McCain talks issues for black Americans

Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Fla. — Sen. John McCain blasted his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, on Friday for his approaches to education and economic development, accusing him of ignoring the needs of African-Americans and their children.

Speaking to more than a thousand members of the National Urban League, the Arizona Republican called for numerous changes in education policies — from school choice to more local control and direct public support to parents for tutoring — that he said were opposed by Obama and the teacher unions that support him.

“My opponent talks a great deal about hope and change, and education is as good a test as any of his seriousness,” he said. “If Sen. Obama continues to defer to the teachers unions instead of committing to real reform, then he should start looking for new slogans.”

McCain’s appearance — which included exchanges with his African-American audience on everything from affirmative action to his vote against a Martin Luther King holiday — continued his recent efforts to dismiss his rival as untested and insubstantial.

“If there’s one thing he always delivers, it’s a great speech,” McCain said. “But I hope you’ll listen carefully, because his ideas are not always as impressive as his rhetoric.”

However, McCain stayed away from any references to the race of the man who hopes to become the first black U.S. president. On Thursday, McCain and his campaign had accused Obama of “playing the race card” for saying Republicans were pointing out “he doesn’t look like those other presidents on those dollar bills.”

Instead, McCain focused on appealing to African-American education and economic interests, citing what he said were Obama’s plans to raise taxes on capital gains, dividends, estate taxes and payroll for some income categories. “That’s a whole lot of raising,” McCain remarked.

He got his strongest applause when he talked about the need “to stay focused on creating jobs for our people, and protecting paychecks from the rising costs of food, gasoline and most everything else.”

He also won applause when he apologized anew for voting against the enactment of a federal holiday honoring the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1983. “I was wrong,” he said.

However, he sidestepped a question on affirmative action, saying programs to encourage hiring of minorities were “in the eye of the beholder.” He did not mention that he supports an anti-affirmative action referendum on the ballot in Arizona.

After his address, McCain and his wife, Cindy, drove to Pancho’s Spanish Bakery and Deli, a small restaurant, to meet briefly with Hispanic supporters.

Polls show Obama with a 20-point lead among Florida Hispanics. But Central Florida’s Hispanics are considered up for grabs, supporting Republican gubernatorial candidates this decade even as they gave a majority of their votes to Democratic presidential candidates.