McCain promises to beat Hillary Clinton 'like a drum'Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Friday that if he wins the party's nomination he will beat Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton "like a drum."
Asked if there were any Republicans he hoped to beat in the same fashion, the Arizona senator laughed and said, "I hope all of them."
"As your nominee, as a Republican nominee, I will be very respectful of Sen. Clinton. But I will beat her and I will beat her like a drum," he told about 100 supporters outside a small restaurant. "There are fundamental differences between us in philosophy."
McCain told reporters after the speech he had made a similar declaration in the past.
"That's a line I used frankly in 2000 when I said I could beat Al Gore like a drum. It got good coverage then," he said.
A Clinton campaign spokesman did not want to comment Friday.
At a stop later Friday in Seabrook Island, about 25 miles south of Charleston, McCain said he was better suited to take on Clinton than Rudy Giuliani because he has "a record of being conservative."
While McCain was specifically harsh on Clinton, he said he hoped his own Republican rivals could be more respectful of one another.
"I also understand that sometimes a difference in policy can spill over into, maybe unnecessary personalizing," he said.
"Mayor Giuliani and I disagree on a line item veto. I think you should have a line item veto as president of the United States which 43 governors have. He disagrees," McCain said. "The fact that I point out that disagreement doesn't mean anything personal."
During Wednesday's debate, Giuliani and Mitt Romney were involved in a testy personal exchange over immigration. It started when Romney said Giuliani had retained New York's status as a sanctuary city while he was mayor. Giuliani, the front-runner in national polls, accused Romney of employing illegal immigrants at his home.
Earlier, McCain walked through a neighborhood of modest brick homes in a subdivision where many of the residents are retirees. He didn't have to knock on any doors - dozens of people gathered at the end of their driveways to meet him.
Jack Hobgood, 79, said he has liked McCain for years, ever since he saw him on television sitting on a congressional panel.
His neighbor, 68-year-old John Foss, also retired, was noncommittal about McCain.
"He's a good possible candidate," said Foss, who moved here 14 years ago from New York. "I haven't made up my mind yet. You have about seven candidates running. Let's weed them out and go from there."
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