McCain blasts Obama: 'I can tell you there's no change': In Mesa town hall, Arizona senator says U.S. is in toughest times he can remember

U.S. Sen. John McCain said Friday that Americans are in the toughest times he can remember and that President Barack Obama hasn't brought the change in Washington that he promised.

The Arizona Republican spoke at a town hall Friday to a couple hundred people at Mesa's Central Christian Church, reiterating many of the same arguments he's made in recent similar events.

McCain took to the stage with standing ovations and an aim to address key issues affecting Arizonans, such as the economy, health care reform, the war in Afghanistan, among other things.

Health care took up most of the dialogue among McCain and the many in attendance -- largely his contemporaries.

Although McCain said the town hall was a forum for any citizen, no matter political affiliation, the bevy of the back and forth between the senator and audience touted Republican ideals and flouted those of Democrats, including the current president.

Perhaps at the afternoon's most incendiary point, McCain offered up a joke to the hundreds gathered in a large worship center on the sprawling church campus. The senator questioned the health care reform bill and criticized the lack of malpractice reform in the bill.

"You know why there is no medical malpractice reform in that bill?" McCain asked.

Some in the audience responded by alluding to President Obama's vocation: He's a lawyer.

"And you all know the difference between a catfish and a lawyer?" McCain questioned. "One is a scum-sucking bottom dweller and the other is a fish."

McCain criticized Democrats' plan to create a government-run insurance option to compete with private companies and expensive pet projects by individual lawmakers.

"These are the most difficult times we have ever faced," Mc-Cain said. "There's no one in this room who doesn't know someone who's lost their home, lost their job ... The president promised change and I can tell you there's no change in Washington."

He added that Americans are angry and have every reason to be, prompting one audience member to shout, "You bet we are."

McCain said a governmentrun insurance option would be a big mistake.

House Democrats rolled out legislation Thursday to extend health care to tens of millions who lack coverage, impose sweeping new restrictions on the insurance industry and create a government-run option.

"We should call it no child left with a dime because we are committing generational theft," he said. "And the only way this train coming down the track is going to be stopped is for Americans to make their voices heard."

When asked by an audience member what McCain would advise people to do who were against the current health care reform and frustrated over the state of the economy, McCain gave a simple answer: "Just keep on coming out and making your voice heard."

While the tenor of the town hall was mostly centered on a dreary economy and the turbulence of health care reform, the war in Afghanistan dwelled high in McCain's mind.

He said he'd given it much thought, and President Obama needed to follow the advice of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, who is recommending a large troop buildup of at least 40,000, among other strategic moves.

"I am convinced that we must adopt General McChrystal's plan," McCain said.

A question about the economy, and whether the country is experiencing a rebound from the recession, received a less assertive response from McCain -- one that was far more philosophical than political.

"Is the recession over?" the senator repeated the question. "I'm sure the recession is over on Wall Street, with all the bonuses they're giving. But on Main Street, and on Central Avenue, the recession is far from over."

The meeting was one of two in the Valley, with another meeting scheduled in Peoria on Saturday.

Mayors from several cities, including Mesa, Chandler and Tempe, sat among other elected officials in a row of chairs behind McCain.

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith introduced the senator as a locally grown politician.

"He started right here in Mesa," Smith said, pointing to McCain's earlier run for Congress decades ago. "And his record as a dignified spokesperson for what is right in America is well known."

HARD TIMES: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tells people at a town hall Friday at Mesa's Central Christian Church, "These are the most difficult times we have ever faced." THOMAS BOGGAN, TRIBUNE