McCain Pitches National Security in Donor Memo

GOP Sen. John McCain, whose Vietnam War record and support of the president's war in Iraq have made him the target of antiwar activists, plans to make national security a key element of his campaign, a new fundraising memo indicates.

"We live in a dangerous world and in the years ahead our nation will need strong and decisive leadership to set it on the right course," says the memo to donors. "Senator McCain's service to our country has prepared him to deliver the leadership we need, both here at home and in the world."

The letter, sent in an online form, asks donors to take a survey that "will help us refine a national agenda that will give top priority to the most important issues that affect your everyday life, and the lives of all Americans." Typically, fundraising letters touch on the key themes of upcoming campaigns, and McCain's was no different.

In addition to national security, the letter from campaign manager Terry Nelson puts other McCain issues at the front of the Arizona senator's agenda: "limited government, fiscal discipline, and common-sense conservative values."