.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} AMES – Sen. John McCain’s scrappy style mixed with a bit of bile and self-deprecating humor has the pale rider of the Straight Talk Express campaign bus waiting in the wings, hoping for a last-minute surge that will resurrect his poll numbers in the waning weeks before the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3.

The oldest presidential candidate at 71, the senator from Arizona has lost the earlier luster and energy that propelled him to the top of the charts during the 2000 presidential cycle, but he remains a formidable politician with the experience on the international stage that could surprise everyone come caucus night, if one of the other top-tier candidates stumbles.

Unfortunately, McCain has been on the wrong side of two issues for most Iowa Republicans – the war in Iraq and immigration – and he is struggling to gain traction here and elsewhere around the country.

The New York Times recently reported that McCain is giving up on Iowa because of his low poll numbers, lack of funds and organizational muscle and concentrating on New Hampshire. However, his Iowa supporters deny that.

In fact, McCain has been campaigning in Iowa. The Straight Talk Express visited four Central Iowa towns a few weeks ago and the Des Moines Business Record caught up with him after he spoke at a biofuels conference in Ames.

A crowd of Iowa State University agronomists, schoolteachers and Farm Bureau members listened to McCain, the first of several presidential candidates to speak that night. A few appeared to doze off during the speech, which McCain read without emotion or inflection.

But here’s the thing about McCain: He told them exactly what they didn’t want to hear. “Ethanol isn’t the answer to the oil crisis,” he said, “but a first step in a long process of turning the U.S. into an energy-sufficient country.”

McCain isn’t a panderer, and that hurts him in the polls.

With his small staff of young politicos, McCain retreated to an upstairs room, where several reporters were waiting to ask him questions.

What excites McCain is not reading a prepared speech but actually talking with voters and reporters – and he’s good at it.

His eyes start to glimmer. His body posture takes on the energy of a strong warrior. He’s a real American hero and a passionate and persuasive elder statesman. He reminded this reporter of the insurgent, jolly, take-no-prisoners candidate who almost won his party’s nomination eight years ago.

Here are his responses to our questions, some of which were provided by Central Iowa business leaders.

Business Record: Should the president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, leave office and rescind martial law?

McCain: My view is that we are correctly asking him to rescind martial law and that negotiations with him and (former Prime Minister Benazir) Bhutto continue and the less public declaration, the better. But we have to make clear what we think is best for Pakistan and their country – that he should rescind martial law. But it’s important to keep in mind that they were a failed state before he came to power.

There are radical elements, and we don’t want to see a repeat of the shah of Iran situation. They are a nuclear power, and it’s going to require great diplomacy and skill. Look, if we think we have difficulties now with Musharraf and the havens of terrorists hiding in Pakistan, just think if we had an anti-American Islamic government.

I wouldn’t want to threaten him at this time, because we could play into the hand of the extremists. It’s an incredibly fluid (situation), but it is a national security issue for this country.

(Update: Musharraf announced on Nov. 29 that he will end the state of emergency on Dec. 16, ahead of upcoming elections.)

Business Record: Torture is something you feel strongly about. Do you support waterboarding and other forms of torture that would be used against possible terrorists?

McCain: I talk about it all the time. It’s a big issue that defines what kind of nation we are. The Geneva Conventions and the Anti-Torture Act under Ronald Reagan established that we were a nation of laws, and by engaging in torture, we are relinquishing the moral high ground of our country. Those of us who understand the military culture, and that goes all the way back to George Washington and Japanese war criminals, and yet, three of my major opponents – (Mitt) Romney, (Rudy) Giuliani and my good friend Fred Thompson – don’t seem to understand this.

Bill Van Orsdel, a businessman who’s involved with several environmental groups in the state, wanted to know where McCain stood on global warming, especially ensuring water quality and quantity in agricultural states like Iowa.

McCain: There’s been some reluctance on the part of some to acknowledge that we have a global warming problem. But the larger number of scientists, including our National Academy of Science, have issued pretty definitive opinions that more and more people are aware of it. There’s also a part of our evangelical churches in America that feel their stewardship of our planet needs to be cared for and are coming aboard right now.

In Arizona, which is a desert, we’ve been dealing with the issue of water for many, many years, and clearly the first aspect is conservation, and even in my home state of Arizona, we don’t practice it as much as we should because of cheap water, artificially cheap water, to agriculture and other areas. But there is no doubt that the issue of water is going to be a looming issue.

Conservation is the first step. Second, to make (sure) our government doesn’t inadvertently subsidize industries or agriculture that make extravagant use of water. I guess third of all, many of us, including me, believe that these droughts are a product of climate change/global warming, and it’s a harbinger of bad things to come if our planet continues to heat up.

Hopefully, it will move us to address the overall issue of climate change as well as the specific areas of America that are experiencing periods of drought.

Rick Clark, city manager of Des Moines, asked about McCain’s and Giuliani’s qualifications on national security.

McCain: He (Giuliani) has experience, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near what mine is. I think he did a great job managing a post-crisis situation in New York City. I don’t think that has any real bearing on knowledge and background and information on national security issues.

His position on torture, comparing harsh interrogation of the Mafia as opposed to waterboarding, shows a profound failure to understand the military culture and what our military requirements are, and the ability to lead us in addressing the national security issues, which clearly by the events of today and yesterday, are very varied and significant.

I’ve been to Waziristan (a region in northwest Pakistan). I know Musharraf. I’ve been to Pakistan. I’ve been to Afghanistan many times. To my knowledge, Mayor Giuliani has never been to Iraq. So I will match my qualifications, my experience and my knowledge and particularly my advocacy for a change in strategy, criticizing the failure of the (former Secretary of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld strategy and calling for the new strategy that is working.

Business Record: According to one of your major competitors, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney continues to say that he is the most experienced leader and manager in this race. Do you have to know how to run a business to be president?

McCain: (Laughs) I hope not! I would point out that I didn’t manage something; I led the largest squadron of the U.S. Navy of over 1,000 people, which trained pilots to go into combat and into harm’s way to defend our nation.

I’ll match my qualifications for leadership and involvement and knowledge of our national security against anybody’s. And I think it’s good to have been governor of the state of Massachusetts, but I don’t know how that provides one with qualifications to hit the ground running without any need for on-the-job training.

Gayle Collins, a Des Moines commercial real estate agent, asked McCain how he would end the war in Iraq.

McCain: The American people deserve to know that the path ahead will be long and difficult, but the new strategy is working. If our efforts in Iraq don’t retain the support of our people, the war will be lost, and that will result in damaging U.S credibility through the world, lead to more violence in Iraq, and undermine U.S. allies in the region.

Withdrawing our troops precipitously would condemn Iraq to civil war, energize al-Qaeda and other terrorists around the world and make our country less safe. We need to stay with the new strategy and support our troops who are giving the ultimate sacrifice.

Iraq needs time to build a capable army with U.S. training and equipment, but there also needs to be a political and economic solution in Iraq. The Iraqi people also need to start seeing some tangible improvements in their daily lives or their support for the government will falter.

Success in Iraq is absolutely necessary, and it can happen. But we’re going to have to tell the American people the truth. It’s going to be long and difficult, but we can be successful, and if we are then we’ll be safer at home.

We have to remember that our national security interests are at stake. I believe we can succeed, but it’s going to be a long road. It’s not going to be easy.

J. Barry Griswell, CEO of Principal Financial Group Inc., is concerned about finding a solution to the immigration problem, especially because Iowa businesses need immigrant workers to fill many entry-level jobs in rural communities where the work force is declining.

McCain: I’ve heard Iowans for the last few days on this subject, and I’ve got the message. They want comprehensive immigration reform. They want our borders to be protected, and that’s what I want. We have to deal with the realities of undocumented immigrants.

I support securing our borders and coming up with a comprehensive immigration reform law in Congress, which we haven’t been able to do because of Washington politics-as-usual. But it’s a huge issue for all Americans, and it’s an issue I’ll make sure we’ll solve when I’m president.

According to the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, McCain is plodding along at 7 percent support among likely caucus-goers, two points behind Fred Thompson, who has dropped to 9 percent. Mike Huckabee leads the Iowa race with 29 percent, followed by Romney with 24 percent and Giuliani with 13 percent.

For more information on John McCain’s presidential campaign, call his Des Moines headquarters at (877) 429-2008 or check out his Web site: johnmccain.com.