War hero McCain deserted by voters in military state

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By Leonard Doyle in Quantico, Virginia
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/war-hero-mccain-deserted-by-voters-in-military-state-960263.html

As you drive along the highway towards the world's largest Marine Corp base, a huge sign pronounces "Virginia, John McCain Country".

The Republican nominee's oft-told personal story as a navy fighter pilot and a Vietnam prisoner-of-war who endured years of horrific torture should have given him a lock on this state. But, as elsewhere in the country, support for the war hero appears to be waning amid deep concerns about the economy. Mr McCain's aggressive stance on Iraq; questions he has raised about his rival's character, and even overtly racist digs heard from Republicans on the campaign trail do not appear to be pushing voters into his arms.

"I have never voted in my life," Staff Sergeant Willie Hamilton admitted, somewhat shamefacedly, as the sun set over the base in Quantico. "I'm from the South and voting was never been a big issue back in South Carolina. But I'm 37 years old now and I intend to vote for Senator Obama."

(snip)
Virginia has been faithfully in the Republican column in every presidential election for the past 44 years. The state's large military population and a wider community of veterans and family members could always be relied on. However, judging by a series of interviews with serving and former members of the Marines over the weekend, that run could be coming to an end.


From a veterans' bingo game to a raucous karaoke session with soldiers and their girlfriends belting out country and western songs, the anecdotal evidence all pointed to a Democrat groundswell. in the tidy subdivisions of new houses dotted across the hilltops around Quantico, there are no signs screaming support for the Republicans and their war hero nominee, and almost everyone who stops to chat says that either they are on the fence or intend to vote for Mr Obama.