these things are always there. We saw about dissension in the Obama campaign between Chicago and Washington. There's always those stories. Most Americans are not too concerned about it."

  • McCaskill avoids direct hit on Akin over abortion remarks

    By NBC's Jamie Novogrod

    ST. CHARLES, Mo. – One day after Rep. Todd Akin vowed to stay in the race for US Senate, dismissing calls from across the Republican party to step aside, Sen. Claire McCaskill welcomed Akin back to the campaign by bashing him for abandoning veterans during his years in Congress.

     Visiting two VFW halls near St. Louis on Wednesday, McCaskill, the Democrat Akin is hoping to unseat here in Missouri, went through a list of Akin votes that took more than two minutes to recite.

     Audiences were mostly male and senior citizen.  Survivors of combat in Vietnam – and at least one World War II veteran – looked on beneath baseball caps decorated with military insignia as she accused Akin of blocking bonuses for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan and voting against health care benefits for reservists and national guard members.

     “So that’s kind of the list,” McCaskill said of Akin’s voting record.  “Now, I don’t have a list like that."

     The attack did not include any mention of the recent controversy embroiling Akin.

     Sunday, Akin told a television interviewer that women could biologically prevent pregnancies resulting from what he called “legitimate rape.” 

     The remarks set off a firestorm, but Wednesday McCaskill only alluded to them broadly.

     During a press conference outside a VFW home in nearby Overland, McCaskill brushed aside questions about Akin’s future.

     “The voters have spoken, and he’s the nominee,” McCaskill said.

     “We’re going to draw the contrasts that I think are necessary so that voters know that he’s outside the mainstream, he’s very extreme,” she added later.

     Tuesday, Akin let a deadline for withdrawing from the Senate race pass.

    Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., confirms with TODAY's Matt Lauer that vice presidential candidate and fellow congressman Paul Ryan advised him to step down amid the fallout of comments he made about rape and abortion.

     He told NBC’s Matt Lauer during a Wednesday interview on the TODAY show that his nomination was a “decision made by the citizens of our state, not the party bosses.”

     McCaskill’s VFW visits were part of a so-called “Vets for Claire” listening tour that the campaign says was arranged prior to the Akin controversy.

     A VFW official in Overland asked reporters to hold McCaskill’s press conference outside the building, in order to keep the organization compliant with rules prohibiting political activity by 501(c)(3) charity groups.

  • Romney warns of perils of shrinking military at Memorial Day event

    Denis Poroy / Reuters

    Mitt Romney, center, war veteran Nick Popaditch, left, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., applaud during a Memorial Day event at the Veterans Museum & Memorial Center in San Diego on Monday.

    By NBC's Garrett Haake

    SAN DIEGO-- Mitt Romney took advantage of one of his largest crowds of the campaign season on Memorial Day to warn of the dangers of a shrinking U.S. military in a dangerous world.

    Echoing portions of his stump speech in which he cites the threat of a resurgent Russia, a nuclear Iran and a rising China as obstacles to an "American Century," Romney closed his speech at this Memorial Day tribute to veterans with a political message about a choice between divergent military philosophies this November.

    "We have two courses we can follow: One is to follow the pathway of Europe. To shrink our military smaller and smaller to pay for our social needs. And they of course rely on the strength of America and they hope for the best. Were we to follow that kind of course, there would be no one that could stand to protect us," Romney told an audience his campaign said numbered roughly 5000 people.

    "The other is to commit to preserve America as the strongest military in the world, second to none, with no comparable power anywhere in the world. We choose that course. We choose that course for America not just so that we can win wars, but so we can prevent wars."

    President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney both marked Memorial Day with speeches and politics wasn't far below the surface. NBC's Kristen Welker reports.

    Regular rally trappings like pro-Romney signage were absent at this event, which took on a more solemn character than a traditional campaign stop. Romney did not mention or attack the President in his remarks today, which were instead focused on saluting military veterans and their families, including his predecessor in the role of Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, who joined him on stage Monday.

    "We're a nation that has been formed and preserved by heroes," Romney said. "John McCain is one of them."

    Obama honors fallen troops on Memorial Day

    McCain, for his part, also praised Romney, calling him "fully qualified to be commander in chief."

    The two men and their pro-military message were warmly received here under the blazing midday sunlight. San Diego is home to the US Navy's Pacific Fleet, and Naval Base San Diego is the largest such military community on the West Coast.