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Narr 1: Senator John McCain spoke to a theater of attendants clad in fur coats and power suits at the Miliennium Broadway Hotel in Times Square. A week into his campaign, the presidential fan fare was in full swing.
(fade up dramatic music)
WE ARE AMERICANS FIRST AMERICANS LAST AND AMERICANS ALWAYS.
But McCain had just come from his duties in congress, where Democrats have been producing one of the most binding resolutions yet on the Iraq war.
IF THEY FEEL SO STRONGLY THAT WE SHOULD BE GETTING OUT OF IRAQ THEN THEY HAVE THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO CUT OFF FUNDS. BUT I HAVE NEVER KNOWN A WAR IN HISTORY TO BE MICROMANAGED BY THE CONGRESS. AND THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT THEY WANT TO DO.
Some attendees of the event paid more than two thousand dollars to sit in the Henry Hudson Theater at the Millennium Hotel in Times Square.
McCain has been considering a presidential run for months, but a week ago also in Times Square he made a significant declaration on the Tonight Show with David Letterman.
I AM ANNOUNCING THAT I WILL BE A CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (APPLAUSE, CHEERS, MUSIC)
This is his second trip to New York in the week since he declared, but some say it will be tough for McCain to win the city and state over. Already McCain is in a state that is heavy with candidates -- Senator Hilary Clinton and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani are in the race, and former governor George Pataki has toyed with running.
I MEAN I DON'T SEE WHY THE REST OF THE COUNTRY DOESN'T JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY AND LET US SETTLE THE ELECTION RIGHT HERE.
Political consultant Bob Liff says McCain's support for the war in Iraq may end up strangling his candidacy.
I THINK THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WILL HAVE THE WAR WRAPPED AROUND THEIR NECK POLITICALLY.
Liff works for George Artz Communication, a liberal political consulting firm in New York. In the past McCain staked out a position that was distinctly more liberal than the neoconservatives in the Bush Administration. But now, McCain has switched his message to appeal to his base.
THE PROBLEM THAT MCCAIN FACES IS THAT HE'S TRYING TO BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE AND HE'S SUFFERING BOTH WITHIN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND IN THE GENERAL POPULATION.
Many republicans in New York struggle to support McCain as well. Guy Molinari is a former Republican congressman and friend of McCain for more than twenty years. Molinari supported McCain in 2000, but this time when McCain called asking for support, his answer was different.
IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT PHONE CALL. I'M TALKING TO HIM ONE ON ONE AND HAD TO TELL HIM RUDY GIULIANI CALLED ME AND SAID 4 TIMES GUY I NEED YOU.
Molinari says he couldn't say no to the former mayor.
THIS IS GIULIANI TERRITORY. I'VE YET TO FIND A SINGLE PERSON WHO ISN'T SUPPORTING RUDY GIULIANI AND MY DEAR FRIEND JOHN MCCAIN, I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR HIM TO BE COMPETITIVE.
Still at the event on Thursday, some high profile guests touting the senator. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger lauded McCain's record as a war veteran and his stance on the war in Iraq.
I'M A STRONG SUPPORTER OF THE SENATOR AND I'M GLAD HE OPENED HIMSELF UP TO SUCH A VAST ARRAY OF QUESTIONS.
It's how well he Jennifer Collins. Columbia radio news.