Going There

I did up attending today's town hall meeting in Lakeville with John McCain. I'll have a more thorough recap later. For now, I'll just pass on what I thought was the most significant news from the event.

It wasn't anything that McCain said. He hit on most of the same themes that we've heard throughout the campaign, although he was much more confident and at ease than in either of the two debates. The format--a real town hall--definitely plays to his strengths as we've so often heard.

Rather it was the advice that former US Senator Rudy Boschwitz passed on during the question and answer section. Clad in his trademark plaid shirt, Boschwitz had spoken on McCain's behalf earlier before the candidate arrived. The crowd was a little surprised when Boschwitz raised his hand among the many other who wanted to query McCain. I'm sure McCain was too.

Boschwitz began by saying that he probably knew and admired McCain better than anyone in the room. Then he said that he was afraid that if McCain didn't bring up some of Obama's past associations, he would lose the election. He added that McCain had to do it himself because the media wasn't going to do it for him.

This echoed the sentiments expressed by many at the event, who are obviously frustrated by what they feel is McCain's reluctance to get to the heart of the matter regarding Obama's past. It's one thing to hear a regular citizen vent that way. It's another when a former US Senator does. It will interesting to see how this plays out.