WASHINGTON, Pa. - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain brought his vice presidential pick to western Pennsylvania on Saturday, attracting many local residents to the Keystone State to hear the candidates speak.
Wheeling attorney Elgine McArdle was among those seated in the stands at Consol Energy Park. The seats hold 3,000 spectators during Washington Wild Things games, but many more people gathered on the infield to show support for McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona.
"It's hot, but it's great." McArdle said of the McCain campaign rally, held under the blazing August sun.
McArdle, who is a delegate to the Republican National Convention and is leaving for Minneapolis-St. Paul on Monday, was excited about McCain's choice of a running mate - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
"She's everything that I want to be," McArdle said of Palin. "She's a hockey mom, a working mom. She's not scared to fight corruption. She's full of energy. There's nothing like a woman to multitask. She's the epitome of a super mom."
McArdle and her daughter Danielle, 16, were joined at the rally by Kathy Dague of St. Clairsville and her 16-year-old son, Tyler.
"We're McCain supporters because he's conservative. I believe he stands for more of the values that we do. He's pro-life ... ," Dague said. "He's probably more of our country's patriot than Obama.
"We don't believe in socialism," she added, referring to Democratic nominee Barack Obama's plan for national health care.
Tyler echoed his mother's comments.
"We're McCain supporters - big time," he said, also citing health care and McCain's experience in government and the military as reasons why.
Ted Erickson of Wheeling and his wife, Margaret, also braved the heat to hear McCain and Palin speak.
"My brother works in the Alaskan oil fields, and I understand (Palin) has about a 90 percent approval rating there," Ted Erickson said.
"I'm really interested in hearing Palin speak," Margaret Erickson noted. "(McCain) could have gone soft on pro-life, but he didn't - and he's a fiscal conservative.
"I'm tired of government controlling every aspect of my life," she added, citing the proliferation of smoking bans and the prohibition on selling trans fats in New York City as examples of governmental controls she believes would be lifted under a McCain administration.