CONCORD, N.C. - Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain brought the economic struggles of working class families into the national spotlight Saturday morning in his second visit to North Carolina in a week.
McCain, presenting himself as a champion of small businesses and lower taxes, implored a crowd of about 7,000 supporters in the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center to fight the tide of recent media speculation and keep the Tar Heel state red.
"Let me give you some hard facts in my comments today-we have to win the state of North Carolina," McCain said. "The enthusiasm we've been seeing here lately is overwhelming and gives us the confidence that we're on a roll and that we're going to win."
In the former GOP stronghold, the most recent Rasmussen poll conducted Oct. 8 indicates that Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama holds a slim lead over McCain, 49 to 48 percent. The visit was also his second to the state-which no Democratic presidential candidate has won since Jimmy Carter in 1976-since the May primaries.
McCain repeatedly invoked "Joe the Plumber" in his remarks to attack Obama's economic plan for increasing taxes and "redistributing the wealth."
Joe Wurzelbacher of Toledo, Ohio, also known as Joe the Plumber, has become an iconic figure in the presidential horse race since he confronted Obama during a campaign stop about his plan for small business taxation.
"The real winner this week was Joe the Plumber. Joe won because he's the only one to get a real answer out of Sen. Obama," McCain said. "Congratulations, Joe, that's an impressive achievement."
Both candidates have retooled their economic policies in the midst of the recent financial turmoil.
"We learned that Sen. Obama's economic goal is, as he told Joe, to quote 'spread the wealth.' We've seen that movie before in other countries and attempts by the liberal left in this country," McCain said, echoing a theme he has used throughout the week to paint Obama's policies as socialist. "In this country, we believe in spreading opportunity."
McCain vowed to buy up failing mortgages, freeze government spending and open new markets for American goods abroad to bolster struggling businesses. He compared Obama's economic policies to those of former president Herbert Hoover, who was in office as the nation plunged into the Great Depression in 1929.
McCain was accompanied by his wife, Cindy McCain, state Republican Sen. Richard Burr and Congressmen Patrick McHenry and Robin Hayes, who touted McCain's military experience and his willingness to put "country first."
"There are other ways to love this country, but I've never been one to do it from the sidelines," McCain said.
McCain's remarks were frequently drowned out by chants of "U.S.A." from a crowd bearing signs with slogans such as "N.C. is McCain Country," "Don't Spread the Wealth, Let Joe Keep His Dough" and "Nobama."
"Once you're in the crowd-everybody loves it, everybody is pumped up and they believe Sarah [Palin] and [McCain] are the one," Susan Cavendish of Raleigh said as she peddled "Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You: Pit Bulls for McCain-Palin" buttons.
The spirits of McCain supporters were not dampened by the doubts plaguing the campaign. Many agreed with McCain's characterization of Obama's policies, and some expressed fear at the prospects of an Obama presidency.
"I can see a ghost when there's a ghost.... The ghost of Marxism," said Cuban emigre Alfredo Maulini, of Statesville, N.C. "I lived there, I left my country because of that."
McCain continued on the trail Sunday with a stop in Toledo, Ohio, the hometown of Joe the Plumber, while Obama spent the weekend campaigning in St. Louis, Mo. and in Fayetteville, N.C., countering his opponent's criticism and leveling charges of his own.
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