McCain visiting motorcycle rally, nuke power plant

By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Aug 4, 2008 at 12:03 PM EST

Story Updated: Aug 4, 2008 at 12:03 PM EST

LAFAYETTE HILL, Pa. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain hopes to enhance his appeal to blue-collar voters and those in the Northern Plains with a visit to a giant motorcycle rally in South Dakota.

The Arizona senator will be campaigning for votes Monday at what amounts to an annual motorcyclists' Woodstock in Sturgis, S.D. The event, billed as the largest rally of its kind in the world, is known as the "Buffalo Chip." It features nine nights of entertainment, with bands including Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd and REO Speedwagon. McCain will speak about dinnertime.

Then to underscore his call for expanded nuclear power in the United States, McCain will tour a nuclear power plant in the battleground state of Michigan on Tuesday.

That trip comes a day after Democratic rival Barack Obama lays out his energy vision in a speech, also being delivered in Michigan.

This is the final week for McCain and Obama to compete for the public spotlight without having to share it with the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Before heading to South Dakota, McCain started his week with a visit to the National Label Co. in Lafayette Hill, Pa. The 97-year-old, family owned business makes labels for an array of products, from medicines such as Tylenol to shampoos in the Suave family.

McCain and his wife, Cindy, paused at several points to examine the products and their labels, with Cindy McCain quipping at one point that the entourage could use some to cure campaign trail ills.

Later, in a statement to reporters, the senator kept up his recent practice of focusing on a single issue. He refused to engage in any question-and-answers with his traveling press corps to avoid distracting from his chosen message of the day.

McCain focused on energy policy, saying he has outlined an "all-of-the-above" strategy and mocking Obama's suggestion last week for improving automobile mileage by saying, "We're not going to achieve energy independence by inflating our tires."

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