A Political Pitch

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling endorses John McCain for President

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Senator John McCain takes a question from Scholastic Kid Reporter Zachary Speigel at an event in Manchester, New Hampshire, on December 5. (Photo by Roger Brooks)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling pitched one for politics recently.Earlier this month, Schilling visited the Derryfield School in Manchester, New Hampshire, to announce his support of Senator John McCain for the Republican nomination for President. He became friends with McCain when he played for the Arizona Diamondbacks. McCain is a U.S. Senator from Arizona.

The event began with a crowd of enthusiastic supporters acting out the traditions of summer, to set the stage for the World Series winning pitcher to speak.

First host Charlie Sherman of WGIR Radio 610 AM, in Manchester, led everyone in "the wave." It was just like Fenway Park (home of the Boston Red Sox) in the room, with people lifting their arms up and down from one side of the room to the next, like a wave of waves.

Next, the crowd tried to break an imaginary noise meter by yelling as loud as they could. It felt just like it did at the ballpark.

Outside, the season was definitely winter. People in coats, gloves, and scarves handed out flyers, stickers, pens, and buttons supporting everything from health care to global warming.

Videographers for the McCain campaign walked around interviewing people.

I saw a snowman mascot chanting "stop global warming" and a woman dressed in a nuclear bomb outfit. Her worry was that if the U.S. drops a nuclear bomb on Iran, the world would go into a nuclear catastrophe.

Back in the auditorium, everyone watched a video about McCain's experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. McCain and Schilling walked onto the school stage together while the song "Sweet Caroline," a Red Sox favorite, played.

"I understand at the end of the day that he'll do what's right for us," Schilling told the packed auditorium of about 300 people. "I think this election is going to come down to something that's been absent for far too long and that's character and integrity."

The candidate said that as President, he would make caring for veterans his No. 1 priority. One man in the audience asked him why the U.S. should not negotiate a truce with Iran.

"They [Iran] are taking lethal weapons out there and killing young Americans," McCain said. "They are sponsors of a lot of terrorist organizations. I'm not ready to make friends with them yet."

After the speech, I went backstage to the music room for a press availability. (If you're wondering, a press avail is when the media get to ask the candidate questions.)

I was the last one to get to ask a question. My first question was, "Why should my parents vote for you?"

"Because I am best at keeping your country safe so you can grow up in a safe world," McCain said.

My second question was about the rising cost of college tuition.

"We obviously have to make college education affordable and available to all Americans who make the grades," McCain told me. "We're going to have to keep the prices down and reward science and engineering students in particular, because that's a great need of ours...and we're going to have to get young people like you to [finish] college as quickly as possible."

ELECTION 2008

Scholastic Kid Reporters are on the campaign trail. Keep up with the latest election news in this special report.

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