McCain campaigning with Cassidy in La. Senate race

(AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain campaigned Monday across Louisiana at veterans rallies in support of GOP Senate candidate Bill Cassidy, touting the Republican congressman as someone who will help improve veterans’ care and fight Obama administration policies.
Cassidy is locked in a tight race with Democratic third-term incumbent Mary Landrieu, who is targeted by the GOP in its effort to retake Senate control.
McCain hit the same message as Cassidy’s campaign, describing Landrieu as too tightly tied to President Barack Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress and dismissing her claims that she has invaluable clout that the state shouldn’t lose.
An unsuccessful presidential candidate who carried the state of Louisiana in his 2008 White House bid, McCain said the Obama administration has neglected the nation’s veterans.
He said while recent legislation will improve veterans’ health care access, systemic problems remain to be fixed. He cited Cassidy’s background as a doctor and his advocacy for a pilot program for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury.
“Bill Cassidy understands the medical and mental health issues of our veterans,” McCain said at a local museum commemorating the USS Kidd, a Navy destroyer permanently docked on the Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge.
The stop was one of five rallies McCain was attending with Cassidy and Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter. Cassidy framed his campaign as a referendum on Obama, “taking on the most powerful man in the world and the senator who votes for him 97 percent of the time.”
In response to the McCain rallies, Landrieu’s campaign provided a long list of the Democratic senator’s work on veterans issues and her support for Louisiana’s military facilities. On Tuesday, Landrieu planned a campaign stop in central Louisiana, near Fort Polk, to highlight her efforts to preserve jobs and stop a troop reduction at the facility.
McCain dismissed the Landrieu campaign’s list of accomplishments.
“She hasn’t done anything on behalf of our veterans or our military except support the failed strategy of Barack Obama, which has gotten us into more jeopardy than in any time since the end of the Cold War,” McCain said after the rally.
Landrieu used the McCain appearances to swipe at Cassidy for his refusal to participate in more than two TV debates in advance of the Nov. 4 election.
“Sen. John McCain is widely respected for the courage he displayed as a prisoner of war for six and a half years. So, it’s a real shame the guy he is campaigning for can’t find the courage to face the voters of his own state for five one-hour debates,” she said in a statement.
Cassidy will participate Tuesday in his first televised debate against Landrieu and Republican candidate Rob Maness, a tea party favorite, in Shreveport.
Polls show that no candidate is projected to exceed the 50 percent voter support needed to win in Louisiana’s November primary. The race instead is expected to be decided in a Dec. 6 runoff between Landrieu and Cassidy.