CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Republican John McCain on Monday dismissed Democratic rival Barack Obama as having zero national-security experience.
Arriving in North Carolina on the eve of the presidential primary, McCain said there are stark differences between him and the two Democratic candidates, Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
But he concentrated on Obama in particular.
“Sen. Obama wants to sit down with an Iranian leader who is dedicated to wiping Israel off the map — his words,” McCain told reporters on his campaign bus. “I don’t think we should give him that kind of prestige.
“Sen. Obama obviously has no national-security experience, and therefore that’s reflected in his judgment on a number of those issues.”
Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor responded by criticizing McCain’s support for the war in Iraq.
“John McCain has the experience of being Washington’s biggest supporter of a disastrous war in Iraq,” the spokesman said.
Extra delegates at stake in Indiana, N.C. primaries today
WASHINGTON — Good things such as Democratic delegates come to those who wait.
North Carolina, which holds its primary today, got an additional 24 delegates for moving its presidential nominating contest from April to May. Indiana, which also has its primary today, got six extra delegates for keeping its primary in May.
North Carolina has 115 pledged delegates at stake. Indiana has 72.
With Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama locked in a historic battle for the Democratic nomination, the late-voting states are being rewarded with competitive races and extra delegates.
The extra delegates were part of the Democratic Party’s efforts to control the nominating calendar.
Immigration issue harmed GOP image with Latinos, says McCain
PHOENIX — John McCain said Monday that the focus on illegal immigration during the Republican primary race harmed his party’s image among Latinos.
The Arizona senator clinched the GOP nomination two months ago and has been campaigning freely since. Speaking to reporters at a news conference on Cinco de Mayo, McCain said Latino citizens want America’s borders secured and illegal immigrants to be treated humanely.
He said low-income Latino citizens are vulnerable to losing their jobs to the lower wages accepted by illegal immigrants.
On broader immigration policies, McCain said local governments would not have to take on immigration problems had the federal government overhauled the country’s immigration policies.
Voter registration soaring
DURHAM, N.C. — Voter excitement, always up before a presidential election, is pushing registration through the roof so far this year — with more than 3.5 million people rushing to join in the historic balloting, according to an Associated Press survey that offers the first national snapshot.
Figures are up for blacks, women and young people. Rural and urban areas. South and North.
Overall, AP found that nearly one in 65 adult Americans signed up to vote in just the first three months of the year. And in the 21 states that were able to provide comparable data, new registrations have soared about 64 percent from the same three months in the 2004 campaign.
