John McCain pursues votes of Florida retirees

John McCain, locked in a bitter struggle with his Republican rival Mitt Romney, is hoping to win today’s knife-edge Florida primary with help from a group he once mocked – residents of retirement communities.

	John McCain speaking at a campaign event in Florida. Many in the crowd took to him as one of their own

It was more than two decades ago that Mr McCain made an ill-advised quip that the Leisure World community should be renamed “Seizure World” and was a place where 97 percent of the people voted and "the other 3 percent were in intensive care".

Now 71 and vying to be the oldest US president ever to be first inaugurated, he finds himself in the same age group as the butts of his joke, for which he was blasted during his 1986 Senate campaign.

He later said he should have “apologised immediately and fully for my discourtesy”.

Polls show the Arizona senator McCain and Mr Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, locked together in Florida, where the winner will enjoy a powerful boost before next week’s “Super Duper Tuesday”, when 21 states will vote for Republicans.

Rudy Giuliani, once the national front runner, trails a distant third in opinion polls, signalling an ignominious defeat that would effectively end his presidential bid in the state he banked everything on after ducking the first six contests.

Among Mr McCain’s targets in the final hours of the crucial Florida race are the state’s New York “Snowbirds” – elderly residents of the Big Apple who have retired to the Sunshine State and were heavily backing Mr Giuliani, a former New York mayor.

At a rally in Lady Lake Florida, where more than 1,200 people were crammed into a theatre in “the Villages”, a network of retirement communities where everyone drives golf carts, the crowd was a sea of white hair.

“This is Disneyland for old guys,” said Tom Lane, 69, who, like Mr McCain, was a jet pilot in the Vietnam war.

“There’s all sorts of activities.” Mr McCain praised the many retired military veterans who were there, asking them to “raise your hand or stand, depending on how it is”.

He said: “You are the roles models and inspiration for those who are now serving.”

The war on terror, he said, presented the same existential threat to America as Nazi German and Japan once had.

“We’ve got several World War Two veterans here. In the Pacific, what was the toughest part of the enemy? The kamikaze pilots who wanted to commit suicide to take the lives of others. That’s the case today.”

He also outlined his plans for health care for “seniors” and the high cost of prescription drugs. The care of military veterans by the US government was “unacceptable, it’s got to be fixed”.

Many in the crowd took to him as one of their own. The woman who he picked out to ask the first question after his speech told him: “I just wanted to say to everybody who thinks you are too old that you look great, you sound great and you will last another eight years.”

Mr McCain laughed and responded: “Did I mention my 95-year-old mother?”

Again and again, Mr McCain, who likes to describe himself as “older than dirt, with as many scars as Frankenstein”, touted his experience.

He makes no secret of the injuries he received as a prisoner for more than five years in Vietnam, when he was hung from ropes by his two broken arms. His allies cite his age as bonus.

Taking a swipe at Mr Romney – known for his luxuriant thatch, Senator Joe Lieberman, campaigning for Mr McCain in Florida, said: “Maybe it’s not so bad that he doesn’t have as much hair as other candidates.

“He’s got experience. He’s been through a lot. He’s been tested.” The Romney camp is doing its best to portray Mr McCain as a has-been.

“It’s not so much the age as it is he’s spent so many years entrenched in Washington,” said Bay Buchanan, a Romney adviser.

“He’s so far removed from the real world. “America’s looking for tomorrow, the new leaders, the fresh faces, the new ideas, people coming in with energy, excitement and vigour.”

But in Lady Lake, most residents viewed Mr McCain’s age as a plus.

Tom Lane, the former Vietnam pilot said: “It’s only a year and a half ahead of me and I don’t feel old.”

His wife Maryanne, 65, interjected: “I’m from New York and I was for Giuliani but I’m upset he didn’t campaign in other states. Barack Obama’s too young. Romney, let’s face it, is polished. He could be a model. But we want a president.

“We in the Villages are that same age as McCain so we know what we can do and what we can’t do. To see him, there’s not a problem.”