Winning California for McCain

Tonight, I went to the volunteer kickoff event for the McCain campaign in San Mateo County. There were about 300 volunteers who attended, and many of them had not been involved in the campaign previously. As one of the speakers joked, "There are so many people here it looks like a Democratic Rally." It shows you that the excitement about the McCain-Palin ticket carrying across the country has even reached the Bay Area.

I am really curious to know how close the race in California is. All the California polls I've seen are pre-convention. (If any has seen recent California polls, please let me know.) I heard that a recent internal Republican poll put Obama's lead in California at about 5%. Honestly, I would be surprised if it is that close, but I do think it could be single digits. And that means McCain is within striking distance.

The bottom-line for those living in California: Don't be afraid about wearing the McCain pin or putting a McCain-Palin bumper sticker on your car or putting up a yard sign. There are more McCain voters in California than you realize. McCain is definitely the type of Republican who can do well in California and maybe even win the state. And get involved with campaign! Any resources that the Obama campaign has to put in to shoring up support in California are resources that he cannot spend in swing states like Ohio, Florida, or Pennsylvania.

The speakers also spoke a little bit about ways to talk with undecided voters. The number one thing is to explain why you specifically support McCain. You may not know every issue, but you should have one or two specific reasons why you support McCain. And don't be afraid to draw contrasts with Obama, especially as it relates to the reasons why you support McCain.

The other thing that may help is to visit some of the conservative blogs which quickly respond to what is going on in the news to give you ammo when the Democrats attack McCain or Palin. Some good sites to go to are McCain Report, The Weekly Standard, and the National Review Corner. And of course, check back here regularly as we offer our opinion on why the McCain-Palin ticket is best for the US.