John McCain, the Republican Presidential nominee, has chosen Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska to be his running mate. Here’s the email the campaign sent out:

I am honored to announce that I have chosen Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as my choice for the Republican nominee for Vice President. As a father with three daughters, I can’t express how proud I am to choose the first female Republican Vice-Presidential nominee.

Sarah Palin is a trailblazer and a reformer. As the first female governor of Alaska, she challenged a corrupt system and has been a tireless advocate for reform - passing a landmark bill on ethics reform. She has taken on the old politics in Alaska and reformed the state’s energy industry. She rejects wasteful pork barrel spending. She’s fearless - exactly the type of leader I want at my side and the type of leadership we will bring to Washington.

My friends, together Sarah Palin and I make the strongest presidential ticket and I know that she joins me in asking for your support as we head into our Convention week in Minnesota. We’re shaking things up in this campaign - and Governor Palin and I are ready to bring real reform to Washington.

The polls indicate this will be a tight race as we head into the fall campaign against Senators Obama and Biden. I expect the polls to remain close all the way up to Election Day and that is why any help you can give today will go a long way to make history on November 4th.

You can be assured that as President and Vice President, Governor Palin and I will always put country before all else. We are ready to lead and I ask that you join our campaign today. Your support is deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

John McCain

McCain Team -

Today we’re launching a new feature called McCain Nation and we want you to be the first to know. McCain Nation is a powerful online tool, built exclusively for our supporters across the country to plan events to help spread John McCain’s message.

Through the McCain Nation online headquarters you can create events, upload and invite your contacts, send out invitations, get maps and directions, and much more. You can also search for events in your area and ask hosts to attend. Connecting with other McCain supporters on the ground is crucial to our grassroots strategy and will be key to our victory in November.

Please follow this link to join McCain Nation today and host an event for John McCain! Our first national event will be held on Thursday, August 14th at 7pm ET, and we’re asking you to start planning your event right away. McCain Nation events across the country will have the opportunity to interact with a prominent McCain campaign official as part of the first national event day. Event hosts will also receive a host package and have exclusive access to other resources.

If you’re unable to host an event, you can also visit McCain Nation to search for events in your area to attend. And if August 14th doesn’t work out with your schedule, you can plan an event at a date and time that works best for you and your guests through the online headquarters.

Please visit the McCain Nation website today. We look forward to a successful national event day on August 14th.

Thanks for your support!

Rick Davis
Campaign Manager

Here’s an email the McCain campaign sent out showing how John McCain is prepared to tackle health care issues as president:

Straight Talk On Health Care
Today, there are 47 million uninsured individuals in the U.S., and nearly a quarter of them are children. High costs and limited access are the underlying, fundamental problems in our healthcare system.

As you know, both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are touting outrageously expensive and unrealistic universal health care plans - a government monopoly over health care.

Unlike my opponents, I do not believe that all of our nation’s problems can be solved by turning control over to our government, with all the tax increases, new mandates and government regulation that come with that idea.

Today, our campaign began running a television ad focused on health care - that you can view by following this link - to ensure all Americans hear the truth about how I plan to tackle the challenges facing our nation’s health care system. To ensure this important ad is aired in as many markets as possible, I’m asking for your immediate financial assistance.

I believe the key to real reform is to restore control over our health care system to the patients themselves. Americans need new choices beyond those offered in employment-based coverage.

That’s why, as president, I will seek to encourage and expand the benefits of Health Savings Accounts, tax-preferred accounts that are used to pay insurance premiums and other health costs. These accounts put the family in charge of what they pay for.

In addition, I will reform the tax code to provide every family the option of receiving a direct, refundable tax deposit - effectively $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 cash for families to offset the cost of insurance.

The reality is that both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, in their haste to garner support for their so-called “solutions,” are promising more than they can deliver. And, once again, they are simply out-of-touch with the real problems facing our health care system and how to solve them.

Here are the facts: Under the Democrats’ plan, we will have all the problems, and more, of the current health care system - rigid rules, long waits and lack of choices - and we risk degrading the system’s great strengths and advantages, including the innovation and life-saving technology that make American medicine the most advanced in the world.

My friends, this is not my definition of real reform.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

John McCain

P.S. While my Democratic opponents continue to believe that our government can solve all of our problems, I am prepared to offer practical, common sense solutions to the problem of rapidly rising health care costs and access in America. I urge you to join with me today and help me take our message to the American people.

A recent email from the McCain campaign points to an article in Politico, which claims that wealthy Democrats, including billionaire George Soros, plan to begin a $40 million television smear ad campaign against John McCain. The smear is being led by David Brock, the founder of Media Matters.

Here’s an excerpt from the McCain campaign email:

George Soros the “liberal megadonor” is at it again. He and his group of billionaire left-wing Democrats have pledged $40 million dollars of soft money to smear John McCain in a national television ad campaign.

In an article published in Politico, it was reported that Paul Begala and David Brock met with a gang of Manhattan liberals at the home of George Soros to outline their plans for a $40 million dollar ad campaign against Senator McCain. Brock is quoted as saying the group could do the work of the press corps that has “fallen down on the job” when it comes to McCain!

You all probably remember Hillary Clinton’s 3:00 am phone call ad. Well, a recent survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports shows that only 25% of voters think Clinton is the one suited to deal with a major foreign policy crisis. The survey questioned about 800 likely voters.

News networks played reruns of the commercial repeatedly after the Texas Primaries, and claimed it played a major role in her victory there. (Note however, this poll looks like it was taken around the country, not just in Texas, so the view there might differ).

42% want John McCain answering that call, 25% want Hillary Clinton answering that call, and 25% want Barack Obama answering that call. I wonder who the other 8% wanted…

WATCH 3:00 am commercial on YouTube >
VISIT Rasmussen Reports poll page >

The John McCain Presidential Campaign sent out this update about his trip to the Middle East and Europe:
John McCain’s Trip Abroad
John McCain traveled on official Senate business this week to the Middle East and Europe. He was joined by fellow Armed Services Committee members, Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham.

In Iraq, John McCain met with General David Petraeus and other military leaders, toured Baghdad and talked with both Iraqi and American service members. This was John McCain’s eighth official trip to Iraq since 2003.

While in Israel, he met with the country’s leaders and promoted peace talks between Israel and Palestine. He also traveled throughout the country, visiting Sderot, the Yad VaShem Holocaust Memorial, Jerusalem’s Western Wall, the Gaza Strip, and other historic sites.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and John McCain met to discuss Iraq, climate change and the global economy. John McCain will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris before he returns to the United States.

Current U.S. President George W. Bush, today endorsed John McCain, the newly crowned Republican nominee for President. Bush defeated McCain in the 2000 election season, getting the Republican nomination and eventually becoming president.

McCain spent much of the day today with the President,  joining him in a conference about the endorsement.

John McCain, the Republican Presidential nominee, has just won the Texas Republican primary. He swept with wins in all four states holding their primaries today, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio, and Texas.

Having no chance, Mike Huckabee [Republican] has dropped out of the race. It has been rumored that he has been seeking a Vice Presidential slot with John McCain, so we’ll see how that goes.

Hillary Clinton has also won Rhode Island.  Barack Obama has won Vermont.

The Texas and Ohio democrats are currently working on early tallies, but so far it appears that Clinton has amassed a large amount of the votes there, so it looks like she’s in it till the end.

John McCain has just one the Ohio Republican primary. He was expected to win, and as of now holds enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination.

JOHN MCCAIN IS THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE 

Barack Obama and John McCain are the projected winners in Vermont today. This is Obama’s 12th straight victory over Hillary Clinton. John McCain snagged another win in Vermont, which he was expected to win from early on. He is the presumptive Republican nominee.

Barack Obama is the current Democratic front runner, and will most likely be the nominee if Hillary fails to gain a substantial amount of votes in Texas and Ohio, which are both hosting their primaries today.