Marathon Pundit: McCain begins "Time for Action Tour"

Senator John McCain hit the road today--he'll visit places that aren't often visited by presidential candidates. The tour begins in Selma, Alabama, which during primary season typically is a campaign stop, especially for Democrats, but since Alabama is a reliable Republican state, Selma, and the rest of Alabama, are usually bypassed after the primaries end.

Here are a couple some excperts from McCain's speech, given oustide the St. James Hotel in Selma a few minutes ago:

Thank you. Forty-three years ago, an army of more than five hundred marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge; an army that brought with them no weapons, which intended no destruction; that sought to conquer no people or land. At the head of the column, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, tie and tan raincoat, marched a twenty-five year old son of Alabama sharecroppers, John Lewis. They had planned to march from Selma to Montgomery, but they knew they would never reach there. They had been warned they would be met with force, and at the crest of the bridge, they were. Until then, they had marched in silence, with dignity and resolve, men, women, children and old people. All was quiet, even the angry crowd that watched the marchers. But everything was alive with apprehension, with the expectation that something momentous and terrible was imminent.

On the other side of the bridge, row upon row of state troopers in blue uniforms and white helmets, many on horseback, prepared to charge and stop with violence the peaceful army, intent only on conquering injustice. John Lewis took the first blow, a baton thrust to the stomach that shoved him back on the marchers behind him. He took the second blow, too, a hard swung club to his head, leaving a permanent scar where it struck. Blood poured from the wound, darkening his raincoat. He tried to struggle to his feet, and then collapsed unconscious, his skull fractured.

John Lewis is now a Democratic Congressman from Georgia.

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I want to discuss with them how they are working hard to make a better future for their communities and their country. I am going to listen to and learn from them about what government is doing to help their efforts and what it does to hinder them. I'm not going to tell anybody about how government can make their choices for them, but how we can help grow our economy so that people have better choices to make for themselves. I'm going to share some of my ideas for making our schools better, and how to help all parts of America have access to the astonishing improvements in education made possible by the information revolution, and the economic opportunities they bring. I'm going to talk about the great potential of America's community colleges to help people learn new skills that will help them find secure jobs in the global economy. I want them to know, that as we begin to address the security and environmental threats caused by our dependence on foreign oil, I'm dedicated to making sure our efforts to start a green technology revolution – which could be as transformative as the information revolution -- produces prosperity throughout this country.

Later today, McCain will visit two other Alabama towns.

From a McCain campaign press release:

In Gee's Bend, Senator McCain will visit a community center where meals are provided for senior residents of Gee's Bend and the Gee's Bend Quilters gather to work. Their quilts have been exhibited in museums across the country and are praised as "some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced." And in 2006, the U.S. Post Office issued commemorative stamps with images of Gee's Bend quilts. Senator McCain will also visit with Mary Lee Bendolph, a life-long resident of Gee's Bend and the subject of the Los Angeles Times' 2000 Pulitzer Prize winning extended feature, "Crossing Over."

Isolated by the river, economic difficulties, and racial tensions, Gee's Bend is a very poor, rural community located southwest of Selma , Alabama . It is named for Joseph Gee, the first white planter to settle in Gee's Bend . And its population is largely descendants of slaves who were brought to Gee's Bend and remained as tenant farmers after emancipation.

Thomasville will be next:

Senator McCain is traveling to Thomasville at the invitation of Mayor Sheldon Day. He will drive by the Thomasville Elementary School , drop-by the Thomasville High School and Middle School Assembly, and give remarks at Alabama Southern Community College.

Working with leaders from government, business, education, and medicine, Mayor Day is working to redefine Thomasville as a place for business to relocate.

Education is a key part of making Thomasville a model for rural development. In the fall of 2006, Thomasville High School in conjunction with Alabama Southern Community College implemented a workforce-training program. The Dual Enrollment Program allows high school students to enroll in "dual curriculum" classes at the college. This program is funded by scholarships and enables participating high school students to get a head start on their college degree. Courses in welding, manufacturing technology, and health care are offered. After graduating from high school, students have only one semester to complete before being "job ready." High schools from throughout the area are interested in establishing similar programs, but the college does not currently have the capacity to absorb the additional enrollment. Students graduating from the machinist/millwright program leave for jobs in the pulp and paper industry, one of the largest job providers in Thomasville, earning $50,000-$60,000 per year.