Iraq, Immigration Threaten McCain Bid

Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., answers a reporter's question during a stop at a hotel in Newark, N.J., Thursday, March 22, 2007. McCain attended a fundraiser for his presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Mike Derer) (Mike Derer - AP)

The senator is keenly aware he may be risking the presidency with his position, but says: "I would rather lose a campaign than lose a war."

Immigration presents a different problem for McCain.

The GOP is fiercely divided on the issue.

Hard-line conservatives demand tougher border security and shun all other proposals.

Other Republicans argue for "comprehensive reform." This approach would pair more secure borders with a temporary-worker program while providing an eventual path to citizenship for some of the country's 12 million illegal immigrants.

McCain takes the latter view. He has been among those senators leading an effort to get broad legislation passed.

Polls show that two of three people in the U.S. back comprehensive legislation. Roughly the same percentage of Republicans do, too.

Nevertheless, McCain's stance could hinder his chances of winning the GOP nomination because the path starts in Iowa where passions flare over immigration.

"McCain will not win in Iowa because of immigration. He's a liberal on it," said Larry Smith, a state GOP committeeman from Truro, Iowa, who is not aligned with a candidate.

McCain, obviously, disputes that characterization. "I think overall, most Americans realize we have to have a practical approach," he told reporters.

Yet, at every campaign stop in the state, people in the GOP-leaning audiences expressed their frustration _ and sometimes outright anger _ about what they call a lack of federal action to stop illegal immigration.

"I want to know, on behalf of other veterans, why we are not protecting our border at all? It is a joke," Jeff Heiden, an Iraq veteran from Marshalltown, Iowa, told McCain at a question-and-answer session at an Ames hotel.

McCain reiterated his position. "I was not satisfied," Heiden told reporters afterward.

Hours later, a man in Mason City told McCain: "For people just coming across, they should not expect to receive the benefits of this country without first having to go through the law and procedures to be a U.S. citizen."

The next day in Cedar Falls, another man added: "You're from Arizona, and I don't think that I ever really heard you getting real serious about doing something about the immigration problem."

Just before leaving Iowa, McCain expressed surprise at the intensity of the issue. "Immigration is probably a more powerful issue here than in almost any place I've been," he said at a news conference.

Then McCain, who has favored allowing some illegal immigrants to become citizens without leaving the U.S., indicated that to get legislation passed, he was willing to look more closely at a proposal that would require them to return to their native country before applying for citizenship.

The proposal by GOP Rep. Mike Pence, a conservative from Indiana, is not one McCain has been open to in the past. But it is one that could help him score points with the conservatives he needs to become the Republican nominee.