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McCain talks about economy in Kentucky visit
Presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks to a large group of supporters at the Martin County Courthouse in Inez, Ky., during a town hall meeting Wednesday, April 23, 2008.
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INEZ, Ky.-- The residents of Inez, a town of about 450 in eastern Kentucky, took part in an old-fashioned town hall meeting with likely Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain on Wednesday.
More than 300 supporters crammed into an Old Martin County Courthouse second-floor room that had no air conditioning to listen to McCain's thoughts on a variety of topics.
Hours before the "Straight Talk Express" rolled into Inez, hundreds of Republican supporters lined up outside the courthouse. Speakers were provided for the approximately 150 people who were unable to find seating inside the venue.
McCain began the event with a short prepared speech about his plans to help the people of Inez and other small, rural towns with his initiatives. The Arizona senator spent the next hour on stage taking questions from the audience.
While he discussed a number of topics, McCain emphasized the importance of providing quality education and recognizing students and teachers based on their performance.
"We need to reward good teachers and principals. Too often a teacher, school or principal go unrecognized," he said. "The measure of a student's success should be based on the individual student's achievement, no matter how it was achieved."
To help provide quality education, McCain promised to bring Internet access to rural areas. Having access to the Internet, he said, prepares students for a life in a technological economy.
"I think we should establish a 'People Connect Program' that rewards companies that offer high-speed Internet access services to underserved, low-income customers by allowing these companies to write off the cost of this service," he said.
McCain also focused on the importance of community and technical colleges that prepare young adults for careers in technological fields. McCain touted the Big Sandy Community and Technical College, with four locations in Eastern Kentucky, for preparing students to enter the work force upon graduation.
"Community college training is one of the most efficient, least costly things we can do to stimulate our economy," McCain said.
Though the Tri-State has seen a decline in the number of manufacturing and industrial jobs, McCain said there are plenty of careers available in technological fields. McCain said there was a number of careers, specifically in the coal industry, available for Tri-State residents following their completion of coal mining training. Community and technological institutions, he said, stimulate the economy by training displaced workers.
"We in America have had a dramatic loss in manufacturing jobs. Many of those jobs are not coming back to America," he said. "But, worker retraining programs enable them to take part in new technology."
McCain said later that it is more the responsibility of the individual states, not the federal government, to entice manufacturing and industrial businesses to states in need of large industries.
Christian Damron, from Warfield, Ky., said he attended the event in order to see how the veteran senator plans to stimulate the economy, deal with veteran issues and lower oil prices. Having local individuals ask McCain the questions, Damron said, gave the community a chance to discuss the issues affecting them.
"The senator will get a broader perspective when seven or eight people ask questions instead of just relying on one person's opinion," Damron said. "It's great to see a candidate come down to 'small-town America' instead of just visiting big, metropolitian area."
After the town hall meeting, McCain visited the construction site of the Martin County Business Center, a few blocks away from the courthouse. During the short press conference, McCain said he promised to come back to Inez and hold another town hall meeting.
"I will not make this my last visit," he said. "If I'm elected I'll come back, hold another town hall meeting and you can ask me questions about my decisions and hold me accountable."
Earnistine Perry of nearby Tomahawk, Ky., said the event helped her figure out who she would vote for. Though she is a registered Republican, Perry said the close race between Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for the Democratic presidential nomination has made the decision difficult.
"Right now I'm trying me best to figure out who to vote for. I wanted to come, listen and see for my self what he had to say," Perry said.
Following his campaign stop in Inez, McCain traveled to the Tri-State Airport, where he headed out for campaign stops in New Orleans.
