McCain: Not everyone here illegally should be deported
Associated Press

http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/ ... 2N.html

CLEMSON, S.C. - Republican presidential candidate John McCain showed compassion for illegal immigrants on Wednesday when he said not everyone in the U.S. illegally should be deported.

"If you're prepared to send an 80-year-old grandmother who's been here 70 years back to some country, then, frankly you're not quite as compassionate as maybe I am," McCain said in response to a question from a Clemson student who described himself as the child of legal immigrants.

The Arizona senator, who has spent the last three days in early voting South Carolina, said more secure borders along with guest worker and employment verification programs will cut the number of illegal immigrants in the country, currently projected at 12 million.

McCain's campaign slid earlier this year when he bucked the GOP base by supporting an immigration bill derided as offering amnesty for illegal immigrants. He now says the public won't accept any overhaul until the nation's borders are secure.

McCain also spoke about the troop surge success he saw in Iraq, the need for more nuclear power and how he would cut federal spending, partly by requiring fixed-cost defense contracts.

A Chinese student asked McCain about U.S. relations with his nation, and the senator said he recognizes they are a rising superpower.

"I expect them to behave like one. Why don't we have some free elections?" McCain said. "When are you going to stop making major decisions on who rules the country in some resort in August in China and give the people more of a role in determining their own future in self government."

McCain spoke at the university's Strom Thurmond Institute, named after the former U.S. senator and South Carolina governor who built the state's Republican Party with support for segregation and civil rights opposition, and who later changed his views.

"I have not known an individual who was a more astute politician and more dedicated public servant and (who) served in the military as you know all the way back to World War II," McCain said.

McCain's mic had loud pops during the speech, occasionally startling people in the auditorium. "That's twice the Democrats have weighed in," McCain joked.

Trailing in South Carolina polls, McCain has been trying to regain the momentum lost in this state during the summer when poor campaign financial management forced layoffs. Since then, McCain has tried to recast as himself as the straight-talking, hard campaigner that marked his run in 2000.

McCain returns to the state Friday with stops in Myrtle Beach and Seabrook Island, a resort town near Charleston.