By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

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 jsteinb555@aol.com.