McCain is mum on running mate

By JOHN O’CONNOR - joconnor@thestate.com

John McCain made a victory lap trip to the Palmetto State on Friday, returning for a $1,000-a-head fundraiser in the state that helped launch him to the Republican presidential nomination.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and other state supporters joined McCain as he took a first step toward keeping South Carolina in the GOP column come November.

“We want to show that the Republican Party is united and energized,” McCain said.

Absent among state leaders was Gov. Mark Sanford, out of state at Air Force Reserve training. Sanford endorsed McCain during his failed 2000 campaign but this time waited to endorse the U.S. senator from Arizona until after McCain had secured enough delegates to clinch the GOP nomination.

Despite that, Sanford has been mentioned among a number of possible vice presidential picks.

McCain declined to discuss whether he would choose Sanford.

“Gov. Sanford is a very important person that we all admire and respect,” McCain said, “but we’re not mentioning anybody’s names as we go through this process.”

McCain said he would not have a problem choosing someone who had not endorsed him if that person agreed with him ideologically.

State Democrats said it’s voters who would disagree with McCain’s policies in the fall, claiming he represented a third term of President George W. Bush’s presidency.

U.S. Rep. James Clyburn noted McCain’s opposition to budget earmarks — such as one to dredge Charleston’s port in order to better compete with other ports — as well as opposition to the Democratic-sponsored bills to pay for veteran rehabilitation and added benefits.

“These are things we think are very, very unseemly,” Clyburn said.

McCain welcomed the challenge, which Friday seemed to grow more likely to come from U.S. Sen. Barack Obama from Illinois.

As Democrats argued about who could better attract white voters in the general election, a top McCain adviser said the campaign saw an opening.

“If you look at the blue-collar Democratic votes that Mrs. Clinton’s been getting and then look at their opinions of Obama in these public polls, there’s clearly an opportunity for McCain,” McCain adviser Charlie Black told The Associated Press.

McCain said he was ready to make his case on such issues as lower taxes on capital gains, tax credits for health care and his national security experience.

“We’ll have many, many differences of views, and I look forward to airing them,” McCain said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach O’Connor at (803) 771-8358.