In an earlier post, I made mention of the fact that no matter who the Democratic nominee, John McCain is drawing 45% among Florida Independents in the latest Quinnipiac University poll. In Ohio he gets 39% with both match-ups and in Pennsylvania, he's polling at 42% or 35%, depending on the opponent.

Now, if you look at what he said Saturday in Prescott, Arizona, you can see that he's obviously trying to capitalize on his appeal to the middle of the road.

His speech was delivered from the steps of the Yavapai County Courthouse, where Barry Goldwater launched every Senate run and where McCain has ended all of his, as an homage to his predecessor. It's also the site, where both men launched their presidential runs.

From the Prescott Daily Courier;

McCain noted how the friendship between the Goldwater and Udall families began with Barry's and Mo's grandfathers Michael and David, the patriarchs of Arizona's most famous Republican and Democratic families. Barry Goldwater served in the Senate for decades while Mo Udall served in the House, and both ran for president.

"The grandsons of Michael and David, despite differences in political parties and philosophies, were very, very close friends," McCain said. "The friendship of Barry Goldwater and Mo Udall was based in their mutual respect for each other's character, devoted service to the state they loved, and patriotism."

From the Arizona Republic;

Despite the increasing harshness of our debates, and the lack of respect it often occasions for each side's good will," McCain said, "I still believe we can and must come together on issues that cannot be addressed without our cooperation. Mo Udall and Barry Goldwater taught me to believe that we are Americans first and partisans second, and I want to be a President that honors their faith in us."

McCain said he expects spirited debates on issues such as health care or national defense, but it must be conducted with honor.

"Let us argue with each other then," McCain said. "But let us remember, we are not enemies. We are compatriots defending ourselves from a real enemy. We have nothing to fear from each other. We are arguing over the means to better secure our freedom, promote the general welfare and defend our ideals."

And the talking points were reiterated by his colleagues, also from the Prescott paper;

"He does not put politics above principle," Kyl said of McCain.

...

McCain's speech "spoke to bipartisanship, which John McCain has always been known for and which is why he gets things done," said Arizona Rep. Lucy Mason, R-Prescott.

Sen. McCain starts with an advantage among independents and some people say that they could be the ones determining this election. There is some anecdotal evidence that Sen. Obama might cut into his share from this well, but out of the three battleground states above, McCain is rock steady in two and in the third, he ties Sen. Clinton and loses a couple to Obama, with four other points moving to "don't know".

Candidate McCain is supposed to deliver a major speech today, where he will accuse the Democrats of making promises about Iraq that they can't keep and not quitting is a theme of his current ad campaign. Among the voters polled by Quinnipiac in the three battleground states, the overwhelming majority of all voters and those identifying themselves as independent favor setting a timetable for withdrawal over doing it immediately or keeping them there long as needed, but Iraq is the "single most important issue" to only 19-24% of these same groups.

Thus far, McCain appears to be playing to the middle because that's his strong suit. On Iraq everybody has staked their position, but it's not the most important issue to any group and staying there an indeterminate amount of time is statistically tied with immediate withdrawal in the three battleground states among all voters and independents, with the partisans cancelling each other out.