The

crowd was small, but Jim Steinbach couldn't help

but be encouraged by the 15 or so who braved

Friday evening's winter storm warnings to attend

a Fayetteville rally for John McCain's

presidential campaign.

Steinbach,

a Peachtree City resident and former Army

officer, is one of the many veterans across

Georgia and throughout the United States who have

signed on to campaign for McCain, the Republican

senator from Arizona and former fighter pilot who

spent more than five years as a prisoner of war

in Vietnam.

When

he arrived at the Heritage Bank about one hour

before the meeting Friday night, Steinbach would

have been happy to have three or four people show

up, he said later. "I'm very pleased with

the turnout, given the weather," he said.

The

special speakers were John Sours, director of the

McCain 2000 Georgia steering committee, and Dick

Hall, vice chairman of veteran's affairs for the

steering committee.

Hall

told the group Friday night that McCain,

"more than any [candidate] I see, is pointed

the right way on the issues."

He

also stressed the importance of the campaign's

upcoming weeks, with the primary in neighboring

South Carolina Feb. 19 and Georgia slated to go

to the polls along with 14 other states March 7.

After

a 10-minute video on McCain and his campaign,

Sours traced the evolution of his campaign

support from 2.5 percent last July to his lead as

of Friday over George W. Bush in most New

Hampshire polls. He said someone with

"character and courage" will be needed

to take on the Democratic candidate, most likely

Vice President Al Gore, in November. Obviously,

he feels McCain is perfectly suited for that

role.

Steinbach

reported earlier this week that he has received a

number of calls and e-mails from interested

people who could not attend the meeting Friday

night.

He

is already working on spots for yard signs and

building a database of supporters who can help

get the word out in Fayette County.

During

his post-military stint as a policy officer at

Ft. McPherson's Forces Command, Steinbach worked

with McCain staffers on a regular basis and

believes that the senator is the right one to

lead the country in the next administration.

Sours

mentioned to the Friday night audience that

organizers are trying to bring a presidential

debate to the Atlanta area, Steinbach said,

although those plans are preliminary and no dates

or places have been finalized.

Meanwhile,

other events in Fayette can be expected for the

McCain campaign in the coming months. Details on

those will be announced when they are finalized,

Steinbach said.

Anyone

interested in helping or learning more about the

McCain campaign is invited to contact Steinbach

at [email protected] .

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