John McCain made a campaign stop in Maryland on Sunday.  He addressed the National Guard Association at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md.  While the main focus of the speech was his support for the National Guard and all branches of the United States Military, he did sidetrack for a moment to address last week’s financial news. 

McCain criticized Barack Obama for not laying out a specific plan to deal with the crisis.  He connected this “lack of leadership” to Iraq saying, “For a guy who talks so much about hope, he didn't hold out much hope for victory in Iraq. Instead, he commits the greater error of insisting that even in hindsight, he would oppose the surge... Behind all of these claims and positions by Senator Obama lies the ambition to be president. What's missing is the judgment to be commander in chief.”  McCain went on to add: “In short, both candidates in this election pledge to end this war and bring our troops home. The great difference is that I intend to win it first.”

McCain, a well known Vietnam veteran, discussed his own military service as well as his family’s honored history in the military.  He applauded the service of the National Guard members, highlighting their unique and difficult role as citizen soldiers.  He also acknowledged that many of them have been going above and beyond what was originally asked of them.  “Our Guardsmen have served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many had their tours extended. Many returned to combat sooner than they had been led to expect… Few of them and their families will have received the news about additional and longer deployments without aiming a few appropriate complaints in the general direction of people like me, who helped make the decision to send them there,” said McCain.

He went on to promise better healthcare, especially for women, a segment of the National Guard that is growing rapidly according to McCain.  He proposed that those who do not live close to Veteran’s Health Administration facilities would be allowed to seek care at their local providers and hospitals.  In addition to this improvement, he also pledged that under his command, disabled veterans would receive benefits on time after being evaluated by a fair system. 

McCain will now travel to Pennsylvania where he will be joined by his running mate, Sarah Palin.  Meanwhile Barack Obama heads to Wisconsin and has no scheduled events in Maryland at this time.